Family medicine
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Schools of medicine in the United States may overstate the placement of their graduates in primary care. The purpose of this project was to determine the magnitude by which primary care output is overestimated by commonly used metrics and identify a more accurate method for predicting actual primary care output. ⋯ A valid, reliable method of predicting primary care output is essential for workforce training and planning. Medical schools, administrators, policy makers, and popular press should adopt this new, more reliable primary care reporting method.
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Much can be gained by the three primary care disciplines collaborating on efforts to transform residency training toward interprofessional collaborative practice. We describe findings from a study designed to align primary care disciplines toward implementing interprofessional education. ⋯ Uniting the primary care disciplines toward educational and clinical transformation toward interprofessional collaborative practice is challenging to accomplish.
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The growing prevalence of obesity in the United States and globally highlights the need for innovative strategies to provide obesity treatment in primary care settings. This report describes and evaluates the Weight Management Program (WMP), an interprofessional program in an academic family medicine clinic delivering intensive behavioral therapy (IBT) following evidenced-based guidelines. ⋯ WMP provides one model for primary care practices to develop a financially sustainable and evidence-based behavioral therapy weight management program for their patients with obesity. Future work will include assessment of longer-term program benefits, quality metrics, and health care costs.
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Rates of injection drug use and associated medical complications have increased, yet engagement of persons who inject drugs (PWID) in primary care is limited, with significant barriers to care. Family physicians play an important role in caring for PWID, but residency training is limited. This study aimed to assess role responsibility, self-efficacy, and attitudes of family medicine residents in caring for PWID. ⋯ This study identifies gaps between provider responsibility and current graduate medical education training. We identified training that increases screening, harm reduction practices, and referrals to community resources as needs. This baseline assessment of family medicine residents can be used to develop educational interventions to meet regional and national health needs for harm reduction for PWID and workforce development.