Annals of family medicine
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Annals of family medicine · May 2015
Multicenter StudyMore Comprehensive Care Among Family Physicians is Associated with Lower Costs and Fewer Hospitalizations.
Comprehensiveness is lauded as 1 of the 5 core virtues of primary care, but its relationship with outcomes is unclear. We measured associations between variations in comprehensiveness of practice among family physicians and healthcare utilization and costs for their Medicare beneficiaries. ⋯ Increasing family physician comprehensiveness of care, especially as measured by claims measures, is associated with decreasing Medicare costs and hospitalizations. Payment and practice policies that enhance primary care comprehensiveness may help "bend the cost curve."
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Annals of family medicine · May 2015
Multicenter StudyCommunication practices and antibiotic use for acute respiratory tract infections in children.
This study examined relationships between provider communication practices, antibiotic prescribing, and parent care ratings during pediatric visits for acute respiratory tract infection (ARTI). ⋯ Combined use of positive and negative treatment recommendations may reduce the risk of antibiotic prescribing for children with viral ARTIs and at the same time improve visit ratings. With the growing threat of antibiotic resistance at the community and individual level, these communication techniques may assist frontline providers in helping to address this pervasive public health problem.