Loneliness and lack of social well-being are associated with adverse health outcomes and have increased during the COVID-19 pandemic. Smartphone communication data have been suggested to help monitor loneliness, but this requires further evidence. We investigated the informative value of smartphone communication app data for predicting subjective loneliness and social well-being in a sample of 364 participants ranging from 18 to 78 years of age (52.2% female; mean age = 42.54, SD = 13.22) derived from the CORONA HEALTH APP study from July to December 2020 in Germany. The participants experienced relatively high levels of loneliness and low social well-being during the time period characterized by the COVID-19 pandemic. Apart from positive associations with phone call use times, smartphone communication app use was associated with social well-being and loneliness only when considering the age of participants. Younger participants with higher use times tended to report less social well-being and higher loneliness, while the opposite association was found for older adults. Thus, the informative value of smartphone communication use time was rather small and became evident only in consideration of age. The results highlight the need for further investigations and the need to address several limitations in order to draw conclusions at the population level.

DCE and profile-case BWS may be of equal validity but give different preference estimates regardless of the health context; thus, they may be measuring different constructs. Therefore, choice between methods is likely to be based on normative considerations related to coherence with theoretical frameworks and on pragmatic considerations related to ease of data collection.

The implementation of an Electronic Patient Record in Germany has been delayed for years. Thus, it is lagging behind in comparison to other European countries (7 chapter 7 in this volume). Pioneers in this field are Denmark and Estonia. Both countries achieved a lead in the development of Electronic Patient Records through strong governance, setting binding goals and time frames for the digitisation of their healthcare system. The contents and functions as well as technical and interoperability standards were clearly defined from the outset. Germany should use the expertise arising from these best practice countries in order to successfully implement the Electronic Patient Record after more than 14 years of perceived stagnation.

ObjectiveTo estimate the cost implications of early angiography for patients with suspected non-ST elevation acute coronary syndrome (NSTEACS) using tissue Doppler imaging (TDI).DesignA decision tree model was used to synthesise data from the pilot study and literature sources. Sensitivity analyses tested the impact of assumptions incorporated into the analysis.SettingEmergency department (ED), Brisbane, Australia.ParticipantsPatients with suspected NSTEACS.InterventionsTDI as a diagnostic tool for triaging patients within 4 hours of presentation in addition to conventional risk stratification, compared with conventional risk stratification alone.Data sourcesResource used for diagnosis and management were recorded prospectively and costed for 51 adults who had echocardiography within 24 hours of admission. Costs for conventional care were based on observed data. Cost estimates for the TDI intervention assumed patients classified as high risk at TDI (E/e’>14) progressed early to angiography with an associated 1-day reduction in length of stay.Primary outcome measuresCosts until discharge from the Australian healthcare perspective in 2016–2017 prices.ResultsFindings suggest that using TDI as a diagnostic tool for triaging patients with suspected NSTEACS is likely to be cost saving by $A1090 (95% credible interval: $A573 to $A1703) per patient compared with conventional care. The results are mainly driven by the assumed reduction in length of stay due to the inclusion of early TDI in clinical decision-making.ConclusionsThis pilot study indicates that compared with conventional risk stratification, triaging patients presenting with suspected NSTEACS with TDI within 4 hours of ED presentation has potential cost savings. Findings assume a reduction in hospital stay is achieved for patients considered to be high risk at TDI. Larger, comparative studies with longer follow-up are needed to confirm the clinical effectiveness of TDI as a diagnostic strategy for NSTEACS, the assumed reduction in hospital stay and any cost saving.

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