QJM : monthly journal of the Association of Physicians
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Physician experience has been shown to improve clinical outcomes. Limited numbers of experienced clinicians make it unfeasible that they would care for all patients. We hypothesized that physician experience would impact outcomes for patients with high, but not low, risk of mortality. ⋯ High-risk but not low-risk patients have improved outcomes when cared for by physicians with greater experience.
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Previous research has shown that patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) tend to have a higher risk for cognitive impairment and dementia, a neurodegenerative disorder. The goal of this study was to examine what relationship, if any, exists between COPD and Parkinson's disease (PD), which is also a neurodegenerative disorder. ⋯ This nationwide retrospective cohort study demonstrates that PD risk is significantly increased in patients with COPD compared with those of the general population.
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The analysis of routinely collected hospital data informs the design of specialist services for at-risk older people. ⋯ Advanced age and comorbidity are important drivers of outcomes among older ED attendees. There is a need to embed specialist geriatric services within frontline services to make them more gerontologically attuned. Our results predate the opening of an acute medical unit with specialist geriatric input.