Archives of pediatrics & adolescent medicine
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Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med · Apr 2012
Multicenter Study Comparative StudyPrevalence of clinically important traumatic brain injuries in children with minor blunt head trauma and isolated severe injury mechanisms.
To determine the prevalence of clinically important traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) with severe injury mechanisms in children with minor blunt head trauma but with no other risk factors from the Pediatric Emergency Care Applied Research Network (PECARN) TBI prediction rules (defined as isolated severe injury mechanisms). ⋯ Children with isolated severe injury mechanisms are at low risk of clinically important TBI, and many do not require emergent neuroimaging.
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Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med · Apr 2012
Multicenter Study Comparative StudyAcademic medical centers and equity in specialty care access for children.
To test whether specialty clinics' academic medical center (AMC) affiliation was associated with equity in scheduling appointments for children with public vs private insurance. Academic medical centers are safety-net providers of specialty medical care and it is unknown whether equitable access is afforded by AMCs across insurance conditions. ⋯ Affiliation with an AMC was associated with fewer discriminatory denials of children with Medicaid-CHIP. However, children with Medicaid-CHIP had significantly longer wait times at AMC-affiliated clinics compared with privately insured children. Academic medical centers' propensity toward serving publicly insured patients makes them candidates for targeted resource allocation, perhaps with incentives contingent on equitable appointment acceptance and wait times.