Annals of family medicine
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Annals of family medicine · Sep 2024
Digital Innovation to Grow Quality Care Through an Interprofessional Care Team (DIG IT) Among Underserved Patients With Hypertension.
The impact of digital health on medically underserved patients is unclear. This study aimed to determine the early impact of a digital innovation to grow quality care through an interprofessional care team (DIG IT) on the blood pressure (BP) and 10-year atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) risk score of medically underserved patients. ⋯ The DIG IT was more effective than controls (receiving usual care). Twofold improvement in the BP readings and ASCVD scores in medically underserved patients were achieved with DIG IT.
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Annals of family medicine · Sep 2024
Observational StudyEvaluation of the Importance of Capsule Transparency in Dry Powder Inhalation Devices.
The aim of this work is to test whether the use of a transparent capsule affects the residual capsule weight after inhalation as a surrogate of the inhaled delivered dose for patients with non-reversible chronic airway disease. Researchers conducted an observational cross-sectional study with patients using a single-dose dry powder inhaler. ⋯ Inhalation with a transparent capsule achieved a weight decrease of 30.1% vs 8.6% for devices with an opaque capsule (P <0.001). These data reinforce the need to provide patients with mechanisms that verify the correct inhalation technique.
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Annals of family medicine · Sep 2024
A Few Doctors Will See Some of You: The Critical Role of Underrepresented in Medicine (URiM) Family Physicians in the Care of Medicaid Beneficiaries.
Despite being key to better health outcomes for patients from racial and ethnic minority groups, the proportion of underrepresented in medicine (URiM) physicians remains low in the US health care system. This study linked a nationally representative sample of family physicians (FPs) with Medicaid claims data to explore the relative contributions to care of Medicaid populations by FP race and ethnicity. ⋯ These findings clearly show the critical role URiM FPs play in caring for Medicaid beneficiaries, suggesting physician race and ethnicity are correlated with Medicaid participation. Diversity in the health care workforce is essential for addressing racial health inequities. Policies need to address problems in pathways to medical education, including failures to recruit, nurture, and retain URiM students.
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Annals of family medicine · Sep 2024
Family Medicine Presence on Labor and Delivery: Effect on Safety Culture and Cesarean Delivery.
Currently, 40% of counties in the United States do not have an obstetrician or midwife, and in rural areas the likelihood of childbirth being attended to by a family medicine (FM) physician is increasing. We sought to characterize the effect of the FM presence on unit culture and a key perinatal quality metric in Iowa hospital intrapartum units. ⋯ Birthing hospitals staffed exclusively by FM physicians were more likely to have lower cesarean rates and stronger nursing-rated safety culture. Both access and quality of care provide strong arguments for reinforcing the pipeline of FM physicians training in intrapartum care.
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Annals of family medicine · Sep 2024
Family Medicine Resident Scholarly Activity Infrastructure, Output, and Dissemination: A CERA Survey.
Meeting scholarly activity requirements continues to be a challenge in many family medicine (FM) residency programs. Studies comprehensively describing FM resident scholarship have been limited. We sought to identify institutional factors associated with increased scholarly output and meeting requirements of the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME). ⋯ These findings suggest the need for codified ACGME requirements for scholarly activity infrastructure to ensure access to resources in FM residency programs. By fostering FM resident engagement in scholarly activity, programs help to create a culture of inquiry, and address discrepancies in funding and output among FM residency programs.