J Am Board Fam Med
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Ear Acupuncture for Acute Sore Throat: A Randomized Controlled Trial.
Sore throat is a common cause of pain in outpatient encounters. Battlefield auricular acupuncture (the placing of needles in specific points in the ear) is a modality used to treat acute pain associated with a variety of ailments. The aim of our study was to determine whether auricular acupuncture reduces pain, medication usage, and missed work hours when added to standard therapy in adult patients with acute sore throat. ⋯ Compared with usual treatment, battlefield auricular acupuncture was associated with reduced sore throat pain for 24 hours and decreased use of pain medication for up to 48 hours. There was no apparent effect on hours missed from work.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
BREATHE OUT: a randomized controlled trial of a structured intervention to improve clinician satisfaction with "difficult" visits.
Difficult patients comprise at least 15% of ambulatory visits and are associated with clinician burnout. No structured procedure has been reported to assist health care practitioners with these challenging relationships. This randomized trial evaluated whether a pre- and postvisit patient-centered and clinician-reflective technique called BREATHE OUT improved clinician satisfaction during visits with patients perceived by the clinician as difficult. ⋯ Application of the BREATHE OUT questionnaire before and after visits improved clinician satisfaction with difficult patient encounters.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
The impact of health coaching on medication adherence in patients with poorly controlled diabetes, hypertension, and/or hyperlipidemia: a randomized controlled trial.
Lack of concordance between medications listed in the medical record and taken by the patient contributes to poor outcomes. We sought to determine whether patients who received health coaching by medical assistants improved their medication concordance and adherence. ⋯ Health coaching by medical assistants significantly increases medication concordance and adherence.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Unrecognized heart failure and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in frail elderly detected through a near-home targeted screening strategy.
Reduced exercise tolerance and dyspnea are common in older people, and heart failure (HF) and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are the main causes. We want to determine the prevalence of previously unrecognized HF, COPD, and other chronic diseases in frail older people using a near-home targeted screening strategy. ⋯ Unrecognized chronic diseases might be detected in community-dwelling frail elderly using a near-home screening strategy that is simple to implement. It remains to be proven, however, whether optimizing treatment of the newly detected diagnoses in this fragile population with multimorbidities and polypharmacy improves quality of life and reduces morbidity and mortality.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Training to use motivational interviewing techniques for depression: a cluster randomized trial.
The goal of this study was to assess the effects of training primary care providers (PCPs) to use Motivational Interviewing (MI) when treating depressed patients on providers' MI performance and patients' expressions of interest in depression treatment ("change talk") and short-term treatment adherence. ⋯ MI training resulted in improved MI performance, more depression-related patient change talk, and better short-term adherence.