Journal of general internal medicine
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Comparative Study Clinical Trial
What does the medical record reveal about functional status? A comparison of medical record and interview data.
Functional status measures are potent independent predictors of hospital outcomes and mortality. The study objective was to compare medical record with interview data for functional status. ⋯ The results suggest that the medical record is a poor source of data on many functional status measures, and that assuming that nondocumentation of functional status is equivalent to independence may be unwarranted. Given the prognostic importance of functional status measures, the results highlight the importance of developing reliable and efficient means of obtaining functional status information on hospitalized older patients.
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Little is known about how care is coordinated for patients with diseases requiring multidisciplinary treatments. How complex care is coordinated may affect a patient's chance of receiving the full complement of care provided by multiple physicians. We sought to describe approaches used to coordinate care for women with early-stage breast cancer, a disease often treated by multiple different disciplines in the outpatient setting. ⋯ Numerous coordination mechanisms exist. No site has the ability to systematically track care provided by multiple different specialists. The most valued mechanisms are under the hospital's aegis. Hospitals should consider implementing coordination mechanisms to improve delivery of multidisciplinary care.
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The potential benefits and harms of screening mammography in frail older women are unknown. Therefore, we studied the outcomes of a screening mammography policy that was instituted in a population of community-living nursing home-eligible women as a result of requirements of state auditors. We focused on the potential burdens that may be experienced. ⋯ We conclude that screening mammography in frail older women frequently necessitates work-up that does not result in benefit, raising questions about policies that use the rate of screening mammograms as an indicator of the quality of care in this population. Encouraging individualized decisions may be more appropriate and may allow screening to be targeted to older women for whom the potential benefit outweighs the potential burdens.
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To describe patterns of physical activity and to determine factors associated with engaging in regular exercise, especially walking, in elderly white women. ⋯ In this healthy cohort, walking for exercise is associated with other positive health behaviors. Given the mounting evidence about the health benefits of walking, and since many of these community dwelling women can and do walk for exercise, but rarely engage in other common prescribed physical activities, clinicians might best focus their efforts on encouraging walking.