Archives of family medicine
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We wished to determine whether patient satisfaction was related to physicians' confidence in their abilities to effectively manage low back pain, and to examine their attitudes about patients with back pain. The confidence and attitudes of primary care providers were determined using self-administered questionnaires. Patient satisfaction with care was assessed during telephone interviews conducted 3 weeks after a clinic visit for low back pain. ⋯ However, patients of more confident providers were significantly more satisfied with the information they received than were patients of less confident providers. These differences could not be explained by years in practice, length of visit, patient demographics, or the severity and duration of low back pain. These findings suggest that providers who have more confidence in their abilities to effectively manage low back pain may in fact be more effective patient educators.
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To determine the value of the cerebrospinal fluid examination in the evaluation of hospitalized; elderly patients with delirium and fever. ⋯ Most hospitalized, older patients with fever and delirium have primary causes of the confusion outside the central nervous system and may not require a routine evaluation of their cerebrospinal fluid.