Specialty Settings Research Articles

Clinical supervision and ward orientation predict new graduate nurses’ intention to work in critical care: Findings from a prospective observational study

IntroductionClinical supervision and transitional support programs are important in supporting the successful transition and retention of new graduate nurses and their intention to work in specialty settings. However, little is known about which elements of support programs influence this intention. This study aimed to examine new graduate nurses' perceptions of clinical supervision and the practice environment, and how these influenced their intention to stay in critical and non-critical care areas following their transitional support program. MethodsBetween May 2012 and August 2013, new graduate nurses (n = 87) were surveyed towards the end of their 12-month transitional support program. In addition to demographic and ward details, participants completed the Manchester Clinical Supervision Scale (MCSS) and the Practice Environment Scale Australia (PES-AUS). The ‘Intention to Stay in a Clinical Specialty’ survey was used to measure new graduate nurses’ intention to remain working in their current ward or unit. ResultsPredictors of new graduate nurses' intention to stay in their current ward/unit were not having to practise beyond personal clinical capability (AOR: 4.215, 95% CI: 1.099–16.167) and working in a critical care specialty (AOR: 6.530, 95% CI: 1.911-22.314). Further analysis of those nurses who indicated an intention to remain in critical care revealed that high satisfaction with clinical supervision (AOR: 3.861, 95% CI: 1.320–11.293) and high satisfaction with unit orientation (AOR: 3.629, 95% CI: 1.236–10.659) were significant predictors. ConclusionWhile this study identified that new graduates who worked within their scope of practice were more likely to report their intention to remain in their current ward, new graduates assigned to critical care were six times more likely to indicate their intention to remain than new graduates in other wards/units. Ensuring new graduate nurses assigned to critical care areas receive good unit orientation and clinical supervision increases their intention to remain in this setting.

Randomized controlled trial of telephone monitoring with psychiatry inpatients with co-occurring substance use and mental health disorders

Background Psychiatry inpatients frequently have co-occurring substance use and mental health disorders, which are related to poor post-discharge outcomes. Telephone monitoring is effective in specialty substance use disorder treatment settings in increasing continuing care and 12-step program utilization and improving substance use outcomes. This study examined the effectiveness of telephone monitoring among psychiatry inpatients with co-occurring substance use and mental health disorders.Methods This randomized controlled trial (n = 406) compared usual care to usual care plus telephone monitoring (one in-person session during the inpatient stay, followed by weekly telephone contact for three months post-discharge). Follow-ups were conducted at end-of-intervention (three months post-baseline) and nine and 15 months post-baseline (73% followed). Primary outcomes were number of days out of the past 30 of drinking alcohol, using drugs, and experiencing psychological problems. Secondary outcomes were outpatient substance use treatment, and 12-step group, utilization.Results Longitudinal modeling found that patients in both conditions improved over time on each primary outcome. Improvement was comparable between conditions on alcohol and drug use and psychological problems. Receipt of outpatient treatment decreased over the follow-up period and was not related to condition. Likelihood of attending 12-step group meetings did not change over follow-ups, and was not related to condition.Conclusions Improvement over time was evident regardless of condition assignment. Patients maintained attendance at 12-step groups from pre- to post-discharge. Short-term telephone monitoring in addition to usual care for patients with co-occurring substance use and mental health disorders may not be sufficiently intensive to achieve additional improvements on outcomes.

The Importance of Addressing Depression and Diabetes Distress in Adults with Type 2 Diabetes

People with type 2 diabetes often experience two common mental health conditions: depression and diabetes distress. Both increase a patient's risk for mortality, poor disease management, diabetes-related complications, and poor quality of life. The American Diabetes Association and the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommend routine evaluations for these conditions in adults for optimal disease management and prevention of life-threatening complications. However, barriers exist within primary care and specialty settings that make screening for depression and diabetes distress challenging. Depression and diabetes distress influence diabetes self-care and diabetes control and barriers in clinical care practice that can hinder detection and management of psychosocial issues in diabetes care. This paper highlights opportunities to increase mental health screenings and provides strategies to help providers address depression and diabetes distress in patients with type 2 diabetes.

Opioid use disorder: A public health emergency.

The treatment of patients with acute and chronic pain not attributed to cancer or end-of-life conditions is a challenge for many clinicians. Although CDC guidelines that focus on the primary care setting have provided critical recommendations, evidence-based guidance is lacking on optimal duration of opioid treatment for postoperative and acute care in specialty settings. Over the last 2 decades, the liberal use of opioids has resulted in many unintended consequences, including dependence and abuse, illicit distribution of legally and illegally prescribed opioid medication, progression to IV heroin and an epidemic of overdoses, and most recently an increase in the incidence of HIV among patients sharing syringes, frequently in communities with historically low HIV rates. This article analyzes these complex issues and proposes strategies to help clinicians improve patient care through education and responsible prescribing.

The Kansas Nurse Leader Residency Program: Building Nurses' Capacity to Lead Change.

As nurses engage as partners in addressing complex healthcare issues, it is increasingly important to develop nurse leaders. Many nurses need expanded knowledge and training to lead change. The purpose of this article is to describe an innovative statewide nurse leadership residency program to prepare new nurse leaders in four specialty areas. Suggestions are offered for continued advancement of leadership training for RNs across specialty roles and settings.

Addictions Training in General Psychiatry Training Programs: Current Gaps and Barriers.

The primary purpose of this article is to review the findings of a 2017 survey of psychiatry training program directors to identify current gaps and barriers in addictions training in general adult psychiatry programs. The American Association of Directors of Psychiatric Residency Training (AADPRT) Taskforce on Addictions was created in 2017 with the aim of determining what programs need to improve addictions training in psychiatry residency programs and identifying ways to meet these needs. A 23-item confidential, anonymous online survey was developed and disseminated to AADPRT members who were general psychiatry program directors using the AADPRT Listserv (n = 200). Eighty-five programs (42%) responded to the survey. Programs reported that addictions training often takes place in general psychiatry settings rather than specialty settings. Curriculum content and clinical experiences varied substantially between programs. The lack of addictions-trained faculty members was identified as an impediment to providing more comprehensive training. While a lack of advanced training in addictions among faculty may be a limiting factor, developing expertise through faculty development activities and nationally disseminating model curricula can help improve national addictions training. Future goals include development of a strategic plan for improving addictions training, including an outline of a developmental approach across training to the acquisition of milestones-based competencies that apply to addictions assessment and treatment.

Development of an Innovative Endocrinology Training Program for Nurse Practitioners

Nurse practitioners (NPs) have a critical role in meeting the growing demand for health care in the current complex health care system. The use of NPs in both primary care and specialty settings is expected to rise significantly by 2025 in response to increased demands and a shortage of physician providers. The Duke University School of Nursing, with funding from the Health Resource Services Administration, has implemented the first endocrinology specialty training program for primary care NP students. The first in the country, this innovative, hybrid training program prepares primary care NP students to manage complex diabetes mellitus and general endocrine conditions. Well-trained NPs can help meet the increased demands in primary care. This subspecialty certificate program provides a framework for other graduate nursing schools that are considering adding specialty content as a supplement to primary care training. [J Nurs Educ. 2018;57(8):506-509.].

The 2018 Revision to the Process of Care Model for Management of Erectile Dysfunction

IntroductionErectile dysfunction (ED) is a common condition the treatment of which over the years has expanded from specialty care settings to various other clinical settings. A Process of Care Model was developed in 1999 to provide primary care physicians with guidance in the diagnosis and management of ED. AimThis update to the Process of Care Model aims to reflect current ED management practices, because the study of ED has changed since 1999. MethodsUpdates to the Process of Care Model were developed during a meeting of international experts from diverse disciplines. The updated model is data-driven, evidence-based, and relevant to a wide range of healthcare providers. Main Outcome MeasuresThis article summarizes the results of the expert meeting and focuses on ED management. The evaluation of ED is discussed in a separate article. ResultsThe updated model presents modification of risk factors and correction of comorbidities frequently associated with ED as critical parts of patient management. Patients should be encouraged to make positive lifestyle changes such as improving diet and increasing physical exercise. Lifestyle changes may be accompanied by the first-line medical therapies of sexual counseling and therapy, which takes into consideration patient sexual dynamics and pharmacotherapy with phosphodiesterase 5 inhibitors (PDE5Is). Clinical ImplicationsThe updated model provides guidance regarding risk factors associated with ED, their modification, sexual counseling, and PDE5I selection, dosing, and patient education. Strengths and LimitationsThis update leverages the extensive clinical expertise and experience of the authors to provide updated, comprehensive guidance for ED management. The model reflects the views and experiences of a limited number of contributors; however, these authors draw upon a diverse array of clinical specialties and are regarded as experts in their fields. Additionally, no meta-analyses were performed to further support the ED evaluation guidelines presented. ConclusionEffective management of ED may be achieved through a combination of patient risk factor modification and first-line therapy, taking into consideration any patient comorbidities known to be associated with ED. Treatment goals should be individualized to restore sexual satisfaction to the patient and/or couple and improve quality of life based on the patient’s expressed needs and desires.Mulhall JP, Giraldi A, Hackett G, et al. The 2018 Revision to the Process of Care Model for Management of Erectile Dysfunction. J Sex Med 2018;15:1434–1445.

Care Coordination in Emergency Departments for Children and Adolescents With Behavioral Health Conditions: Assessing the Degree of Regular Follow-up After Psychiatric Emergency Department Visits.

Increasing numbers of children are receiving care for behavioral health conditions in emergency departments (EDs). However, studies of mental health-related care coordination between EDs and primary and/or specialty care settings are limited. Such coordination is important because ED care alone may be insufficient for patients' behavioral health needs. We analyzed claims during the year 2014 from Truven Health Analytics MarketScan Medicaid and Commercial databases for outpatient services and prescription drugs for youth 2 to 18 years old with continuous enrollment. We applied a standard care coordination measure to insurance claims data in order to examine whether youth received a primary care or specialty follow-up visit within 7 days following an ED visit with a psychiatric diagnosis. We calculated descriptive statistics to evaluate differences in care coordination by enrollees' demographic, insurance, and health-related characteristics. In addition, we constructed a multivariate logistic regression model to detect the factors associated with the receipt of care coordination. The total percentages of children who received care coordination were 45.8% (Medicaid) and 46.6% (private insurance). Regardless of insurance coverage type, children aged 10 to 14 years had increased odds of care coordination compared with youth aged 15 to 18 years. Children aged 2 to 5 years and males had decreased odds of care coordination. It is of concern that fewer than half of patients received care coordination following an ED visit. Factors such as behavioral health workforce shortages, wait times for an appointment with a provider, and lack of reimbursement for care coordination may help explain these results.

Primary Care Nurse Practitioner Wage Differences by Employment Setting

Previous studies reported that primary care nurse practitioners working in primary care settings may earn less than those working in specialty care settings. However, few studies have examined why such wage difference exists. This study used human capital theory to determine the degree to which the wage differences between dingsPCNPs working in primary care versus specialty care settings is driven by the differences in PCNPs' characteristics. Feasible generalized least squares regression was used to examine the wage differences for PCNPs working in primary care and specialty care settings. A cross-sectional, secondary data analysis was conducted using the restricted file of 2012 National Sample Survey of Nurse Practitioners. Oaxaca-Blinder decomposition technique was used to explore the factors contributing to wage differences.The results suggested that hourly wages of PCNPs working in primary care settings were, on average, 7.1% lower than PCNPs working in specialty care settings, holding PCNPs' socio-demographic, human capital, and employment characteristics constant. Approximately 4% of this wage difference was explained by PCNPs' characteristics; but 96% of these differences were due to unexplained factors. A large, unexplained wage difference exists between PCNPs working in primary care and specialty care settings.

Is screening and intervention associated with treatment receipt among individuals with alcohol use disorder? Evidence from a national survey

BackgroundMost individuals with alcohol use disorder do not receive treatment and little national-level United States (U.S.) data exist on the association between screening and intervention with receipt of treatment. MethodsThe sample includes adults 18 years and older reporting prior year symptoms of alcohol use disorder from 2013 and 2014 National Survey on Drug Use and Health. Survey-weight adjusted prevalence of prior year receipt of ambulatory care, alcohol screening in a medical setting, alcohol intervention in a medical setting and alcohol treatment receipt and setting were calculated. Regression-adjusted odds ratios were calculated for alcohol treatment outcomes of interest. ResultsDespite high use of ambulatory care (74.4%, 95%CI: 72.8, 75.6), prevalence of screening (52.5%, 95%CI: 50.5, 54.5), intervention (13.5%, 95%CI: 12.1, 15.0) and treatment (6.8%, 95%CI: 5.8, 7.9) were low. Screening (AOR: 1.7, p < 0.050) and intervention (AOR: 4.7, p < 0.001) were associated with increased odds of treatment. Screening and intervention were associated with increased odds of receiving treatment in medical and specialty behavioral health settings and decreased odds of receiving treatment in only self-help groups. ConclusionsWhile prior year receipt of screening and intervention were low overall among adults with alcohol use disorder, receipt of these services was strongly associated with use of alcohol treatment. This likely indicates a missed opportunity to encourage a high-risk population to access treatment services. Receipt of screening and intervention was most strongly associated with treatment in medical and specialty behavioral health settings. Future research should examine this prospectively to assess whether entry into treatment settings may be mediated by screening and intervention in ambulatory care settings or if brief intervention is occurring at the time of treatment.

Pediatric Headache Clinic Model: Implementation of Integrative Therapies in Practice.

The demand for integrative medicine has risen in recent years as research has demonstrated the efficacy of such treatments. The public has also become more conscientious of the potential limitations of conventional treatment alone. Because primary headache syndromes are often the culmination of genetics, lifestyle, stress, trauma, and environmental factors, they are best treated with therapies that are equally multifaceted. The Children’s Mercy Hospital, Kansas City, Missouri Headache Clinic has successfully incorporated integrative therapies including nutraceuticals, acupuncture, aromatherapy, biofeedback, relaxation training, hypnosis, psychology services, and lifestyle recommendations for headache management. This paper provides a detailed review of the implementation of integrative therapies for headache treatment and discusses examples through case studies. It can serve as a model for other specialty settings intending to incorporate all evidenced-based practices, whether complementary or conventional.

What’s Old Is New Again: Psychosomatic Medicine Renamed C-L Psychiatry

Back to table of contents Previous article Next article Professional NewsFull AccessWhat’s Old Is New Again: Psychosomatic Medicine Renamed C-L PsychiatryJames Rundell,M.D.James Rundell,Search for more papers by this authorM.D.Published Online:27 Apr 2018https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.pn.2018.5a5AbstractThe new name better reflects the type and scope of the work done by psychiatrists in this subspecialty.The Academy of Psychosomatic Medicine (APM) has changed its name to the Academy of Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry. This follows an October 2017 action by the American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS), acting on recommendations by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology (ABPN), APA, and APM. In November 2017, APM then voted to change its name to the Academy of Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry. The academy’s name change became effective on April 16.James R. Rundell, M.D., is president of the Academy of Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry.The name “psychosomatic medicine” had been selected by ABMS as the subspecialty’s board-certification name during deliberations conducted between 2000 and 2003. From the beginning, there was controversy and general dissatisfaction with the name. For many years APM’s council heard concerns from members that “psychosomatic medicine” was problematic; the primary concerns were that “psychosomatic medicine” had a pejorative connotation, had a negative impact on recruitment, and was not widely used by clinicians and academic departments. APM conducted several surveys to determine whether there was a consensus for a name change. In early 2016, a majority of APM members responded to an initial member survey; 68 percent supported a name change, 16 percent disagreed, and 16 percent were neutral. A second survey focused on how APM members were currently describing their field. The majority (55 percent) said they were using the name “consultation-liaison psychiatry”; only 17 percent said they used the term “psychosomatic medicine.” Finally, late in 2016, APM members were asked: “If other key national organizations were in favor, would you support changing the name of the field to consultation-liaison psychiatry, which would include also changing the name of the academy to mirror that term?” Of the 668 respondents, representing more than half of APM’s membership, 81 percent endorsed the name change.With robust support from APM members documented, APM then requested and received the support of the APA Board of Trustees for a name change for the field in December 2016. The next step was to petition the ABPN, the organization within ABMS that oversees accreditation in psychiatry. In February 2017, the ABPN Board of Directors voted to support the name change. The ABPN then took this request to the ABMS, which gave its approval at its annual meeting in October 2017. Finally, APM’s council recommended that academy members support changing APM’s name to the Academy of Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry, and at the academy’s annual meeting the following month, the members voted in favor of the change.The new name for the subspecialty is actually the old name. Consultation-liaison psychiatry developed several decades ago at a time when most of the clinical work was in inpatient medical-surgical units. Much has changed since then, and the council is focused on finding ways to market an expanded brand that captures a broad and deep set of practice settings. The word “liaison” will be branded by the academy to mean integrated care in primary care and specialty care outpatient settings, in addition to the important work done integrating psychiatric care into inpatient medical-surgical, critical care, and rehabilitation units.The academy will use the expansive stage of APA’s 2018 Annual Meeting to begin the process of educating psychiatrists and other physicians and the public about the name change. For example, APA TV is producing a video that will be widely seen during the meeting. APA’s Council on Psychosomatic Medicine (which also underwent a name change to the Council on Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry) will continue to work with APM after the meeting to further support the name-change process.The theme of the Academy of Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry’s 2018 annual meeting, which is being held in Orlando November 13 to 17, is “Branding C-L Psychiatry: Defining the Breadth and Depth of Our Subspecialty.” The meeting will highlight the clinical, academic, and research work done in outpatient and inpatient clinical settings. The plenary sessions will be presented by the academy’s 14 Special Interest Groups (SIGs), who represent the field’s areas of expertise. Information about the academy, its SIGs, and the annual meeting is posted on the academy’s webpage—now www.clpsychiatry.org! ■The Academy of Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry is presenting the session “Mythbusters: Consultation-Liaison Doctors Separate Medical Fact From Fiction” at APA’s 2018 Annual Meet-ing on Wednesday, May 9, from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. in Room 1E07 at the Javits Center. ISSUES NewArchived

Patient Care Situations Benefiting from Pharmacogenomic Testing

Pharmacogenomics is an evolving area in precision medicine that aims to identify patients who have variable drug response, detect those at risk for developing adverse events, and guide drug dosing. Guidelines for optimization of PGx testing are available for a number of drug-gene pairs, and evidence supporting the clinical utility of this service is growing in specific patient contexts. This report reviews a variety of patient care situations in which evidence is emerging to show patient benefit from pharmacogenomic (PGx) testing. Preemptive PGx testing minimizes delays in treatment, reducing costs and time to therapeutic effect; however, preemptive testing is currently not feasible in all healthcare settings. Therefore, specific patient care situations that could benefit from PGx testing to be prioritized include medications requiring PGx testing, adverse drug reactions, therapeutic failures, polypharmacy, special populations, and specialty care settings such as cardiology, oncology, and psychiatry. Although preemptive PGx testing is likely the best option for patient care, implementation challenges are impeding its uptake. PGx testing is beneficial and more feasible in certain patient situations and may be a starting point for implementation of PGx testing in a care setting. Continued efforts to evaluate patient and provider use and outcomes of PGx testing services will be helpful in informing the current evidence base and standard of care.

Healthcare Utilization and Infection in the Week Prior to Sepsis Hospitalization.

To quantify healthcare utilization in the week preceding sepsis hospitalization to identify potential opportunities to improve the recognition and treatment of sepsis prior to admission. Retrospective study. Two large integrated healthcare delivery systems in the United States. Hospitalized sepsis patients. None. We quantified clinician-based encounters in each of the 7 days preceding sepsis admission, as well as on the day of admission, and categorized them as: hospitalization, subacute nursing facility, emergency department, urgent care, primary care, and specialty care. We identified the proportion of encounters with diagnoses for acute infection based on 28 single-level Clinical Classification Software categories. We also quantified the use of antibiotics over the same interval and used linear regression to evaluate time trends. We included a total of 14,658 Kaiser Permanente Northern California sepsis hospitalizations and 31,369 Veterans Health Administration sepsis hospitalizations. Over 40% of patients in both cohorts required intensive care. A total of 7,747 Kaiser Permanente Northern California patients (52.9%) and 14,280 Veterans Health Administration patients (45.5%) were seen by a clinician in the week before sepsis. Prior to sepsis, utilization of subacute nursing facilities remained steady, whereas hospital utilization declined. Primary care, specialty care, and emergency department visits increased, particularly at admission day. Among those with a presepsis encounter, 2,648 Kaiser Permanente Northern California patients (34.2%) and 3,858 Veterans Health Administration patients (27.0%) had at least one acute infection diagnosis. An increasing percentage of outpatient encounters also had infectious diagnoses (3.3%/d; 95% CI, 1.5%-5.1%; p < 0.01), particularly in primary and specialty care settings. Prior to sepsis hospitalization, the use of antibiotics also increased steadily (2.1%/d; 95% CI, 1.1%-3.1%; p < 0.01). Over 45% of sepsis patients had clinician-based encounters in the week prior to hospitalization with an increasing frequency of diagnoses for acute infection and antibiotic use in the outpatient setting. These presepsis encounters offer several potential opportunities to improve the recognition, risk stratification, and treatment prior to sepsis hospitalization.

Antagonists in the medical management of opioid use disorders: Historical and existing treatment strategies.

Background and ObjectivesOpioid use disorder (OUD) is a chronic condition with potentially severe health and social consequences. Many who develop moderate to severe OUD will repeatedly seek treatment or interact with medical care via emergency department visits or hospitalizations. Thus, there is an urgent need to develop feasible and effective approaches to help persons with OUD achieve and maintain abstinence from opioids. Treatment that includes one of the three FDA‐approved medications is an evidence‐based strategy to manage OUD. The purpose of this review is to address practices for managing persons with moderate to severe OUD with a focus on opioid withdrawal and naltrexone‐based relapse‐prevention treatment.MethodsLiterature available on PubMed was used to review the evolution of treatment strategies from the 1960s onward to manage opioid withdrawal and initiate treatment with naltrexone.ResultsEmerging practices for extended‐release naltrexone induction include the use of agonist tapers and adjuvant medications. Clinical challenges frequently encountered when initiating this therapy include managing withdrawal and ongoing opioid use during treatment. Clinical factors may inform decisions regarding patient selection and length of naltrexone treatment, such as recent opioid use and patient preferences.Conclusions and Scientific SignificanceTreatment strategies to manage opioid withdrawal have evolved, but many patients with OUD do not receive medication for the prevention of relapse. Clinical strategies for induction onto extended‐release naltrexone are now available and can be safely and effectively implemented in specialty and select primary care settings. (© 2018 The Authors. The American Journal on Addictions Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of The American Academy of Addiction Psychiatry (AAAP);27:177–187)

Electronic health records and outpatient cardiovascular disease care delivery: Insights from the American College of Cardiology’s PINNACLE India Quality Improvement Program (PIQIP)

BackgroundThere has been a push toward implementation of electronic health records (EHRs) in federally-funded hospitals under the current policies initiated by the Indian government, with a lack of evidence supporting their adoption. We analyzed data from the American College of Cardiology’s PINNACLE (Practice Innovation and Clinical Excellence) India Quality Improvement Program (PIQIP) to evaluate the association between EHR use and quality of cardiovascular disease care in India. Methods and ResultsBetween 2011–2016, we collected data on performance measures for patients with coronary artery disease (CAD), heart failure (HF) and atrial fibrillation (AF) among 17 participating practices in PIQIP. There were 19,035 patients with CAD, 9,373 patients with HF, and 1,127 patients with AF. Documentation of co-morbidity burden in patients with CAD was lower among practices with EHR—hypertension (49.8% vs. 52.1%, p=0.003), diabetes (34.9% vs. 38.3%, p<0.001), and hyperlipidemia (0.2 vs. 3.9%, p<0.001). On the contrary, documentation of medication prescription was higher in CAD patients seen at practices with EHR—aspirin (63.2% vs. 17.8%, p<0.001), clopidogrel (41.7% vs. 27.4%, p<0.001), beta-blockers (61.4% vs. 9.8%, p<0.001), and ACE-i or ARBs (53.9% vs. 16.4%, p<0.001). Similarly, documentation of receipt of beta-blockers (43.8% vs. 10.7%, p<0.001), ACE-i or ARBs (40.8% vs. 16.1%, p<0.001), and beta-blockers+ACE-i or ARBs (36.4% vs. 3.6%, p<0.001) was also significantly higher in patients with HF seen at practices with EHR. Among patients with AF, documentation of oral anticoagulation use was significantly higher among EHR practices—warfarin (42.5% vs. 26.1%, p<0.001). ConclusionsDocumentation of receipt of guideline-directed medical therapy in CAD, HF, and AF was significantly higher in practices with EHRs in India compared with sites without EHRs. Our findings shed a spotlight on the value of EHRs in future health care policy-making in India with regard to widespread adoption of EHRs in primary and advanced specialty care settings across public and private sectors.

Financial Viability and Sustainability of Integrated Care

Financial Viability and Sustainability of Integrated Care

Four Needles in a Haystack: A Systematic Review Assessing Quality of Health Care in Specialty Practice by Practice Type.

Specialists, who represent 60% of physicians in the United States, are consolidating into large group practices, but the degree to which group practice type facilitates the delivery of high quality of care in specialty settings is unknown. We conducted a systematic literature review to identify the impact of group practice type on the quality of care among specialty providers. The search resulted in 913 articles, of which only 4 met inclusion criteria. Studies were of moderate methodological quality. From the limited evidence available, we hypothesize that solo specialists deliver care that is inferior to their peers in group practice, whether measured by patient satisfaction ratings or adherence to guideline-based care. However, solo specialists and multidisciplinary group specialists may be more likely to provide some specialized services compared with their single-specialty group peers. Insufficient research compares quality of care among different practice types in specialty care. Substantial opportunity exists to test the degree to which organizational factors, whether size of practice or the mix of providers within the practice, influence quality of care in specialty settings.

Speech-Language Pathologists' Knowledge and Understanding of Hormone Influence on Voice Function

The purpose of this study was to examine speech-language pathologists' knowledge and general practice patterns within voice specialty clinical settings. A 13-item, web-based survey was created to a...