Medical care research and review : MCRR
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This study examined the relationship between electronic medical records (EMR) sophistication and the efficiency of U. S. hospital emergency departments (EDs). Using data from the 2006 National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey, survey-weighted ordinary least squares regressions were used to estimate the association of EMR sophistication with ED throughput and probability a patient left without treatment. ⋯ Relative to EDs with minimal or no EMR, fully functional EMR was associated with 22.4% lower ED length of stay and 13.1% lower diagnosis/treatment time. However, the relationships varied by patient acuity level and diagnostic services provided. Surprisingly, EDs with basic EMR were not more efficient on average, and basic EMR had a nonlinear relationship with efficiency that varied with the number of EMR functions used.
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The authors review experimental and nonexperimental causal inference methods, focusing on assumptions for the validity of instrumental variables and propensity score (PS) methods. They provide guidance in four areas for the analysis and reporting of PS methods in medical research and selectively evaluate mainstream medical journal articles from 2000 to 2005 in the four areas, namely, examination of balance, overlapping support description, use of estimated PS for evaluation of treatment effect, and sensitivity analyses. In spite of the many pitfalls, when appropriately evaluated and applied, PS methods can be powerful tools in assessing average treatment effects in observational studies. Appropriate PS applications can create experimental conditions using observational data when randomized controlled trials are not feasible and, thus, lead researchers to an efficient estimator of the average treatment effect.
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The Medical Services Initiative program--a safety net-based system of care--in Orange County included assignment of uninsured, low-income residents to a patient-centered medical home. The medical home provided case management, a team-based approach for treating disease, and increased access to primary and specialty care among other elements of a patient-centered medical home. ⋯ Switching medical homes three or more times was associated with enrollees being more likely to have any ER visits or multiple ER visits. The findings provide evidence that successful implementation of the patient-centered medical home model in a county-based safety net system is possible and can reduce unnecessary ER use.
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This study examined data from the 2005-2006 National Survey of Children with Special Health Care Needs to assess the relationship among children with asthma between a reported medical home and emergency department (ED) use. The authors used 21 questions to measure 6 medical home components: personal doctor/nurse, family-centered, compassionate, culturally effective and comprehensive care, and effective care coordination. ⋯ Receiving primary care in a medical home was associated with fewer ED visits (incidence rate ratio = 0.93; 95% confidence interval = 0.89-0.97). A medical home in which physicians and parents share responsibility for ensuring that children have access to needed services may improve child and family outcomes for children with asthma.