Preventive medicine
-
Preventive medicine · Feb 2004
Direct observation of physician counseling on dietary habits and exercise: patient, physician, and office correlates.
This study documented the frequency and correlates of directly observed physicians' counseling on dietary habits and exercise in private medical practices. ⋯ Physician counseled patients in 20-25% of visits, and this was not affected by physician characteristics. Results suggest that physician counseling protocols and other office prompts should be developed and promoted. Strategies targeting both physician and the health care system may improve the consistency of physician preventive counseling practices.
-
Preventive medicine · Feb 2004
Quality of care in stroke prevention: results of an audit study among general practitioners.
In identifying opportunities to improve the quality of stroke prevention in general practice, insight in areas of suboptimal care is essential. This study investigated the quality of care in stroke prevention in general practice and its relation to the occurrence of stroke. ⋯ A substantial number of shortcomings in care, particularly in the domain of hypertension control and the assessment of patient's risk profiles for cardiovascular disease (CVD), were identified. This study suggests that improving preventive care delivery in general practice could reduce the occurrence of stroke.