Journal of general internal medicine
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Given efforts to reduce opioid use, and because marijuana potentially offers a lower-risk alternative for treating chronic pain, there is interest in understanding the public health impact of marijuana legalization on opioid-related outcomes. ⋯ Our analysis does not support the supposition that access to marijuana lowers use of chronic opioids for pain.
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This study examines the use of career ladders for medical assistants (MAs) in primary care practices as a mechanism for increasing wages and career opportunity for MAs. A growing body of research on primary care suggests that successful expansion of support staff roles such as MAs may have positive organizational and quality of care outcomes, but little is known about worker outcomes. ⋯ Investing in career ladders in primary care clinics can improve MA job quality while also potentially addressing issues of equity, efficiency, and quality in the health care sector.
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Because many hospitals have no mechanism for written translation, ED providers resort to the use of automated translation software, such as Google Translate (GT) for patient instructions. A recent study of discharge instructions in Spanish and Chinese suggested that accuracy rates of Google Translate (GT) were high. ⋯ GT for discharge instructions in the ED is inconsistent between languages and should not be relied on for patient instructions.
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Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, telemedicine (TM) experiences in undergraduate medical education were uncommon. When students' clinical experiences were interrupted due to the pandemic, TM education provided opportunities for students to participate in clinical care while adhering to social distancing guidelines. ⋯ The extent to which TM was used in the IM clinical clerkship, and across clinical clerkships, increased substantially when medical students were removed from in-person clinical duties as a response to COVID-19. When students returned to in-person clinical duties, experiences in TM continued, suggesting the continued value of TM as part of the formal education of students during the medicine clerkship. Curricula and faculty development will be needed to support TM education.
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Letter Randomized Controlled Trial
Addressing Resident Retention of Musculoskeletal Skills, Knowledge, and Confidence: a Randomized Controlled Study of a Clinic Intervention.