Annals of family medicine
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Annals of family medicine · Jul 2005
Stories from frequent attenders: a qualitative study in primary care.
Patients who make frequent office visits (frequent attenders) in primary care are often considered a major burden on resources, yet we know little about their perceptions and expectations. We wanted to explore how these patients viewed their rates of consultation, what they expected from the consultation, and how they perceived their relationship with the primary health care team. ⋯ The criteria held by family doctors and researchers regarding the appropriate rate of consultations in primary care may not be shared by patients who attend frequently. Such patients require family doctors to acknowledge their symptoms and to provide reassurance.
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Annals of family medicine · Jul 2005
Biography Historical ArticleDietrich receives Curtis G. Hames Research Award, call for new model papers.
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Annals of family medicine · May 2005
Multicenter StudyEvaluation of a quality improvement collaborative in asthma care: does it improve processes and outcomes of care?
We wanted to examine whether a collaborative to improve asthma care influences process and outcomes of care in asthmatic adults. ⋯ The intervention was associated with improved process-of-care measures that have been linked with better outcomes. Patients benefited through increased satisfaction with communication. Follow-up of patients who participated in the intervention may have been too brief to be able to detect significant improvement in health-related outcomes.
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Annals of family medicine · May 2005
Comorbidity and the use of primary care and specialist care in the elderly.
The impact of comorbidity on use of primary care and specialty services is poorly understood. The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between morbidity burden, comorbid conditions, and use of primary care and specialist services ⋯ In the elderly, a high morbidity burden leads to higher use of specialist physicians, but not primary care physicians, even for patients with common diagnoses not generally considered to require specialist care. This finding calls for a better understanding of the relative roles of generalists and specialists in the US health services system.