Journal of general internal medicine
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Meaningful variations in physician performance are not always discernible from the medical record. ⋯ Direct observation of care identifies hidden deficits in practice and documentation, and with feedback can improve both, with concomitant effects on costs.
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Prior studies suggest that referral to genetic counseling and completion of genetic testing vary by race/ethnicity; however, the data are limited. ⋯ Minority patients were more likely to utilize genetic services following a cancer diagnosis and less likely due to family cancer history, suggesting a missed opportunity for mutation detection and cancer prevention in this population. Efforts to eradicate racial/ethnic disparities in early access to genetic testing and guided cancer prevention strategies are essential.
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Nursing resources, such as staffing ratios and skill mix, vary across hospitals. Better nursing resources have been linked to better patient outcomes but are assumed to increase costs. The value of investments in nursing resources, in terms of clinical benefits relative to costs, is unclear. ⋯ Medicare beneficiaries with common medical conditions admitted to hospitals with better nursing resources experienced more favorable outcomes at almost no difference in cost.
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Fewer than half of the US population has an advance healthcare directive. Hospitalizations offer a key opportunity for clinicians to engage patients in advance care planning (ACP) conversations. Guidelines suggest screening for the presence of "serious illness" but do not further specify how to prioritize the 12.4 million patients hospitalized each year. ⋯ Panelists agreed that clinicians should have an ACP conversation with all hospitalized adults over 65 years in an ACP conversation, adjusting the content and timing of the conversation conditional on the patient's risk of short-term and 1-year mortality.
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The 2016 presidential election and the controversial policy agenda of its victor have raised concerns about how the election may have impacted mental health. ⋯ In states that voted for Clinton, there were 54.6 million more days of poor mental health among adults in December 2016, the month following the election, compared to October 2016. Clinicians should consider that elections could cause at least transitory increases in poor mental health and tailor patient care accordingly, especially with the 2020 election upon us.