Annals of family medicine
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Annals of family medicine · Jul 2021
Primary Care Variation in Rates of Unplanned Hospitalizations, Functional Ability, and Quality of Life of Older People.
To investigate variability in older people's outcomes according to general practitioner (GP) and practice characteristics in New Zealand and the Netherlands. ⋯ In the absence of substantial differences in older people's function and QOL, it remains unclear whether intriguing GP- or practice-related variations in admission rates represent low- or high-quality practice.
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Annals of family medicine · Jul 2021
Implementation of Health-Related Social Needs Screening at Michigan Health Centers: A Qualitative Study.
Federally qualified health centers (FQHCs) are leaders in screening for and addressing patient's health-related social needs but variation exists in screening practices. This variation is relatively unexplored, particularly the influences of organizational and state policies. We employed a qualitative descriptive approach to study social needs screening practices at Michigan FQHCs to characterize screening processes and identify drivers of variation in screening implementation. ⋯ FQHCs placed value on the role of CHWs, on sustainable initiatives, and on funding to support continued social needs screening in primary care settings.
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Annals of family medicine · Jul 2021
Applying Lessons From Behavioral Health Integration to Social Care Integration in Primary Care.
Interest and incentives are increasing around strategies whereby the health care sector can better identify and address patients' social and economic needs in the context of primary care delivery. This interest is likely to accelerate during the economic recession following the OVID-19 pandemic. ⋯ Lessons learned from more than 2 decades of research on behavioral health integration could be applied to efforts to integrate social care into primary care. In this article, we synthesize learnings from primary care and behavioral health care integration, and translate them into organizing principles with the goal of advancing social care integration practices to improve the health of both patients and communities.
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Annals of family medicine · Jul 2021
Sandwiches, 6 Feet Apart: Reflections on Community (and Medical School) During COVID-19.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, medical students were removed from clinical clerkships. During this time of uncertainty, 4 clinical medical students at the University of Michigan returned to the community to support their neighbors experiencing homelessness. They did so by making brown bag lunches for people sleeping on the streets and acting as community volunteers in temporary shelters. Though formal education was stalled, they reconnected with the initial desire that led them to pursue medical education in the first place and developed key skills in communication, relating to others, and compassion that they believe will enable them to become better physicians in the future.
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When the immediate threat of COVID-19 subsides, the future of health care will involve more virtual care. Before the pandemic, patient choice rather than clinician guidance determined which medium (telephone visits, video visits, electronic messaging) was used to receive care. Two media synchronicity theory principles-conveyance and convergence-can create a framework for determining how to choose the right medium of care for the patient. The author describes how it changed their practice and decision making with a patient story that required the use of multiple virtual care options.