Journal of general internal medicine
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Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study
Are electronic medical records helpful for care coordination? Experiences of physician practices.
Policies promoting widespread adoption of electronic medical records (EMRs) are premised on the hope that they can improve the coordination of care. Yet little is known about whether and how physician practices use current EMRs to facilitate coordination. ⋯ There is a gap between policy-makers' expectation of, and clinical practitioners' experience with, current electronic medical records' ability to support coordination of care. Policymakers could expand current health information technology policies to support assessment of how well the technology facilitates tasks necessary for coordination. By reforming payment policy to include care coordination, policymakers could encourage the evolution of EMR technology to include capabilities that support coordination, for example, allowing for inter-practice data exchange and multi-provider clinical decision support.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study Comparative Study
Hospital readmission in general medicine patients: a prediction model.
Previous studies of hospital readmission have focused on specific conditions or populations and generated complex prediction models. ⋯ Select patient characteristics easily available shortly after admission can be used to identify a subset of patients at elevated risk of early readmission. This information may guide the efficient use of interventions to prevent readmission.
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Comparative Study
Racial disparities in the quality of medication use in older adults: baseline findings from a longitudinal study.
Medication-related problems are prevalent in older adults and adversely affect the quality of care. It has been suggested that racial differences exist in medication use. Most efforts to evaluate the quality of medication use target specific drugs or disease states, or a set of pre-defined quality indicators, rather than the patient. ⋯ Medication-related problems are prevalent in community-residing older adults. Blacks had more medication-related problems than whites, including higher rates of nonadherence. These findings require further study to better understand racial disparities in quality medication use.
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Comparative Study
Medical care of hepatitis B among Asian American populations: perspectives from three provider groups.
Physicians can play a significant role in helping to decrease the hepatitis B virus (HBV) burden among Asian Americans. Few studies have described knowledge and practice patterns in the medical community among different provider types regarding HBV and liver cancer. ⋯ More resources are needed to lower financial barriers complicating HBV care and encourage providing guideline-recommended screenings. Other providers can help promote HBV screening and increase community and cultural awareness.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study Comparative Study
The effects of guided care on the perceived quality of health care for multi-morbid older persons: 18-month outcomes from a cluster-randomized controlled trial.
The quality of health care for older Americans with chronic conditions is suboptimal. ⋯ Guided Care improves self-reported quality of chronic health care for multi-morbid older persons.