Author Interviews, Primary Care, Race/Ethnic Diversity / 19.10.2014

Arjumand Siddiqi, Sc.D., Assistant Professor Departments of Epidemiology and Social and Behavioral Sciences Dalla Lana School of Public Health University of Toronto Toronto, Ontario CanadaMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Arjumand Siddiqi, Sc.D., Assistant Professor Departments of Epidemiology and Social and Behavioral Sciences Dalla Lana School of Public Health University of Toronto Toronto, Ontario Canada MedicalResearch: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Siddiqi: The main finding of the study is that, in a society with universal health insurance (Canada), racial disparities in access to primary care are drastically reduced, with some important exceptions. (more…)
Author Interviews, Brigham & Women's - Harvard, Compliance, Kidney Disease, Primary Care / 20.08.2014

Mallika L. Mendu, M.D. Division of Renal Medicine Brigham and Women’s Hospital Boston, MA 02115.MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Mallika L. Mendu, M.D. Division of Renal Medicine Brigham and Women’s Hospital Boston, MA 02115. Medical Research: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Mendu: Our study found that implementation of a chronic kidney disease (CKD) checklist, a tool that succinctly and clearly outlines CKD management guidelines, in a primary care clinic improved adherence to a number of significant management guidelines. We conducted a prospective study during a one year period among 13 primary care providers, four of whom were assigned to use a CKD checklist incorporated into the electronic medical record during visits with patients with CKD. Patients whose providers utilized a CKD checklist had higher rates of adherence to annual albuminuria testing, parathyroid hormone testing, phosphate testing, achieving a hemoglobin A1c target<7, documentation of avoidance of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, use of an angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor or angiotensin-receptor blocker and vaccination for annual influenza and 5-year pneumococcus. (more…)
Addiction, Author Interviews, JAMA / 06.08.2014

Dr. Richard Saitz MD MPH Department of Community Health Sciences Boston University School of Public Health Boston, Massachusetts MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. Richard Saitz MD MPH Department of Community Health Sciences Boston University School of Public Health Boston, Massachusetts Medical Research: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Saitz: We found that brief counseling interventions had no efficacy for reducing the frequency of illicit drug use or drug use consequences among primary care patients identified by screening as using drugs. (more…)
Author Interviews, Hospital Readmissions, JAMA, Surgical Research / 24.06.2014

Benjamin S. Brooke, M.D., Ph.D. Assistant Professor of Surgery Division of Vascular Surgery University of Utah School of MedicineMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Benjamin S. Brooke, M.D., Ph.D. Assistant Professor of Surgery Division of Vascular Surgery University of Utah School of Medicine MedicalResearch: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Brooke: This study was designed to evaluate whether high-risk surgical patients who visit a primary care provider (PCP) during the early period following hospital discharge are less likely to be readmitted within 30-days.  We examined this question by performing a retrospective cohort analysis of Medicare beneficiaries (2003-2010) who underwent a high risk surgery (open thoracic aortic aneurysm repair) as well as a control group of patients who underwent a lower risk surgical procedure (open ventral hernia repair), and then determining whether there was evidence of early PCP follow-up. In risk-adjusted analyses, we found that early primary care provider-follow-up was associated with a significant lower likelihood of 30-day readmission for high-risk patients undergoing open thoracic aortic aneurysm repair, particularly if a post-operative complication had occurred.  In comparison, early primary care provider follow-up did not have a significant effect on lowering readmissions in uncomplicated patients and those undergoing lower-risk operations such as ventral hernia repair. (more…)
Author Interviews, Breast Cancer, General Medicine / 29.05.2014

Alai Tan, MD, PhD Assistant Professor Institute for Translational Science Dept. of Preventive Medicine & Community Health University of Texas Medical BranchMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Alai Tan, MD, PhD Assistant Professor Institute for Translational Science Dept. of Preventive Medicine & Community Health University of Texas Medical Branch MedicalResearch: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Tan: We found that substantial proportions of women with limited life expectancy receive screening mammography. The screening rates were higher among women who saw more than one generalist physician and who had more visits to generalist physicians. The screening rates were higher among U.S. hospital referral regions with more primary care physicians, mammography facilities and radiologists. (more…)
Author Interviews, Cost of Health Care / 27.11.2013

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Thomas D. Sequist, MD, MPH, of Atrius Health MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Thomas D. Sequist, MD, MPH, Atrius Health MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Sequist: Our study, the Impact of Cost Displays on Primary Care Physician Laboratory Test Ordering published in the Journal of General Internal Medicine found that when the costs of certain lab tests were displayed electronically in real time, the rate at which physicians ordered tests decreased. It was conducted among 215 primary care physicians working for Atrius Health, an alliance of six non-profit medical groups and a home health and hospice agency in Massachusetts, where an integrated electronic health record system is used.  Physicians in the intervention group received real-time information on laboratory costs for 27 individual tests when they placed their electronic orders, while the control group did not. What we found was a significant decrease in the ordering rates of both high and low cost range tests by physicians to whom the costs of the tests were displayed electronically in real-time. This included a decrease in ordering rates for four of the 21 lower cost laboratory tests, and one of six higher cost laboratory tests. In addition, physicians were generally very receptive to the intervention. A majority (81 percent) reported that the exercise increased their knowledge regarding costs of care and requesting real-time cost information on an expanded set of health care services. (more…)
Addiction, CMAJ, JAMA, Pharmacology, Primary Care / 19.09.2013

Richard Saitz, MD MPH Professor of Medicine and Epidemiology Boston University Schools of Medicine and Public Health Clinical Addiction Research and Education Unit, Boston Medical Center, Boston, MassachusettsMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Richard Saitz, MD MPH Professor of Medicine and Epidemiology Boston University Schools of Medicine and Public Health Clinical Addiction Research and Education Unit, Boston Medical Center, Boston, Massachusetts MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Saitz: Chronic care management in primary care did not improve health outcomes (abstinence from cocaine, opioids or heavy drinking; or any other clinical outcomes, like addiction consequences, emergency or hospital use, health-related quality of life, addiction severity) for people with alcohol or other drug dependence. (more…)
Primary Care / 15.08.2013

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. Richard Adair Medicine Clinic, 2800 Chicago Avenue South, #250, Minneapolis, MN 55407 MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Answer: Layperson "care guides" working in primary care offices can help chronic disease patients reach recommended care goals at a reasonable cost. (more…)