J Am Board Fam Med
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Increases in emergency department (ED) use are contributing to inefficient health care spending and becoming a public health concern. Previous studies have identified characteristics of ED high utilizers aimed at designing interventions to improve efficiency. We aim to expand on these findings in a family medicine outpatient population. ⋯ Most demographic characteristics did not change over time, whereas individuals did change. Interventions aimed at improving efficiency of ED use should be geared toward unchanging characteristics rather than individuals. The only demographic characteristic that did change significantly was home location that correlated in time with the availability of new EDs providing support for a theory of supply-sensitive ED use.
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Family medicine residents who graduate from Federally Qualified Health Center-aligned Teaching Health Center (THC) training residencies are nearly twice as likely to pursue employment in safety-net settings compared with non-THC graduates. This trend has been consistent over the past few years, suggesting that the program is fulfilling its mission to strengthen primary care in underserved settings.
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Colorectal cancer is a leading cause of cancer-related mortality in the United States. Current screening recommendations for individuals aged 50 to 75 years include colonoscopy every 10 years, flexible sigmoidoscopy every 5 years, or annual stool-based testing. Stool-based testing, including fecal immunochemical tests (FITs), are cost effective, easy to perform at home, and noninvasive, yet many patients fail to return testing kits and go unscreened. The purpose of the study was to identify patient characteristics and perceived barriers and facilitators of FIT return. ⋯ In this study, the most common perceived barriers to return of screening fecal test kits were forgetfulness and lack of motivation. The most common perceived facilitators were live call reminders and postage-paid return envelopes. Understanding barriers and facilitators to FITs may be necessary to enhance cancer screening rates in underserved patient populations.