The Journal of family practice
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It is commonly believed that doctor's office visits for upper respiratory tract infections (URTI) occur too often given the self-limited nature of such illnesses. However, the frequency of visits for URTIs has not been well studied. We examined how often a large population of adults visited doctors when they had a cold, the degree to which they engaged in self care, and the characteristics of those seeking care. ⋯ The majority of adults do not visit a doctor when they have a cold, and most engage in self care. Illness severity, and its impact on patients and their families, seems to influence the decision to seek care.
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Eye patching is commonly recommended for treating corneal abrasions. This advice seems based more on anecdotes or disease-oriented evidence theorizing that there is faster healing or less pain when the eye is patched. This meta-analysis was performed to determine if eye patching is a useful treatment for corneal abrasions. ⋯ Eye patching was not found to improve healing rates or reduce pain in patients with corneal abrasions. Given the theoretical harm of loss of binocular vision and possible increased pain, we recommend the route of harmless nonintervention in treating corneal abrasions.
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While lower-extremity amputation (LEA) is a frequent complication of diabetes, effective strategies for the prevention of LEA in primary care settings have not been extensively studied. ⋯ The customization and systematic implementation of practice guidelines by local primary care providers was associated with improved diabetic foot care outcomes. SDM has relevance to primary care organizations seeking to improve outcomes for patients with diabetes.
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Little is known about the accuracy of family physicians' use of the Current procedural Terminology (CPT) coding scheme for office visits, despite increased administrative oversight of Medicare billing practices. In addition, the patient and visit characteristics that are associated with over- and undercoding are not well understood. ⋯ Family physicians are generally accurate in their billing procedures. The findings on patient and visit characteristics associated with over- or undercoding may be used by practicing clinicians to enhance the accuracy of their coding and billing procedures.