Journal of general internal medicine
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Nonverbal communication plays a pivotal role in the provision of effective patient care and has been associated with important patient health outcomes. Clinician posture, a nonverbal form of communication, may influence the patient experience and satisfaction. The relationship between clinician posture (i.e., standing or at the patient's eye level) and patient perceptions of clinician communication in the hospital-a setting with heightened power dynamics between patient and clinician-is currently unknown. ⋯ PROSPERO, CRD42020199817.
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The available data on anticoagulation therapy in real-world primary care settings for atrial fibrillation (AF) patients at high risk of stroke is limited. ⋯ AF with high stroke risk adult patients are more likely to be on an oral anticoagulant if they are older, having BMI ≥ 25, or taking more than five medications. Medicare as the sole coverage, male gender, worse renal function, and higher CHA2DS2-VASc scores are factors associated with greater warfarin usage, while patients taking over five daily medications are more likely to be prescribed DOACs.
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Inpatients with impaired decision-making capacity may attempt to leave the hospital prematurely. When no surrogate decision-maker is available, clinical teams often lack a legal basis to keep these patients. ⋯ Clinicians need explicit legal authority to temporarily detain and treat incapacitated and unrepresented patients. Physician and hospital associations should lobby state legislatures to create new statutes for medical incapacity modeled after mental health laws.