Journal of general internal medicine
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Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study
Electronic versus dictated hospital discharge summaries: a randomized controlled trial.
Patient care transitions are periods of enhanced risk. Discharge summaries have been used to communicate essential information between hospital-based physicians and primary care physicians (PCPs), and may reduce rates of adverse events after discharge. ⋯ An EDS program can be used by housestaff to more easily create hospital discharge summaries, and there was no difference in PCP satisfaction.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study
Disclosing medical errors to patients: it's not what you say, it's what they hear.
There is consensus that patients should be told if they are injured by medical care. However, there is little information on how they react to different methods of disclosure. ⋯ Patients will probably respond more favorably to physicians who apologize and accept responsibility for medical errors than those who do not apologize or give ambiguous responses. Patient perceptions of what is said may be more important than what is actually said. Desire to sue may not be affected despite a full apology and acceptance of responsibility.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study Comparative Study
The effect of patient race and blood pressure control on patient-physician communication.
Racial disparities in hypertension control contribute to higher rates of cardiovascular mortality among blacks. Patient-physician communication quality is associated with better health outcomes, including blood pressure (BP) control. Both race/ethnicity and BP control may adversely affect communication. ⋯ This study reveals that patient race is associated with the quality of patient-physician communication to a greater extent than BP control. Interventions that improve patient-physician communication should be tested as a strategy to reduce racial disparities in hypertension care and outcomes.
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The demand for oncology services in the United States (US) is increasing, whereas a shortage of oncologists looms. There is the need for a better understanding of the involvement of primary care physicians (PCPs) in cancer care. ⋯ PCPs across the US have an active role in cancer patient management. Determining the optimal interface between PCPs and oncologists in delivering and coordinating cancer care is an important area for future research.
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Comparative Study
Race/ethnicity and risk of AIDS and death among HIV-infected patients with access to care.
Prior studies evaluating racial/ethnic differences in responses to antiretroviral therapy (ART) among HIV-infected patients have not adequately accounted for many potential confounders, and few have included Hispanic patients. ⋯ In the setting of similar access to care, we did not observe a disparity for the risk of clinical events for racial/ethnic minorities, despite lower ART adherence.