Annals of family medicine
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Annals of family medicine · May 2020
ReviewArtificial Intelligence and Primary Care Research: A Scoping Review.
Rapid increases in technology and data motivate the application of artificial intelligence (AI) to primary care, but no comprehensive review exists to guide these efforts. Our objective was to assess the nature and extent of the body of research on AI for primary care. ⋯ Research on AI for primary care is at an early stage of maturity. For the field to progress, more interdisciplinary research teams with end-user engagement and evaluation studies are needed.
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Annals of family medicine · May 2020
Primary Care Access to New Patient Appointments for California Medicaid Enrollees: A Simulated Patient Study.
We undertook a study to evaluate variation in the availability of primary care new patient appointments for Medi-Cal (California Medicaid) enrollees in Northern California, and its relationship to emergency department (ED) use after Medicaid expansion. ⋯ In contrast to findings from other states, access to primary care in Northern California was limited for new patient Medi-Cal enrollees and varied across counties, despite standard statewide reimbursement rates. Counties with more limited access to primary care new patient appointments had higher ED use by Medi-Cal enrollees.
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Firearm-related deaths are on the rise in the United States, especially among our youth. Tragically, proper firearm storage and safety could have prevented a great number of these deaths. Professional and public health organizations have thus encouraged physicians to provide direct patient counseling on firearm safety. ⋯ There may be many reasons for this, including concerns about liability, feeling unprepared, patient discomfort, and lack of time during office visits. Despite these concerns, we argue that physicians have an ethical obligation to discuss firearm safety with their patients. Making these discussions a part of routine clinical care would go a long way in the bipartisan effort to protect public safety and improve public health.
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In light of concerns over the potential detrimental effects of declining care continuity, and the need for connection between patients and health care providers, our multidisciplinary group considered the possible ways that relationships might be developed in different kinds of health care encounters. We were surprised to discover many avenues to invest in relationships, even in non-continuity consultations, and how meaningful human connections might be developed even in telehealth visits. Opportunities range from the quality of attention or the structure of the time during the visit, to supporting relationship development in how care is organized at the local or system level and in the use of digital encounters. ⋯ Recognizing and supporting the many ways of investing in relationships has great potential to create a positive sea change in a health care system that currently feels fragmented and depersonalized to both patients and health care clinicians. The current COVID-19 pandemic is full of opportunity to use remote communication to develop healing human relationships. What we need in a pandemic is not social distancing, but physical distancing with social connectedness.
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Annals of family medicine · May 2020
COVID-19: Notes From the Front Line, Singapore's Primary Health Care Perspective.
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a rapidly progressing global pandemic against which nations are struggling for containment. Singapore is known to have promptly instituted aggressive public health and containment measures. A key pillar sustaining this is the response of its primary health care network. ⋯ There are best practices for early isolation and containment of suspect cases while protecting health care workers and limiting cross infections that are transferable across nations. We describe our framework for how our primary care clinics respond to this pandemic in the hope others may find solutions to their unique needs. Moving forward, there is a pressing need for more studies to enhance our understanding of the response of primary care during these public health crises.