Journal of General Internal Medicine最新文献

Background: Weight bias is characterised by negative attitudes towards people with a higher weight and is widespread in healthcare. Primary care professionals sometimes avoid discussing weight with patients due to concerns about upsetting them, insufficient training, resources, or referral pathways. There is, however, a responsibility for primary care professionals to address the health needs of patients, which may require discussing weight.

Objective: The current study aimed to understand primary care professionals and trainee perceptions of the appropriateness of weight-centric, weight-inclusive/holistic, and avoidant approaches for discussing weight with higher weight individuals when patients were and were not seeking weight management advice.

Design: Mixed methods design.

Participants: Primary care professionals and trainees (N = 112) within Australia.

Approach: Participants first completed an online survey and provided demographic data and completed measures of implicit and explicit weight bias. Secondly, participants viewed simulated patient consultations, reflecting each of the three approaches (weight-centric, weight-inclusive/holistic, and avoidant) in a weight-related and non-weight related context. Participants then evaluated the appropriateness of the language and strategies used.

Key results: The participants showed, on average, low to moderate levels of explicit weight bias but high levels of implicit weight bias. For the consultations, language and strategies of the holistic approach were considered the most appropriate in both contexts. In the weight-related consultation, language used in the weight-centric and avoidant approaches were deemed equally inappropriate. However, weight-centric strategies were considered more appropriate than avoidant strategies. In the non-weight related consultation, the language and strategies of the avoidant approach were considered more appropriate than those of the weight-centric approach.

Conclusions: Primary care professionals and trainees favoured the holistic approach to discussing weight when patients presented with weight-related or non-weight related concerns. These findings have potential practical implications for health professional education.

Background: Observation stays in Medicare have grown over the last 15 years, yet limited research exists on how observation may impact outcomes for older adults.

Objective: To examine the relationship of an observation stay with 30-day hospital returns, total acute care days post-discharge, mortality, and out-of-pocket costs, compared to an inpatient admission.

Design: Retrospective cohort study using instrumental variable analysis.

Participants: A 20% sample of US Medicare beneficiaries admitted to acute care with a length of stay < 5 days between 2009 and 2019.

Interventions: Observation stay vs inpatient admission.

Main measures: Unplanned hospital return within 30 days, total 30-day post-discharge acute care days, 30-day mortality, and 30-day acute care out-of-pocket spending.

Key results: A total of 3,958,377 hospitalizations met study criteria, of which 1,656,631 (42%) were observation stays and 2,301,746 (58%) were inpatient admissions. Compared to inpatient admissions, observation stays were associated with a 4.39 percentage point (95% confidence interval [CI] 3.56%, 5.22%) higher rate of 30-day unplanned hospital returns, but no difference in total 30-day post-discharge acute care days (difference - 0.02 days; 95% CI - 0.08, 0.03), no difference in 30-day mortality (difference 0.20 percentage points; 95% CI 0.00, 0.40), and lower 30-day out-of-pocket costs (difference - $552; 95% CI - $561, - $542).

Conclusions: Among Medicare beneficiaries hospitalized for fewer than 5 days, observation stay was associated with higher rates of 30-day unplanned hospital returns compared to inpatient admission. However, we simultaneously observed lower out-of-pocket costs among those hospitalized under an observation stay. The mixed results suggest that additional research and engagement with relevant parties is needed to optimize observation stay policy.

Medical education continues to evolve with technologic advances, cultural changes, and progress in the application of learning theories. One example is Cutrer's concept of the Master Adaptive Learner (MAL), where the trainee self-directs learning and innovates to maintain a level of expertise in a domain. We suggest that this concept can be applied alongside ideas of adaptive and teacher expertise to represent the medical educator of the future-the Master Adaptive Clinician Educator (MACE). The MACE is a clinician-educator leader who has specific medical education training, actively engages in ongoing education-focused skills development, and creates innovative approaches to teaching. The MACE reflects and continuously develops an educational toolbox, applies lessons from learning theories, and appropriately adapts to various learning environments. In this manuscript, we build upon recent publications outlining roles and competencies of clinician-educators by applying the MAL model; we propose a dynamic, adaptable, and well-trained expert educator who is best poised to lead future generations of medical trainees. We challenge institutional leaders and national societies to take the lead in creating structures to support the growth and promotion of MACEs with the goal of positively reshaping medical education and the clinician educator.

Rural America faces an alarming obesity crisis, with residents experiencing significantly higher rates of obesity due to socioeconomic disparities, limited access to healthcare, and structural challenges such as food deserts and insufficient healthcare infrastructure. This perspective addresses these pressing issues by proposing targeted, evidence-based interventions to reduce obesity in rural communities. Our recommendations include (1) increasing the number of multidisciplinary healthcare professionals in rural areas through initiatives such as the Rural Medical Scholars Program, the Rural Community Loan Repayment Program, and the Conrad 30 Waiver Program; (2) expanding coverage for essential obesity services via H.R. 1577, the Treat and Reduce Obesity Act, to alleviate financial barriers to treatment, including intensive behavioral therapy and pharmacotherapy; and (3) leveraging community-based programs, including the National Rural Obesity and Chronic Disease Initiative, the CDC's High Obesity Program, and the Delta Body and Soul initiative, to improve access to healthy foods and promote physical activity through local collaborations, education, and infrastructure enhancements. By implementing these comprehensive strategies, we aim to make obesity treatments and healthy lifestyle choices more accessible, ultimately reducing obesity rates, improving health outcomes, and enhancing the overall quality of life for rural residents across the USA.

Background: Guidelines currently recommend annual screening for albuminuria only among persons with diabetes mellitus (DM). There is no guidance about albuminuria screening in those with other important risk factors for chronic kidney disease (CKD), such as hypertension and/or family history of kidney disease. We sought to create a risk score that predicts the likelihood of albuminuria in adults without diabetes to prompt earlier detection and management of CKD.

Methods: Data from 44,322 participants without diabetes, aged 18 + years from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys 1999-2020 were analyzed. Survey-weighted logistic regression was used to assess associations between individual characteristics and presence of albuminuria (urinary albumin to creatinine ratio [UACR] ≥ 30 mg/g), including interaction terms, in three separate models. The sample was divided equally into development and validation data sets. C-statistics were used to assess model fit.

Results: The prevalence of albuminuria was 9.7% in the US adult population. Higher odds of albuminuria among the non-diabetic population were observed in females, non-Hispanic Black, and smokers, as well as those with low eGFR, hypertension, cardiovascular disease, prediabetes, low HDL cholesterol, and high uric acid levels. Age showed a J-shaped relationship with albuminuria, with lowest odds for ages 25-64 years. The C-statistic was 0.756 for the developmental and 0.752 for the validation set of the final model. Using this model, screening individuals with a predicted probability of ≥ 5% would capture 85% of individuals with albuminuria.

Conclusions: These results suggest that it may be helpful to use a risk score framework for albuminuria screening in people without DM to encourage earlier detection and management of CKD. Longitudinal studies are warranted to confirm this approach along with evaluation of its cost effectiveness.

Objective: We measured physicians' (1) perceived importance of having access to social determinants of health (SDOH) data received from external providers in the electronic health record (EHR); (2) internal SDOH documentation practices in the EHR, including whether physicians document SDOH in a structured format that may facilitate use; and (3) use of EHR SDOH data to identify community resources and make referrals on behalf of patients.

Approach: We conducted a secondary analysis of two national physician surveys.

Participants: Respondents from the American Board of Family Medicine Recertification Survey (ABFM, n = 4040), a survey of family physicians fielded 2021-2022, and the National Physician Health IT Survey (NPHIT, n = 3006), a survey of outpatient physicians across specialty areas fielded in 2022.

Key results: Under half of physicians felt that SDOH data were very important (ABFM: 44.8%, NPHIT: 30.8%). Although most physicians documented SDOH in the EHR (ABFM: 72%, NPHIT: 63.3%), fewer used structured documentation methods (ABFM: 56.3%, NPHIT: 33.2%). In both surveys, physicians who participated in value-based care initiatives, those for whom > 10% of their patient population was considered vulnerable, and those who felt that their clinic had the resources to address patients' social needs had higher likelihood of documenting SDOH. Sixty-two percent of family physicians reported using SDOH data for identifying resources and making referrals.

Conclusions: In 2022, most physicians documented SDOH data in their EHR, yet fewer used structured methods, limiting data exchange opportunities to address patients' social needs. Under half of physicians considered access to external SDOH data to be "very" important, suggesting greater reliance on data collected internally and missed opportunities to identify patients who need support. Variation in perceived importance of SDOH data access and SDOH documentation by physician characteristics indicate opportunities to support adoption of structured documentation tools facilitating SDOH data capture and exchange to improve patient-centered care.

The 1984 National Organ Transplant Act (NOTA) saw to the establishment of a national Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (OPTN). As envisaged by the law's congressional sponsors, the Secretary of the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) was to institute a "central registry linking donors and potential recipients." In addition, the Secretary was to see to the institution of a "scientific registry of organ recipients" as well as "designate and maintain an identifiable unit in the Public Health Service to coordinate Federal organ transplant programs and policies." Forty years later, over 103,000 patients remain on the organ transplant waiting list for an average of 3-5 years during which time 17 die every day. It is against this backdrop that the Senate Committee on Finance (SCF) launched a sustained inquiry in 2020 with an eye towards assessing the status quo and potential remedies thereof. A Health Resources & Services Administration (HRSA) Modernization Initiative followed suit in March 2023. In this Perspective, we review the state of OPTN, discuss its recent oversight by the SCF, and describe its future reform as conceived and enunciated by HRSA.

Background: Multitarget stool DNA (mt-sDNA) is an increasingly utilized noninvasive option for colorectal cancer screening; however, its impact is limited by imperfect test adherence. Tailored patient navigation (TPN) improves adherence for other cancer screening tests, but its role in mt-sDNA is not known.

Aim: Determine whether TPN improves mt-sDNA completion and reduces sample could not be processed (SCNBP) result rates.

Setting: A large, urban, academic primary care clinic serving a medically vulnerable population.

Participants: All patients who received mt-sDNA order in 2022 and 2023.

Program description: A patient navigator outreached all patients ordered mt-sDNA to support test completion during the 12-month intervention period in 2023.

Program evaluation: Rates of mt-sDNA completion within 90 days and SCNBP results were compared between the 12-month intervention and pre-intervention periods using generalized estimating equations. A total of 2694 patients received 3297 orders during the study. TPN was significantly associated with improved rates of 90-day mt-sDNA completion (51% vs. 39%, OR 1.67, p < .001) and SCNBP results (4% vs. 5%, OR 0.55, p < .001).

Discussion: Tailored patient navigation was associated with improved rates of mt-sDNA completion and SCNBP results despite built-in navigation services provided by the manufacturer. TPN for mt-sDNA is a promising strategy for enhancing colorectal cancer screening uptake.