Developing an efficient clinical information system for a comprehensive psychiatric institute: I. Principles,design, and organization

The principles, design considerations, and components of a clinical information system intended to support and enhance the patient care, educational, and research missions of a comprehensive psychiatric institute are presented. Major characteristics of the system are its emphases on efficiency, simplicity, and intensive user involvement throughout the development of the system.     

Prevention of nonadherence to nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medications for newly diagnosed patients with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis.

Adherence to medications for chronic pediatric diseases decreases overtime. This randomized controlled trial evaluated a clinic-based, nurse-administered educational and behavioral intervention to prevent the anticipated drop in adherence to nonsteroidal medications among newly diagnosed patients with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis. Thirty-four participants completed the study (mean age = 8.44 years, SD = 3.96), including 19 in the experimental group and 15 in the standard-treatment (education) control group. There were significant group and Group x Time effects for adherence (assessed with an electronic monitor over a 13-month period) favoring the experimental group. In contrast, the groups did not differ significantly in disease activity or functional limitations. Factors that may have prevented detection of differences in these health parameters are dicussed.     

The effect of head turn on auditory asymmetry

In two experiments, right-handed men and women were tested for ear differences in report of dichotically presented digits, with their heads straight ahead, turned 90 degrees to the left, and turned 90 degrees to the right. In Experiment 1, head turn was controlled simply by asking the subjects to fixate an appropriately located point; a right-ear advantage occurred under all conditions of head turn among the men, but only in the head-straight condition among the women. In Experiment 2, head turn was controlled by having the subjects direct a flashlight attached to their heads toward the fixation point. This eliminated the right-ear advantage under all head conditions for the men, but for the women the right-ear advantage was, if anything, more pronounced when their heads were turned than when straight. These results suggest that auditory asymmetry depends in part on whether space is perceived as divided into left and right sides, and in part of the balance between spatial and verbal requirements. Both factors, and the asymmetry itself, may interact with sex.