Journal of general internal medicine
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The Maintaining Internal Systems and Strengthening Integrated Outside Networks (MISSION) Act of 2018 authorized a major expansion of purchased care in the community for Veterans experiencing access barriers in the Veterans Affairs (VA) health care system. ⋯ After the MISSION Act, more outpatient care shifted to the community for emergency/urgent care and mental health care but not primary care. Community care utilization increased more in rural compared to urban clinics for primary care and emergency/urgent care. These findings highlight the challenges and importance of maintaining provider networks in rural areas to ensure access to care.
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While enrolled in Hospital at Home (HaH) programs, patients rely on their social network to provide supportive behaviors that are routinely provided by hospital staff in the inpatient setting. ⋯ Structural social connectedness facilitates patient recovery in HaH. Before enrolling patients in HaH, clinicians should take an in-depth social history, including questions about social/familial roles, household responsibilities, and technology acceptance. Clinicians should engage formal and informal caregivers in these conversations early and communicate a clear picture of what caregivers should do to support the patient through recovery.
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Physicians are experiencing an increasing burden of messaging within the electronic health record (EHR) inbox. Studies have called for the implementation of tools and resources to mitigate this burden, but few studies have evaluated how these interventions impact time spent on inbox activities. ⋯ Physician inbox time was not associated with existing EHR efficiency tools evaluated in this study. Yet, there may be a slight increase in inbox time among physicians in practices with larger teams.
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Health care systems are increasingly screening for unmet social needs. The association between patient-reported social needs and health care utilization is not well understood. ⋯ Patient-reported social needs were common and associated with health care utilization patterns. Future research should identify interventions to address unmet social needs to improve health and avoid potentially preventable escalating medical intervention.