u/iamphilosofie

Hi All, 

Sharing findings from a new study, "Association of General Practice Continuity With Hospital Admissions and Costs: A Retrospective Study."

Researchers used data from 100,450 patients across 48 general practices in the Netherlands to examine two types of continuity and their associations with urgent hospital admissions and hospital costs. Continuity was measured two ways: by duration of the general practitioner-patient relationship (time registered with the practice) and by how concentrated a patient’s visits were with one physician (density). 

Patients registered with their practice for longer than 5 years had 9% to 21% lower odds of urgent hospital admission and 17% to 28% lower hospital costs compared with those registered for 0 to 5 years. Consistently seeing the same general practitioner was associated with 6% to 7% lower hospital costs, but not with fewer urgent admissions.

Hi All, 

Sharing findings from a new study, "Association of General Practice Continuity With Hospital Admissions and Costs: A Retrospective Study."

Researchers used data from 100,450 patients across 48 general practices in the Netherlands to examine two types of continuity and their associations with urgent hospital admissions and hospital costs. Continuity was measured two ways: by duration of the general practitioner-patient relationship (time registered with the practice) and by how concentrated a patient’s visits were with one physician (density). 

Patients registered with their practice for longer than 5 years had 9% to 21% lower odds of urgent hospital admission and 17% to 28% lower hospital costs compared with those registered for 0 to 5 years. Consistently seeing the same general practitioner was associated with 6% to 7% lower hospital costs, but not with fewer urgent admissions.

I'm curious what people are actually using day-to-day, and whether it is one of the more common platforms, or something else entirely. Also interested in whether you use different tools for discovery vs. reading/summarizing papers.

Thanks!

Hi All,

Sharing a recently published study titled 'More Indirect Patient Care Activities per Visit: 11-Year Analysis of Family Physician Electronic Health Records in Canada.'

This study used EHR data from 903 Canadian family physicians across six provinces to describe changes in physician workload between 2011 and 2021.

• Family physicians reporting EHR data saw more unique patients, had more total contacts, and had more days with patient contact in 2021 than 2011.
• In 2021, the average numbers of laboratory tests, referrals, and prescriptions per physician were greater than in 2011 (68.5%, 80.2%, and 43.1% increases, respectively).
• Rates of referrals and laboratory tests increased by 57% (incident rate ratio [IRR2021]; 95% CI = 1.57; 1.36-1.80) and 29% (IRR2021; 95% CI = 1.29; 1.18-1.41), respectively. The number of prescriptions per patient contact remained constant (IRR2021; 95% CI = 0.96; 0.90-1.03).

https://preview.redd.it/jr8pe8zdav3h1.png?width=3375&format=png&auto=webp&s=aa32019fd2f034b934fdb73b5c8eebfc2e5a5ff5

Hi All,

Sharing a recently published study, 'Underuse of Pharmacologic Therapies for Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Before Specialist Evaluation,' that might be useful.

This retrospective chart review analyzed records from 571 adults with ME/CFS seen at a Mayo Clinic specialty clinic from 2018 to 2022, examining medications and supplements tried before specialty consultation.

Researchers found that medications used commonly for pain, impaired sleep, and mood disorders were the ones most often prescribed before consultation, even though mood dysregulation is not considered a primary symptom of ME/CFS. Medications that have been suggested for core symptoms of ME/CFS, such as fatigue, brain fog, postexertional malaise, orthostatic intolerance, or allergy/inflammation, had less often been tried. The study also found that 72% of patients were using dietary supplements.

To help clinicians navigate available options, the study includes two reference tables with medications and supplements that ME/CFS specialists commonly discuss with patients in the clinic, organized by symptom category, along with a summary of the current evidence for each.