Journal of general internal medicine
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Multicenter Study
Discontinuity of chronic medications in patients discharged from the intensive care unit.
Intensive care unit (ICU) admission may connote an elevated risk of unintentional chronic medication discontinuation because of its focus on acute illnesses and the multiple care transitions. ⋯ Patients discharged from the ICU often leave the hospital without note of their previously prescribed chronic medications. Careful review of medication lists at ICU discharge could avoid potential adverse outcomes related to unintentional discontinuation of chronic medications at hospital discharge.
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To identify reasons for lower organ donation rates by African Americans, we examined knowledge and attitudes about brain death, donation, and transplantation and trust in the health care system. ⋯ African Americans reported greater mistrust in the equity of the donation system and were more favorable about providing tangible benefits to donor families than white respondents.
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Domestic violence (DV) is prevalent across all racial and socioeconomic classes in the United States. Little is known about whether physicians differentially screen based on a patient's race or socioeconomic status (SES) or about resident physician screening attitudes and practices. ⋯ Although residents have incorrect knowledge about the epidemiology of DV, they showed no racial or SES preferences in screening for DV. Improvement of mentoring and educating residents about referral resources may be promising strategies to increase resident DV screening.
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Comparative Study
Primary care physician office visits for depression by older Americans.
Older patients mostly receive depression care from primary care physicians, but it is not known whether depression treatment is primarily received from family/general practice physicians or internal medicine physicians and whether the type of depression treatment offered varies between these types of primary care physicians. ⋯ Visits for depression by elderly patients continue to take place in primary care settings to both family/general practice physicians and Internists. Interventions aimed at improving depression care in primary care should focus on both types of primary care physicians and emphasize improving rates of diagnosis and referral for counseling or psychotherapy as a viable treatment option.
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We studied female graduates of the Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholars Program (CSP, Class of 1984 to 1989) to explore and describe the complexity of creating balance in the life of mid-career academic woman physicians. ⋯ For this group of fellowship-prepared academic women physicians satisfaction is achieving professional and personal balance.