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Background The internet can provide evidence-based patient education to overcome time constraints of busy ambulatory practices. Health information prescriptions (HIPs) can be effectively integrated into clinic workflow, but compliance to visit health information sites such as MedlinePlus is limited.Objective Compare the efficacy of paper (pHIP) and email (eHIP) links to deliver HIPs; evaluate patient satisfaction with the HIP process and MedlinePlus information; assess reasons for noncompliance to HIPs.Method Of 948 patients approached at two internal medicine clinics affiliated with an academic medical centre, 592 gave informed consent after meeting the inclusion criteria. In this randomised controlled trial, subjects were randomised to receive pHIP or eHIP for accessing an intermediate website that provided up to five MedlinePlus links for physician-selected HIP conditions. Patients accessing the intermediate website were surveyed by email to assess satisfaction with the health information. Survey non-responders were contacted by telephone to determine the reasons for no response.Results One hundred and eighty-one patients accessed the website, with significantly more ‘filling’ eHIP than pHIP (38% vs 23%; P < 0.001). Most (82%) survey respondents found the website information useful, with 77% favouring email for future HIPs delivery. Lack of time, forgot, lost instructions or changed mind were reasons given for not accessing the websites.Conclusions Delivery of MedlinePlus-based HIPs in clinic is more effective using email prescriptions than paper. Satisfaction with the HIP information was high, but overall response was low and deserves further investigation to improve compliance and related outcomes.

Bariatric surgery is the most effective obesity treatment in terms of weight loss and resolution of comorbidities. Roux-en-Y bypass surgery achieves weight loss of 60% to 70% excess body weight in most morbidly obese individuals. Patients with psychological disorders are reported to have less optimal results and those with bipolar, possibly worse.A retrospective survey of Roux-en-Y bypass bariatric surgery patient clinical records to assess weight loss outcomes for morbidly obese patients, including those with bipolar disorders, other psychiatric conditions, and those without psychiatric diagnoses, was conducted.For all three study subgroups, the baseline mean weight exceeded 300 lbs, and mean BMI was 50. At 6 months, mean values for weight, percent weight loss, BMI, and percent change in BMI for all three groups were not significantly different. At 1 year, overall mean weight was less than 200 lbs, percent weight loss exceeded 35%, and mean BMI was 32. These outcomes were remarkably similar and not significantly different for those with bipolar disorder, other psychological conditions, and those without. The percent reaching follow-up at 12 months also did not differ between the three psychiatric status subgroups.In patients who undergo Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery, those with bipolar disorder have successful weight loss outcomes at 12 months that are not significantly different than those who have other psychiatric diagnoses and those with no psychiatric disorder. Despite practices that suggest the contrary, well-managed morbidly obese bipolar patients should be considered as suitable candidates for bariatric surgery using established criteria for risk assessment.

Objective The purpose of this study is to assess the retrieval rate and the predictors of successful retrieval of Retrievable Inferior Vena Cava (RIVC) filters. Methods We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of adult patients who had RIVC filter placements from 2004-2008. We excluded patients who died or were lost to follow-up and those who refused or had unsuccessful retrieval. We collected demographic and clinical data including indications for placement and follow –up. Successful retrieval was defined as objective evidence of retrieval by medical records. Results Over a 4 year period, we identified 351 patients who had RIVC filter placements. We excluded 99 patients (65 died, 24 decided to leave filter in place, 7 had unsuccessful retrieval and 3 lost follow –up). Majority of the filters were placed for surgical patients (161, 63.9%). Of 252 eligible patients for retrieval, only 47 filters were successfully retrieved yielding a retrieval rate of 18.7%. We identified three predictors for successful retrieval: Male gender, home discharge and follow up with procedural service. Conclusion In this large cohort we found that the retrieval rate of retrievable IVCF is extremely low consistent with national statistics. Male patients, patients who were discharged home and patients who were followed by the procedural service had higher chance of successful retrieval. We recommend that procedural service placing the filter should ascertain adequate follow-up. We are not certain why more males had successful retrieval than females. Further studies are necessary to investigate this finding.

Colledge et al. suggested a direct-to-patient health information intervention enhances both patient communication and education, and they recommended that physicians consider the Internet a patient educational tool [1]. However, despite the easy availability of accurate medical information on the Internet, the majority of clinical practices have not successfully incorporated Internet education into clinic workflow. McMullen suggested physicians might save time, contribute to patient education, and influence patient information seeking by recommending health information websites tailored to a patient's specific condition [2]. D'Alessandro et al. [3] and Siegel et al. [4] used the term “information prescription” to describe a physician-directed Internet health education intervention. In these studies, physicians provided condition-specific, paper-based information prescriptions for patient education and communication. These prescriptions have been tied, in some cases, to Medline Plus [5], a comprehensive, commercial-free, Internet-based consumer health information resource provided by the US National Library of Medicine [4]. Siegel et al. reported modest improvements in patient health information seeking, increased awareness of MedlinePlus, and increased patient interest when receiving an information prescription from a physician [4]. D'Alessandro et al. also found improvements in Internet health information seeking, although only 32% of patients who were given paper information prescriptions had used them during the follow-up period [3]. Ritterband et al. found that an email reminder increased patient compliance with paper information prescriptions by 45% [6]. While the literature suggests that information prescriptions can modestly enhance patient education, studies to date have relied on paper-based prescriptions or verbal recommendations, which might have resulted in limited compliance. To test this hypothesis, the authors created email information prescriptions for selected medical conditions that were specifically tailored with physician-selected links to MedlinePlus. The authors hypothesized that: (1) a physician-directed, condition-specific, email information prescription (using links to the MedlinePlus website) would be favorably evaluated by patients; and (2) intervention patients would be more likely to use MedlinePlus when compared to a control group. The authors also anticipated that a physician-directed, condition-specific information prescription would be favorably received by internists in an ambulatory and a HIV clinic setting.