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BACKGROUNDSkilled physician communication is a key component of patient experience. Large-scale studies of exposure to communication skills training and its impact on patient satisfaction have not been conducted.OBJECTIVEWe aimed to examine the impact of experiential relationship-centered physician communication skills training on patient satisfaction and physician experience.DESIGNThis was an observational study.SETTINGThe study was conducted at a large, multispecialty academic medical center.PARTICIPANTSParticipants included 1537 attending physicians who participated in, and 1951 physicians who did not participate in, communication skills training between 1 August 2013 and 30 April 2014.INTERVENTIONAn 8-h block of interactive didactics, live or video skill demonstrations, and small group and large group skills practice sessions using a relationship-centered model.MAIN MEASURESHospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS), Clinician and Group Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CGCAHPS), Jefferson Scale of Empathy (JSE), Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI), self-efficacy, and post course satisfaction.KEY RESULTSFollowing the course, adjusted overall CGCAHPS scores for physician communication were higher for intervention physicians than for controls (92.09 vs. 91.09, p < 0.03). No significant interactions were noted between physician specialty or baseline CGCAHPS and improvement following the course. Significant improvement in the post-course HCAHPS Respect domain adjusted mean was seen in intervention versus control groups (91.08 vs. 88.79, p = 0.02) and smaller, non-statistically significant improvements were also seen for adjusted HCAHPS communication scores (83.95 vs. 82.73, p = 0.22). Physicians reported high course satisfaction and showed significant improvement in empathy (116.4 ± 12.7 vs. 124 ± 11.9, p < 0.001) and burnout, including all measures of emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and personal accomplishment. Less depersonalization and greater personal accomplishment were sustained for at least 3 months.CONCLUSIONSSystem-wide relationship-centered communication skills training improved patient satisfaction scores, improved physician empathy, self-efficacy, and reduced physician burnout. Further research is necessary to examine longer-term sustainability of such interventions.

This study compared hospitals engaged in public reporting alone with hospitals engaged in both public-reporting and pay-for-performance programs. Performance on quality measures improved in both groups, but improvements were modestly larger for hospitals participating in pay for performance. This study compared hospitals engaged in public reporting alone with hospitals engaged in both public-reporting and pay-for-performance programs. Improvements were modestly larger for hospitals participating in pay for performance. The need to improve both the quality and the safety of health care in the United States is well documented. 1 – 5 Traditional strategies to stimulate improvement include regulation, measurement of performance and subsequent feedback, and marketplace competition. 6 Despite limited evidence, public reporting of hospital quality data and pay for performance have emerged as two of the most widely advocated strategies for accelerating quality improvement. 7 – 11 Public reporting stimulates interest in quality on the part of physicians and hospital leaders, perhaps by appealing to their professional ethos. 12 Pay-for-performance programs are intended to strengthen the business case for quality improvement by rewarding . . .

To understand the consequences of functional cardiac stress testing among patients considering noncardiac nonophthalmologic surgery. A retrospective cohort study of 118,552 patients who made 159,795 visits to a dedicated preoperative risk assessment and optimization clinic between 2008 and 2018. A large integrated health system. Patients who visited a dedicated preoperative risk assessment and optimization clinic before noncardiac nonophthalmologic surgery. To assess changes to care delivered, we measured the probability of completing additional cardiac testing, cardiac surgery, or noncardiac surgery. To assess outcomes, we measured time-to-mortality and total one-year mortality. In causal inference models, preoperative stress testing was associated with increased likelihood of coronary angiography (relative risk: 8.6, 95% CI 6.1–12.1), increased likelihood of percutaneous coronary intervention (RR: 4.1, 95% CI: 1.8–9.2), increased likelihood of cardiac surgery (RR: 6.8, 95% CI 4.9–9.4), decreased likelihood of noncardiac surgery (RR: 0.77, 95% CI 0.75–0.79), and delayed noncardiac surgery for patients completing noncardiac surgery (mean 28.3 days, 95% CI: 23.1–33.6). The base rate of downstream cardiac testing was low, and absolute risk increases were small. Stress testing was associated with higher mortality in unadjusted analysis but was not associated with mortality in causal inference analyses. Preoperative cardiac stress testing likely induces coronary angiography and cardiac interventions while decreasing use of noncardiac surgery and delaying surgery for patients who ultimately proceed to noncardiac surgery. Despite changes to processes of care, our results do not support a causal relationship between stress testing and postoperative mortality. Analyses of care cascades should consider care that is avoided or substituted in addition to care that is induced. •Cardiac stress testing probably leads to higher rates of cardiac testing and interventions (a “care cascade”)•However, stress testing also decreases the likelihood that patients will complete surgery•Stress testing probably does not change mortality in the short- or long-term•Health datasets rarely capture care that is considered but not completed; many care cascades might instead be substitutions

BackgroundVenous thromboembolism (VTE) contributes to hospitalisation-associated morbidity. Although guidelines recommend limiting VTE prophylaxis to high-risk patients, some physicians prescribe it broadly. We compared beliefs of low and high prescribing physicians.MethodsWe surveyed hospitalists and medical residents who had the opportunity to prescribe prophylaxis ≥50 times. Best-worst scaling was used to assess their beliefs. Using a balanced incomplete block design, we created seven choice tasks with seven statements regarding prophylaxis beliefs each presented four times. For each task, physicians selected the statement that most and least reflected their beliefs. We used a count method to calculate best-worst scores and a conditional logistic regression choice model to compare low and high prescribers.ResultsOf 434 invitees, 172 (40%) completed all survey questions between June and November 2023. Low (n=86, ≤62.5% prescribing rate) and high (n=86, >62.5 prescribing rate) prescribers endorsed similar beliefs with differing levels of agreement. All felt confident to prescribe prophylaxis appropriately (low: +1.13, high: +1.10, p=0.81). High prescribers expressed more concern about VTE without prophylaxis (+1.02 vs +0.65, p=0.002). Low prescribers disagreed more that prophylaxis had no downside (−1.03 vs −0.73, p=0.01). High prescribers worried less about prophylaxis risks (−0.49 vs −0.22, p=0.01), and overuse (−0.61 vs −0.34, p=0.02).ConclusionsCompared with low prescribers, high prescribers were more concerned about VTE without prophylaxis and less about harms. These differences in beliefs may underlie physician behaviour and could be targets for interventions to reduce inappropriate prophylaxis.

ObjectiveWhile there are several well-established environmental risk factors for rheumatoid arthritis (RA), a paucity of evidence exists linking environmental toxicants with RA prevalence. We aimed to examine the associations between various environmental toxicants and RA among adults in the U.S. general population while adjusting for non-heritable risk factors.DesignCross-sectional study.SettingNational Health and Nutrition Examination Survey conducted from 2007 to 2016.ParticipantsThe study included 21 987 adult participants (no RA: 20 569; RA: 1418). Participants were excluded (n=7214) if they did not answer questions related to self-reporting of RA, had another or unknown type of arthritis, or did not have interview or biospecimen data.Primary and secondary outcome measuresAssociation between individual toxicants and body burden scores for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), phthalates and plasticisers (PHTHTEs) metabolites or volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and participant self-reported RA based on multivariable logistic regression models while adjusting for age, sex, urine creatinine, body mass index, smoking, race, education, family poverty income ratio, any vigorous or moderate activity and dietary fibre.ResultsWhile increased prevalence of RA was observed in participants with the highest quartile of various individual PAHs, only 1-hydroxynaphthalene (OR: 1.8 (1.1 to 3.1); p=0.020) remained associated in a fully adjusted model. PAH body burden was found to be associated with RA (Q4 vs Q1, OR: 2.2 (1.09 to 4.2); p=0.028) in a fully adjusted model. Interestingly, after accounting for PAH body burden, smoking was not associated with RA (OR: 1.4 (0.89 to 2.3); p=0.13). A mediation analysis demonstrated that PAH body burden accounted for 90% of the total effect of smoking on RA. PHTHTE and VOC metabolites were not associated with RA in fully adjusted models.Conclusions and relevancePAHs are associated with RA prevalence, mediate the majority of the effects of smoking on RA, and are associated with RA independent of smoking status.

Mortality prediction models generally require clinical data or are derived from information coded at discharge, limiting adjustment for presenting severity of illness in observational studies using administrative data. To develop and validate a mortality prediction model using administrative data available in the first 2 hospital days. After dividing the dataset into derivation and validation sets, we created a hierarchical generalized linear mortality model that included patient demographics, comorbidities, medications, therapies, and diagnostic tests administered in the first 2 hospital days. We then applied the model to the validation set. Patients aged ≥ 18 years admitted with pneumonia between July 2007 and June 2010 to 347 hospitals in Premier, Inc.'s Perspective database. In hospital mortality. The derivation cohort included 200,870 patients and the validation cohort had 50,037. Mortality was 7.2%. In the multivariable model, 3 demographic factors, 25 comorbidities, 41 medications, 7 diagnostic tests, and 9 treatments were associated with mortality. Factors that were most strongly associated with mortality included receipt of vasopressors, non-invasive ventilation, and bicarbonate. The model had a c-statistic of 0.85 in both cohorts. In the validation cohort, deciles of predicted risk ranged from 0.3% to 34.3% with observed risk over the same deciles from 0.1% to 33.7%. A mortality model based on detailed administrative data available in the first 2 hospital days had good discrimination and calibration. The model compares favorably to clinically based prediction models and may be useful in observational studies when clinical data are not available.

ObjectiveTo compare outcomes and costs associated with functional medicine-based care delivered in a shared medical appointment (SMA) to those delivered through individual appointments.DesignA retrospective cohort study was performed to assess outcomes and cost to deliver care to patients in SMAs and compared with Propensity Score (PS)-matched patients in individual appointments.SettingA single-centre study performed at Cleveland Clinic Center for Functional Medicine.ParticipantsA total of 9778 patients were assessed for eligibility and 7323 excluded. The sample included 2455 patients (226 SMAs and 2229 individual appointments) aged ≥18 years who participated in in-person SMAs or individual appointments between 1 March 2017 and 31 December 2019. Patients had a baseline Patient-Reported Outcome Measurement Information System (PROMIS) Global Physical Health (GPH) score and follow-up score at 3 months. Patients were PS-matched 1:1 with 213 per group based on age, sex, race, marital status, income, weight, body mass index, blood pressure (BP), PROMIS score and functional medicine diagnostic category.Primary and secondary outcome measuresThe primary outcome was change in PROMIS GPH at 3 months. Secondary outcomes included change in PROMIS Global Mental Health (GMH), biometrics, and cost.ResultsAmong 213 PS-matched pairs, patients in SMAs exhibited greater improvements at 3 months in PROMIS GPH T-scores (mean difference 1.18 (95% CI 0.14 to 2.22), p=0.03) and PROMIS GMH T-scores (mean difference 1.78 (95% CI 0.66 to 2.89), p=0.002) than patients in individual appointments. SMA patients also experienced greater weight loss (kg) than patients in individual appointments (mean difference −1.4 (95% CI −2.15 to −0.64), p<0.001). Both groups experienced a 5.5 mm Hg improvement in systolic BP. SMAs were also less costly to deliver than individual appointments.ConclusionSMAs deliver functional medicine-based care that improves outcomes more than care delivered in individual appointments and is less costly to deliver.

To assess the incremental contribution of preoperative stress test results toward a diagnosis of obstructive coronary artery disease (CAD), prediction of mortality, or prediction of perioperative myocardial infarction in patients considering noncardiac, nonophthalmologic surgery. A retrospective cohort study of visits to a preoperative risk assessment and optimization clinic in a large health system between 2008 and 2018. To assess diagnostic information of preoperative stress testing, we used the Begg and Greenes method to calculate test characteristics adjusted for referral bias, with a gold standard of angiography. To assess prognostic information, we first created multiply-imputed logistic regression models to predict 90-day mortality and perioperative myocardial infarction (MI), starting with two tools commonly used to assess perioperative cardiac risk, Revised Cardiac Risk Index (RCRI) and Myocardial Infarction or Cardiac Arrest (MICA). We then added stress test results and compared the discrimination for models with and without stress test results. Among 136,935 visits by patients without an existing diagnosis of CAD, the decision to obtain preoperative stress testing identified around 4.0% of likely new diagnoses. Stress testing increased the likelihood of CAD (likelihood ratio: 1.31), but for over 99% of patients, stress testing should not change a decision on whether to proceed to angiography. In 117,445 visits with subsequent noncardiac surgery, stress test results failed to improve predictions of either perioperative MI or 90-day mortality. Reweighting the models and adding hemoglobin improved the prediction of both outcomes. Cardiac stress testing before noncardiac, nonophthalmologic surgery does not improve predictions of either perioperative mortality or myocardial infarction. Very few patients considering noncardiac, nonophthalmologic surgery have a pretest probability of CAD in a range where stress testing could usefully select patients for angiography. Better use of existing patient data could improve predictions of perioperative adverse events without additional patient testing. •The pretest probability of obstructive coronary artery disease is very low in patients considering noncardiac surgery.•Even with careful patient selection, stress testing can't efficiently diagnose CAD or select patients for angiography.•Stress test results don't improve predictions of death or myocardial infarction beyond commonly-used risk scores.•Prediction models that make better use of existing data could improve predictions of adverse operative events.

Anticoagulation decreases a patient's risk of ischemic stroke and increases the risk of hemorrhage. Decision analyses regarding anticoagulation therefore require that different outcomes be weighted in comparison to one another. Most decision analyses to date have weighted intracranial hemorrhage (ICH) as 1.5 times worse than ischemic stroke, but because death and disability have lifelong impact, the expected impact should vary by life expectancy. Therefore, a fixed weighting ratio leads to age-related bias decision analyses of anticoagulation. We aimed to quantify the relative impact of ICH and ischemic stroke and derive a ratio that allows decision analysis without microsimulation. We created a microsimulation model to predict QALYs lost due to ICH and ischemic stroke. We then applied a meta-model to predict the ratio of QALYs lost from ICH relative to ischemic stroke. Previously-used weighting ratios (1.5) are close to our derived mean weighting ratio (1.60). However, the weighting ratio of QALYs lost from ICH relative to ischemic stroke is sensitive to age and discount rate. Patients at younger ages have higher mean weighting ratios, as do patients with higher discount rates. The ratio of QALYs lost to ICH relative to ischemic stroke varies with age and discount rate. We present a set of such ratios here for use in decision analyses that do not incorporate full microsimulation models. Use of weighting ratios that vary with age, rather than the current fixed ratios, has the potential to reduce age-based bias in decision-making regarding events with lifelong implications. In this case, use of dynamic ratios may change anticoagulation recommendations for patients with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation at relatively low stroke risk.

Background Community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) is a significant public health concern and a leading cause of hospitalization and inpatient antimicrobial use in the USA. However, determining the etiologic pathogen is challenging because traditional culture methods are slow and insensitive, leading to prolonged empiric therapy with extended-spectrum antibiotics (ESA) that contributes to increased hospital length of stay, and antimicrobial resistance. Two potential ways to reduce the exposure to ESA are (a) rapid diagnostic assays that can provide accurate results within hours, obviating the need for empiric therapy, and (b) de-escalation following negative bacterial cultures in clinically stable patients. Methods We will conduct a large pragmatic 2 × 2 factorial cluster-randomized controlled trial across 12 hospitals in the Cleveland Clinic Health System that will test these two approaches to reducing the use of ESA in adult patients (age ≥ 18 years) with CAP. We will enroll over 12,000 patients and evaluate the independent and combined effects of routine use of rapid diagnostic testing at admission and pharmacist-led de-escalation after 48 h for clinically stable patients with negative cultures vs usual care. We hypothesize that both approaches will reduce days on ESA. Our primary outcome is the duration of exposure to ESA therapy, a key driver of antimicrobial resistance. Secondary outcomes include detection of respiratory viruses, treatment with anti-viral medications, positive pneumococcal urinary antigen test, de-escalation by 72 h from admission, re-escalation to ESA after de-escalation, total duration of any antibiotic, 14-day in-hospital mortality, intensive care unit transfer after admission, healthcare-associated C. difficile infection, acute kidney injury, total inpatient cost, and hospital length-of-stay. Discussion Our study aims to determine whether identifying an etiological agent early and pharmacist-led de-escalation (calling attention to negative cultures) can safely reduce the use of ESA in patients with CAP. If successful, our findings should lead to better antimicrobial stewardship, as well as improved patient outcomes and reduced healthcare costs. Our findings may also inform clinical guidelines on the optimal management of CAP. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov NCT05568654 . Registered on October 4, 2022.