Journal of general internal medicine
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Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study Comparative Study
Incidence of adverse drug events and medication errors in Japan: the JADE study.
The epidemiology of adverse drug events (ADEs) and medication errors has received little evaluation outside the U.S. and Europe, and extrapolating from these data might not be valid, especially regarding selecting and prioritizing solutions. ⋯ The epidemiology and nature of ADEs and medication errors in Japan were similar to other countries, although more frequent per admission. Solutions that worked in these countries might thus improve medication safety in Japan, as could shortening hospital length of stay.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study
Language barriers, physician-patient language concordance, and glycemic control among insured Latinos with diabetes: the Diabetes Study of Northern California (DISTANCE).
A significant proportion of US Latinos with diabetes have limited English proficiency (LEP). Whether language barriers in health care contribute to poor glycemic control is unknown. ⋯ Language barriers contribute to health disparities among Latinos with diabetes. Limited English proficiency is an independent predictor for poor glycemic control among insured US Latinos with diabetes, an association not observed when care is provided by language-concordant physicians. Future research should determine if strategies to increase language-concordant care improve glycemic control among US Latinos with LEP.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study
The effect of workload reduction on the quality of residents' discharge summaries.
The completeness of hospital discharge summaries may reflect the overall quality of inter-professional communications. The effect of reducing resident workload on clinical performance is largely unknown. ⋯ Reducing resident workload can significantly improve discharge summary quality, a measure of resident performance.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study
Placebo adherence and its association with morbidity and mortality in the studies of left ventricular dysfunction.
A provocative finding from several double-blind clinical trials has been the association between greater adherence to placebo study medication and better health outcomes. We used data from the Studies of Left Ventricular Dysfunction (SOLVD) Treatment Trial (SOLVD-TT) and the SOLVD Prevention Trial (SOLVD-PT) to examine whether such associations could be validated and to examine several sources of bias and potential confounding. ⋯ In these two trials, better adherence to placebo was associated with markedly superior health outcomes, including total in-study mortality and incident cardiovascular events. No important confounders were identified. These data suggest there may exist strong but unrecognized determinants of health outcomes for which placebo adherence is a marker.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study
Coming home: health status and homelessness risk of older pre-release prisoners.
Older adults comprise an increasing proportion of the prison and homeless populations. While older age is associated with adverse post-release health events and incarceration is a risk factor for homelessness, the health status and homelessness risk of older pre-release prisoners are unknown. Moreover, most post-release services are geared towards veterans; it is unknown whether the needs of non-veterans differ from those of veterans. ⋯ Older pre-release prisoners had a high burden of medical and mental illness and were at risk for post-release homelessness regardless of veteran status. Reentry programs linking pre-release older prisoners to medical and psychiatric services and to homelessness prevention programs are needed for both veterans and non-veterans.