Interesting and important news comes from the University of California San Diego, one of the world’s leading universities. In April, two members of the Bosnian-Herzegovinian-American Academy of Arts and Sciences (BHAAAS) presented their work within a very important platform in the USA, UC San Diego PCCSM&P Grand Rounds.
Both of our experts – Adnan Begović, specialist in intensive care and pulmonary diseases, a university professor and UCSD faculty and Ognjen Gajić, a university professor, pulmonologist and specialist in intensive care at the Mayo Clinic, are graduates of the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Sarajevo, who provide education to other doctors and health workers to improve their knowledge and competences.
Doctor Begović spoke about efforts to transfer knowledge in the region of the former Yugoslavia during the COVID-19 pandemic. In his presentation, he pointed out that the transfer of professional knowledge in the form of tele-education sessions could be inexpensive and feasible alternative, especially in low and middle-income countries and anywhere critical care expertise is lacking.
“Utilizing advanced information technology as an opportunity to disseminate knowledge to places where distance and resources are limiting factors for global healthcare improvement. Implementation of high-quality EBM (evidence base medicine) is proved to be even more relevant during COVID-19 crisis. Standardized approach to evaluation and treatment in critically ill patients reduces practice variations and medical errors, improves patient outcomes, and increases health care providers engagement and satisfaction”, concluded Dr. Begović.
Professor Gajić spoke about prioritizing relevant from irrelevant data in patient-centred critical care, education and research. He pointed out that the indiscriminate presentation of electronic data leads to information overload and impedes clinicians’ decision-making in the intensive care unit contributing to diagnostic errors and therapeutic harm.
“To harness potential benefit of electronic data in clinical medicine it is essential to prioritize relevant from non-relevant data. Novel data presentation tools and decision aids are designed to prioritize relevant data and focus clinicians’ attention on the most important tasks in a timely manner. Large international program CERTAIN (Checklist for Early Recognition and Treatment of Acute Illness and Injury) combines decision aids, virtual simulation and coaching to improve the quality of care and outcomes of critically ill and injured patients in wide variety of settings from US academic and community hospitals to countries of former Yugoslavia, Vietnam, India, China, and war-torn Ukraine”, Gajić said.
Medical students and young doctors from Bosnia and Herzegovina will have the opportunity to listen to these exceptional lecturers in June in Tuzla at a large scientific conference, the 14th Days of BHAAAS.