Journal of general internal medicine
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Estimated life expectancy for older patients with diabetes informs decisions about treatment goals, cancer screening, long-term and advanced care, and inclusion in clinical trials. Easily implementable, evidence-based, diabetes-specific approaches for identifying patients with limited life expectancy are needed. ⋯ LEAD estimates life expectancy in older adults with diabetes based on only 11 patient characteristics widely available in most EHRs and claims data. LEAD is simple and has potential application for shared decision-making, clinical trial inclusion, and resource allocation.
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Lack of experienced faculty to supervise internal medicine (IM) residents is a significant barrier to establishing a medical procedure service (MPS). ⋯ A chief resident-led MPS is a practical and safe approach for IM residency programs to establish an MPS when experienced attending physicians are unavailable.
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Ambulatory care sensitive conditions (ACSCs) are acute or chronic health issues that lead to potentially preventable hospitalizations when not treated in the outpatient primary care setting. ⋯ Previous studies have emphasized the importance of preventable hospitalizations, however, the national rates for ACSC hospitalizations across all ages in the US have not been reported. The national rates presented will facilitate comparisons to identify hospitals and health care systems with higher-than-expected rates of ACSC admissions that may suggest a need for improved primary care services.
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Optimizing patients' access to primary care is critically important but challenging. In a national survey, we asked primary care providers and staff to rate specific care processes as access management challenges and assessed whether clinics with more of these challenges had worse access outcomes. ⋯ Findings show a strong relationship between higher levels of access management challenges and worse patient perceptions of access. Addressing access management challenges, particularly those associated with call center communication, may be an actionable path for improved patient experience.
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Healthcare systems that previously used either a single legacy electronic health record (EHR) system or a "best-of-breed" combination of products from multiple vendors are increasingly adopting integrated, single-vendor EHR systems. Though healthcare leaders are beginning to recognize the dramatic collateral consequences of these transitions, their impact on the EHR workforce - internal actors most closely involved in governing and supporting the EHR - is poorly understood. ⋯ Transitions to integrated EHR systems can have important implications for the autonomy and professional functions of the EHR workforce. These findings may help institutions embarking on similar transitions better anticipate and prepare for these changes through such practices as revising job descriptions, strengthening EHR governance structures, and reinforcing pathways to engage frontline clinicians in supporting the EHR. Findings may also help institutions structure vendor contracts in a way that anticipates and mitigates loss of autonomy.