J Am Board Fam Med
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The proportion of family medicine residents with ≥$250,000 in self-reported educational debt rose from 26% in 2014% to 47% in 2019. Such a rapid rise in high indebtedness is concerning, given known associations with resident distress. Previous research has also shown that highly indebted residents are less likely to choose academics, geriatrics, and service-oriented career paths.
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As the prevalence of provider burnout continues to increase, it is critical to identify interventions that may impact provider satisfaction, such as an integrated clinical pharmacist. This study aimed to assess the perceived effect of pharmacist integration on primary care provider satisfaction and drivers of provider burnout in the primary care setting. ⋯ These findings may be used to justify the expansion of clinical pharmacy services in primary care to practice areas experiencing problems with 4 specific drivers of provider burnout: workload and job demands, efficiency and resources, meaning in work, and social support and community at work.
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Comparative Study
Health-Related Quality of Life for People With Acute and Chronic Illnesses During the COVID-19 Pandemic.
Health-related quality of life (HRQoL) for adults with chronic and acute illnesses informs health and economic policy for pandemic recovery. Our primary aim was to compare HRQoL of 3 illness groups of outpatient adults: those with diabetes, those who survived a hospitalization for COVID-19, and those who had a respiratory virus not COVID-19. The secondary aim was to compare the group domain summary scores to the referent general population. ⋯ SF-36 scores show the decrease in HRQoL that outpatient adults have suffered, mostly in the emotional domain, regardless of illness group during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Exposure to radon at home is the largest cause of lung cancer after smoking, and the combination of smoking and radon increases lung cancer risk several-fold. North Dakota has some of the highest residential radon levels in the United States. Although family physicians in North Dakota commonly counsel patients about smoking cessation, little is known about their knowledge and practices concerning radon. ⋯ Most North Dakota family physicians are knowledgeable about radon, and more than one third have tested their own homes. However, only a minority transmit this knowledge to their patients. Future efforts should educate physicians about communicating radon risks, especially in conjunction with smoking.