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Translational research - working hard to bridge the knowledge translation gap

The gap that exists between what is discovered in the lab and what is implemented in the clinic is expanding. So much so that, the dedicated translational research field is reaching it's peak and is starting to be described as a multistep process that eventually finishes with medical guidelines and clinical practice changes. This field is pivotal to ensuring that the gap between discovery and implementation is reduced.

A recent news article by Drs Philippa Brice and Sowmiya Moorthie {1} highlights the unnecessary gap between developing new technologies and using them in clinical practice. They say that "translation of emerging technologies into health service practice requires key steps of evaluation, assessment, appraisal and implementation following on from 'bench to bedside' research" and their main concern now is "to bridge the current gap between assessment/evaluation and clinical implementation, a gap which creates unnecessary delay at translating potentially valuable new technologies into clinical practice and better health."

It is clear that much effort and focus is currently being made on how to bridge these gaps and ensure any new discoveries/technologies find their way into the clinic as soon as possible. Ultimately, we are all constantly working to improve healthcare practices and ensure patients are receiving the most appropriate and effective treatments.

{1} Brice and Moorthie, Improving Health Technology Assessments, 23 April 2008, http://www.phgfoundation.org/news/4072/ Accessed 24/04/2008

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Posted by Natalie Davall on Friday Apr 25, 2008, Category: Bench to Bedside | Permalink

600 evaluations that change clinical practice

Good news for clinicians! There are now more than 600 evaluations of articles that change clinical practice on our website. These articles feature explicit recommendations to indicate how an article can immediately affect clinical practice.

An excellent example is this evaluation by Bradley Kropp of the Urology Faculty:

Changes Clinical Practice: "Before an urologist operates on a kidney for decreased function, they need to take time out of their busy clinical practice to confirm their results with the nuclear radiologist. On occasion, redrawing the figures can have a dramatic effect on the numbers and potentially save a child from an unnecessary operation, so this double-check should be undertaken with every patient."

Kropp says "It is important to remember that just because a test with a long fancy name ? can generate a 'hard' number from a computer, it does not mean that this number is fact. Medical computers and other scientific software are exposed to the same limitation that every medical decision is subject to and that is the 'human element'? It is hard to program in the sense of sight, touch, taste, and smell and these are all important senses that can contribute to making a great medical decision."

He sums up by saying "As a clinical scientist, I have the advantage of performing science in the laboratory and practicing the 'art' of medicine in the clinical setting. A true artist does not paint by the numbers; therefore, a true urologic surgeon should also not operate by numbers."

You can search for articles that change practice by ticking the 'articles that Change Clinical Practice' box in Advanced Search.

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Posted by Adie Chan on Wednesday Apr 16, 2008, Category: Editorial News | Permalink

We've improved our email alerts

If you're already signed up to receive 'My F1000M Alerts' then you may have noticed that we've now included some additional features.

To give you a taste of what the article is about, the improved 'My F1000M Alert' now displays the first line of the article's evaluation [1] or changes clinical practice recommendation [2]. It also lists which sub-specialties the article falls under.

'My F1000M Alerts' can also be tailored to suit your needs. You can specify your favourite specialties so that you are only alerted to articles that matter to you [3], change how often you receive your alerts [4], as well as the number of articles in each alert. You can also access different areas of the website from within the alert.

If you haven't set up an email alert already, why not take a few minutes to do so now?
 

 

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Posted by Sean Porazinski on Friday Apr 04, 2008, Category: Editorial News | Permalink

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