Annals of Family Medicine articles from March 2006

Annals of Family Medicine archives from March 2006

Threads and yarns: weaving the tapestry of comorbidity.
March 1, 2006... Ann Fam Med 2006;4:101-103. DOI: 10.1370/afm.524. As any weaver knows, the elegance of a fabric lies in the yarns, not the threads. The whole is lots more than the sum of its parts. In health services, the threads are the diagnoses on which...

Randomized controlled trials: do they have external validity for patients with multiple comorbidities?(Disease/Disorder overview)
March 1, 2006... ABSTRACT PURPOSE Many randomized controlled trials (RCTs) exclude patients who have multiple comorbidities. The aim of this study was to illustrate the prevalence of comorbidities among patients followed up in primary care who would have...

Transforming medical care: case study of an exemplary, small medical group.(Quality Improvement)
March 1, 2006... ABSTRACT PURPOSE Most published descriptions of organizations providing or improving quality of care concern large medical groups or systems; however, 90% of the medical care in the United States is provided by groups of no more than 20...

Effect of primary health care orientation on chronic care management.
March 1, 2006... ABSTRACT PURPOSE It has been suggested that the best way to improve chronic illness care is through a redesign of primary care emphasizing comprehensive, coordinated care as espoused by the Chronic Care Model (CCM). This study examined the...

Physicians, patients, and the electronic health record: an ethnographic analysis.
March 1, 2006... ABSTRACT PURPOSE Little is known about the effects of the electronic health record (EHR) on physician-patient encounters. The objectives of this study were to identify the factors that influence the manner by which physicians use the EHR...

Nasal carriage of Staphylococcus aureus and methicillin-resistant S aureus in the United States, 2001-2002.(Disease/Disorder overview)
March 1, 2006... ABSTRACT PURPOSE Staphylococcus aureus is a common cause of invasive infections, yet most assessments of prevalence are based on health care-based samples. We computed population-based estimates of nasal carriage of S aureus and risk...

Services provided by family physicians for patients with occupational injuries and illnesses.
March 1, 2006... ABSTRACT PURPOSE Many family doctors provide care to patients with occupational injuries and illnesses, but little is known about the type of medical services provided, or how they compare with services provided by other types of...

A practice-sponsored Web site to help patients pursue healthy behaviors: an ACORN study.
March 1, 2006... ABSTRACT PURPOSE We tested whether patients are more likely to pursue healthy behaviors (eg, physical activity, smoking cessation) if referred to a tailored Web site that provides valuable information for behavior change. METHODS In a...

Triage and diagnosis of chest pain in rural hospitals: implementation of the ACI-TIPI in the high plains research network.(Acute Cardiac Ischemia Time-Insensitive Predictive Instrument)
March 1, 2006... ABSTRACT PURPOSE The Acute Cardiac Ischemia Time-Insensitive Predictive Instrument (ACITIPI) has been shown to improve diagnostic accuracy of acute cardiac ischemia (ACI) and decrease coronary care unit admissions in urban emergency...

Postpartum health of employed mothers 5 weeks after childbirth.
March 1, 2006... ABSTRACT PURPOSE Most new mothers return to work soon after childbirth. A need exists to reexamine the definition of postpartum health and evaluate employed women's recovery from childbirth in association with such factors as delivery type...

Helping 'them': our role in recovery from opioid dependence.(Crisis of opioid addiction )
March 1, 2006... ABSTRACT The crisis of opioid addiction in America has been fueled by the diversion of prescription pain pills and the emergence of pure and inexpensive heroin. Until recently, benefits of and access to therapy were limited. This situation...

Facilitating collaboration among academic generalist disciplines: a call to action.(REFLECTIONS)
March 1, 2006... ABSTRACT To meet its population's health needs, the United States must have a coherent system to train and support primary care physicians. This goal can be achieved only though genuine collaboration between academic generalist...

'Another compelling idealized model that is drastically altered by the ugly facts on the ground'.(Community-based participatory research)
March 1, 2006... Ann Fam Med 2006;4:177-178. DOI: 10.1370/afm.546. Some interesting threads have been weaving through the Annals TRACK online discussion since the last issue. The study of community-based participatory research (CBPR) in practice-based...

Graham Center article blasts US health care system.
March 1, 2006... Graham Center Article Blasts US Health Care System A recent article from the Academy's Robert Graham Center in Washington, DC, blasts "dysfunctional financing schemes" that prevent adequate funding of US primary care. The article also...

Katrina Forum looks at revamping medical infrastructure.(Family Medicine Updates)
March 1, 2006... As they look at rebuilding the Gulf Coast after Hurricane Katrina, policy makers would do well to finish the storm's destruction of the medical infrastructure in the area, said Karen DeSalvo, MD, MPH, chief of general internal medicine and...

Maintenance of certification for Family Physicians.(Family Medicine Updates)
March 1, 2006... In addition to its regular 7-year recertification process, in 2004 the American Board of Family Medicine (ABFM) began the implementation of its Maintenance of Certification for Family Physicians (MC-FP). The roll out of MC-FP was designed to...

Aligning the interests of osteopathic and allopathic teachers of family medicine.
March 1, 2006... "Integrating osteopathic training into family practice residencies has the potential of adding depth to any family practice residency program." (1) "To survive as a unique medical entity, the osteopathic profession must curtail the ongoing...

Keeping our eye on the ball: managing the evolution of electronic health records.
March 1, 2006... The AAFP's leadership regarding Electronic Health Records (EHRs) has been impressive. As the Future of Family Medicine report underscored, EHRs include not only clinical information systems but also scheduling, billing and other...

In this issue: glimpses of a transformed model of care.(Editorial)
March 1, 2006... Ann Fam Med 2006;4:98-100. DOI:10.1370/afm.545. TRANSITIONING TO A NEW MODEL OF HEALTH CARE The Future of Family Medicine Report (1) calls for a New Model of care (2) that is grounded in timeless values of personalized,...