Gabriel Heras2019-08-02T18:56:10+01:002 June, 2018|
On many occasions, the decision-making on the disabled and severely ill patients falls on the family. It is not easy to be in this situation: there are serious problems of communication that generate anguish in the family in the short and long term and can lead to unwanted treatments by the patients, which carry suffering, therapeutic futility and elevated economic [...]
Gabriel Heras2019-08-02T18:56:13+01:0022 May, 2018|
"I have no memories for myself. I didn't even realize I had been in a hospital. My family has been telling me. That time, for me it has not existed. " This is the testimony of Josefa Garcia, after being discharged from an Intensive Care Unit (ICU), as it is collected in an article recently published in the ABC journal [...]
Gabriel Heras2019-08-02T18:56:15+01:0018 April, 2018|
We shared yesterday on our social networks the amazing pictures by Lili Mateus of Cele and Chiki in the ICU of Hospital General de Villalba (Madrid). As expected, the images became viral and thousands of people supported the initiative. For those who have not seen yet, we share them again: Judge yourselves: a clear example that a picture is worth a [...]
Gabriel Heras2019-08-02T18:56:16+01:0017 April, 2018|
In recent years, other professions classically oriented to offer services, such as law practitioners, have been concerned about the health status of their professionals and the need to carry out specific actions aimed at improving their wellness. An study conducted in 2016 by the American Bar Association (ABA) Commission on Lawyer Assistance Programs and Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation in 13,000 lawyers, showed that between [...]
Gabriel Heras2019-08-02T18:56:20+01:006 April, 2018|
In December 2015, New England Journal of Medicine published the editorial Leading the Transformation of Health Care Delivery — The Launch of NEJM Catalyst. Health care delivery is in a period of historic transition: social capital seems to be the clue for institutions to improve trust, teamwork, reliability, fiability and the desire to innovate. To support the decision makers and clinical [...]
Gabriel Heras2019-08-02T18:56:20+01:003 April, 2018|
Our mates and friends of Centro Hospitalar Unimed de Joinville in Santa Catarina (Brasil), leaded by Dr. Glauco Westphal have just published in Intensive Care Medicine the letter Effect of a 24-h extended visiting policy on delirium in critically ill patients. Absence of relatives has been suggested as a potentially modifiable risk factor for delirium and anxiety in the ICU. In this study, theyaimed to evaluate the [...]
Gabriel Heras2019-08-02T18:56:21+01:0022 March, 2018|
Today, ICU survival has gradually increased thanks to technical and technological advances focused on providing vital support to critically ill patients. While traditionally the quality measurement in our enviroment has focused on mortality, there has recently been a change in vision: the functional status and quality of life after admission to the ICU are also important. This is why it [...]
Gabriel Heras2019-08-02T18:56:22+01:0015 March, 2018|
Medicina Intensiva has recently published the article Application of a mindfulness program among healthcare professionals in an intensive care unit: Effect on burnout, empathy and self-compassion. Mates from the ICU of Hospital Universitari Vall d’Hebron held a clinical session/workshop on the practice of mindfulness and its usefulness. The possibility of following an 8-week training program with specifically designed short guided practices supported [...]
Gabriel Heras2019-08-02T18:56:25+01:0010 March, 2018|
Some things are so obvious, that often go unnoticed or we forget them. Critical Care Medicine has just published an excellent revision titled Interprofessional Care and Teamwork in the ICU. It underlines the importance of multidisciplinary work in the modern ICU, putting in value the role of each member of the team and including patients and families in the center [...]
Gabriel Heras2019-08-02T18:56:25+01:007 March, 2018|
"Doc, now I am leaving the ICU... are you going to follow me in the ward?" "No, no, I am just the intensivist, we are the doctors who are in the ICU. In the ward you will be visited by another doctor" This is how it works. And not only in the ward. We usually don´t know about our patients [...]
