Journal of general internal medicine
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Comparative Study
Religious hospitals and primary care physicians: conflicts over policies for patient care.
Religiously affiliated hospitals provide nearly 20% of US beds, and many prohibit certain end-of-life and reproductive health treatments. Little is known about physician experiences in religious institutions. ⋯ Hospitals and policy-makers may need to balance the competing claims of physician autonomy and religiously based institutional policies.
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Comparative Study
Dependence on emergency care among young adults in the United States.
Young adults have a high prevalence of many preventable diseases and frequently lack a usual source of ambulatory care, yet little is known about their use of the emergency department. ⋯ A considerable amount of care provided to young adults is delivered through emergency departments. Trends suggest that young adults are increasingly relying on emergency departments for health care, while being seen for less urgent indications.
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Comparative Study
Factors associated with hepatitis B testing among Vietnamese Americans.
Chronic hepatitis B and hepatitis B-associated liver cancer is a major health disparity among Vietnamese Americans, who have a chronic hepatitis B prevalence rate of 7-14% and an incidence rate for liver cancer six times that of non-Latino whites. ⋯ Self-reports of hepatitis B testing among Vietnamese Americans remain unacceptably low. Physician recommendation and patient request were the factors most strongly associated with test receipt. A comprehensive effort is needed to promote hepatitis B testing in this population, including culturally-targeted community outreach, increased access to testing, and physician education.