Journal of general internal medicine
-
With 1-2% of patients leaving the hospital against medical advice (AMA), the potential for these patients to suffer adverse health outcomes is of major concern. ⋯ Due to the higher risk of adverse outcomes, hospitals should target AMA patients for post-discharge interventions, such as phone follow-up, home visits, or mental health counseling to improve outcomes.
-
Comparative Study
Using the Teamlet Model to improve chronic care in an academic primary care practice.
Team care can improve management of chronic conditions, but implementing a team approach in an academic primary care clinic presents unique challenges. ⋯ The Teamlet Model may improve chronic care in academic primary care practices.
-
Clinician educators-who work at the intersection of patient care and resident education-are well positioned to respond to calls for better, safer patient care and resident education. Explicit lessons that address implementing health care improvement and associated residency training came out of the Academic Chronic Care Collaboratives and include the importance of: (1) redesigning the clinical practice as a core component of the residency curriculum; (2) exploiting the efficiencies of the practice team; (3) replacing "faculty development" with "everyone's a learner;" (4) linking faculty across learning communities to build expertise; and (5) using rigorous methodology to design and evaluate interventions for practice redesign. There has been progress in addressing three thorny academic faculty issues-professional satisfaction, promotion and publication. ⋯ Clinician educators-particularly those in general internal medicine-bear the principal responsibility for both patient care and resident training in academic departments of internal medicine. The intersection of these activities presents a unique opportunity for their playing a central role in implementing health care improvement and associated residency training. However, this role in academic settings will require an unambiguous development strategy both for faculty and their institutions.
-
While the Chronic Care Model (CCM) has been shown to improve the care of patients with chronic illnesses, primary care physicians have been unprepared in its use, and residencies have encountered challenges in introducing it into the academic environment. ⋯ Through a learning collaborative experience, residency programs can successfully incorporate chronic care training for residents while addressing gaps in care for patients with diabetes.
-
Little is known about the frequency of significant hypoglycemic events in actual practice. Limited health literacy (HL) is common among patients with type 2 diabetes, may impede diabetes self-management, and thus HL could increase the risk of hypoglycemia. ⋯ Significant hypoglycemia was a frequent complication in this cohort of type 2 diabetes patients using anti-hyperglycemic therapies; those reporting limited HL were especially vulnerable. Efforts to reduce hypoglycemia and promote patient safety may require self-management support that is appropriate for those with limited HL, and consider more vigilant surveillance, conservative glycemic targets or avoidance of the most hypoglycemia-inducing medications.