Annals of Family Medicine articles from September 2004

Annals of Family Medicine archives from September 2004

In this issue: the patient-clinician relationship and practice-based network research.(Editorial)(Editorial)
September 1, 2004... Practice-based research networks (PBRNs) are emerging as the essential laboratory for the generation of new knowledge that is relevant to the types of problems and patients seen in primary care practice. This expanded issue features 9 PBRN...

Continuity, care, and commitment: the course of patient-clinician relationships.(Editorial)(Editorial)
September 1, 2004... The day-to-day tasks of family medicine are accomplished through the interaction of patient and clinician during a visit, the "essential unit of medical practice." (1) Coursing like a river underneath these discrete visits, however, is the...

Prevalence and predictors of night sweats, day sweats, and hot flashes in older primary care patients: an OKPRN study.
September 1, 2004... ABSTRACT PURPOSE We wanted to estimate the prevalence of night sweats, day sweats, and hot flashes in older primary care patients and identify associated factors. METHODS We undertook a cross-sectional study of patients older than 64...

Comfortably engaging: which approach to alcohol screening should we use?
September 1, 2004... ABSTRACT PURPOSE We wanted to compare 2 screening instruments for problem drinking, the CAGE and a single question, assessing frequency of use, patient and clinician comfort, and patient engagement in change. METHODS The study was a...

How many problems do family physicians manage at each encounter? A WReN study.
September 1, 2004... ABSTRACT PURPOSE The number of problems managed concurrently by family physicians during patient encounters has not been fully explored despite the implications for quality assessment, guideline implementation, education, research,...

Seasonal variation in diagnoses and visits to family physicians.
September 1, 2004... ABSTRACT BACKGROUND Practice-based research networks (PBRNs) replicating the National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (NAMCS) must sample more than 1 year to account for presumed seasonal variation in illnesses. This study evaluated the...

Evaluating computer capabilities in a primary care practice-based research network.
September 1, 2004... ABSTRACT PURPOSE We wanted to assess computer capabilities in a primary care practice-based research network and to understand how receptive the practices were to new ideas for automation of practice activities and research. METHOD...

Exploring patient reactions to pen-tablet computers: a report from CaReNet.
September 1, 2004... ABSTRACT PURPOSE We wanted to study patient receptivity to using pen-tablet computers for collecting data in a practice-based research network. METHODS We analyzed exit interviews and field notes collected by trained research...

How and why to study the practice content of a practice-based research network.
September 1, 2004... ABSTRACT BACKGROUND We describe the rationale, methods, and important lessons learned from doing a practice content study in a new practice-based research network (PBRN). METHODS We performed a modified replication of the National...

Opportunities, challenges, and lessons of international research in practice-based research networks: the case of an international study of acute otitis media.
September 1, 2004... ABSTRACT The requirements of research become more complex and demanding in international collaborations. The opportunity to study naturally occurring variation in treatment prompted networking primary care research networks in the United...

Rapid assessment of agents of biological terrorism: defining the differential diagnosis of inhalational anthrax using electronic communication in a practice-based research network.
September 1, 2004... ABSTRACT PURPOSE Early detection of bioterrorism requires assessment of diagnoses assigned to cases of rare diseases with which clinicians have little experience. In this study, we evaluated the process of defining the differential...

The primary care differential diagnosis of inhalational anthrax.
September 1, 2004... ABSTRACT PURPOSE Inhalational anthrax is an extremely rare infectious disease with nonspecific initial symptoms, thus making diagnosis on clinical grounds difficult. After a covert release of anthrax spores, primary care physicians will be...

Interpersonal continuity of care and patient satisfaction: a critical review.
September 1, 2004... ABSTRACT PURPOSE We wanted to review the medical literature regarding the relationship between interpersonal continuity of care and patient satisfaction and suggest future strategies for research on this topic. METHODS A search of the...

Patient-physician shared experiences and value patients place on continuity of care.
September 1, 2004... ABSTRACT PURPOSE We undertook a study to examine the impact of experiences shared between patient and physician and the value patients place on continuity of care. METHODS Data on 4,454 patients collected in The Direct Observation of...

Physician-patient relationship and medication compliance: a primary care investigation.
September 1, 2004... ABSTRACT PURPOSE We assessed the relationship between 4 attributes of the physician-patient relationship and medication compliance. METHODS We conducted a waiting room survey of patients consulting 22 general practitioners in 14...

Patients' needs for contact with their GP at the time of hospital admission and other life events: a quantitative and qualitative exploration.
September 1, 2004... ABSTRACT PURPOSE Our goal was to explore patients' anticipated needs for contact with their general practitioner (GP) at the time of hospital admissions and other life events. METHODS We undertook a questionnaire survey of 875 patients...

Should years of schooling be used to guide treatment of coronary risk factors?
September 1, 2004... ABSTRACT PURPOSE We wanted to compare the risk of death from coronary heart disease (CHD) for patients of low socioeconomic status, measured by educational level, with established risk factors. METHODS We undertook a prospective cohort...

Brief physician advice for high-risk drinking among young adults.
September 1, 2004... ABSTRACT BACKGROUND High-risk alcohol use in persons 18 to 30 years of age is a critical public health problem. It is the number 1 cause of death in this population. This article reports the results of a subanalysis of young adults (aged...

Age-related disparities in cancer screening: analysis of 2001 behavioral risk factor surveillance system data.
September 1, 2004... ABSTRACT PURPOSE Although few studies have explored age-related health care disparities, some researchers have asserted such disparities uniformly disfavor the elderly and are largely attributable to ageism in the health care system. We...

Changing prescribing patterns and increasing prescription expenditures in Medicaid.
September 1, 2004... ABSTRACT PURPOSE Prescription drug expenditures are the most rapidly growing component of total health care expenditures and particularly affect state Medicaid programs. We determined the extent to which increasing prescription price and...

Impact of an evidence-based computerized decision support system on primary care prescription costs.
September 1, 2004... ABSTRACT PURPOSE Although newer, heavily promoted medications are commonly prescribed, published evidence and consensus guidelines often support the use of less expensive alternatives. This study was designed to evaluate the impact on...

The spirituality index of well-being: a new instrument for health-related quality-of-life research.
September 1, 2004... ABSTRACT PURPOSE Despite considerable interest in examining spirituality in health-related quality-of-life studies, there is a paucity of instruments that measure this construct. The objective of this study was to test a valid and reliable...

Adapting psychosocial intervention research to urban primary care environments: a case example.
September 1, 2004... ABSTRACT PURPOSE We wanted to describe the unique issues encountered by our research team in testing an intervention to reduce perinatal depression in real-world community health centers. METHOD We used a case study of an experience in...

Towards a new understanding of provider continuity.(Reflections)
September 1, 2004... ABSTRACT Provider continuity is in need of an expanded definition that is not exclusively clinician centered. Currently, provider continuity is defined by visits over time to the same clinician. Many patients and informal caregivers,...

Linking Ruth to her past.(Reflections)(longterm physician patient relationship)
September 1, 2004... ABSTRACT A family physician shares the story of her 3-decade-long relationship with a patient and the strong ties that they formed. Although she was taught to keep emotionally distant from her patients in order to maintain the best...

Questions, interpretation, exhortation.(On Track)(summary of online discussion of previous issue)
September 1, 2004... The very thoughtful online discussion since the last issue represents 3 themes: questions, interpretation, and exhortation. QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS Dietrich commends Roetzheim and colleagues (1) for sharing the specific tools that made...

Correction.(Correction Notice)
September 1, 2004... The list of members of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) for the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) recommendation statement on screening for syphilis infection was out-of-date (U.S. Preventive Services Task Force....

STFM takes its faculty development workshop series on the road.(Family Medicine Updates)(Society of Teachers of Family Medicine)
September 1, 2004... The Society of Teachers of Family Medicine is pleased to announce an exciting new faculty development offering in Chicago, Ill, this fall. On November 20, 2004, STFM will take its successful Faculty Development Series workshop to Loyola...

This year's conference on patient education to feature comedy legend Jerry Lewis!(Family Medicine Updates)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... Comedy legend Jerry Lewis will give the opening plenary address on Friday, November 12, 2004, at the Conference on Patient Education in San Francisco, Calif. Mr. Lewis will share the experience of his lifelong battle with pain and most...

Make plans to attend one or all of STFM's Conferences in 2005!(Family Medicine Updates)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... Visit http://www.stfm.org for details about these upcoming conferences: 31st Annual Predoctoral Education Conference January 27-30, 2005 Hyatt Regency Albuquerque Albuquerque, NM 25th Anniversary Conference on Families...

Obesity and departments of family medicine.(Family Medicine Updates)
September 1, 2004... Obesity is a national problem and one of great concern to many family medicine departments. That's scarcely surprising given that an epidemic like obesity is unlikely to be affected by a traditional medical treatment model. Reducing obesity...

Promoting scholarly activity in family medicine residency programs: what's the reward?(Family Medicine Updates)
September 1, 2004... Scholarly activity is an important component of family medicine education. The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME), through the Core Competencies, has introduced and required additional goals for residency programs....

Networks for new knowledge in family medicine.(Family Medicine Updates)
September 1, 2004... Gayle Stephens, MD, claimed that the research laboratory of family medicine must be the practice--it is both the source of our questions and the place where we must seek answers. (1) This belief is the basis for the formation and growth of...

Family doctors demonstrate benefits when new model of care becomes reality.(Family Medicine Updates)
September 1, 2004... When patients come first, all else will follow. In abundance. Weston Welker, MD, knows that. He watches it happen every day in his Southside Family Practice in Huntsville, Ala. Since implementing steps that have become the Future of Family...

New officers and board members elected.(Family Medicine Updates)
September 1, 2004... At its annual meeting, the American Board of Family Practice (ABFP) elected new officers to serve during the upcoming year. Each new officer has served as a Board member for at least 3 years in different capacities. Three new Board members were...