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Biomedical subjects

D H Novack

Publications and source records attributed to D H Novack.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1992

Teaching medical interviewing. A basic course on interviewing and the physician-patient relationship.

Recent advances in educational theory and methodology have made it possible to teach medical interviewing with as much rigor as other clinical skills. We describe a first-semester, first-year medical student course that effectively teaches basic interviewing skills. This course provides faculty development, small group learning, detailed faculty and student coursebooks, and an interview checklist that delineates specific interviewing skills and content areas, serving as a template for teaching, practice, and feedback. Students have many opportunities for practice in role play and with patients, followed by feedback by self, peers, and faculty. Use of audiotape and videotape reviews enhances the learning experience. This article describes our course, suggests educational principles and standards for the teaching of medical interviewing, and presents educational research demonstrating significant gains in students' skills associated with improvement in standardized patient satisfaction.

Education, Medical, Undergraduate↗
PubMed1992

The psychosocial review of systems.

Psychosocial problems have a significant impact on the course and cost of medical illness. However, many of these areas are generally neglected in medical interviews. This manuscript presents a condensed review of the major psychosocial domains, which together constitute what we term a psychosocial review of systems (PROS). Selected references are provided which document the importance of these areas to medical care, and serve as background reading for further inquiry. The psychosocial areas which are covered include: substance use, stress and life events, subjective views of symptoms, daily activity, social support, sexual concerns, finances, psychiatric history and symptoms, cultural issues, and functional status. The Psychosocial Review of Systems (PROS) can serve as a basic overview for the psychosocial aspects of medical education, and also as a content based instrument which has potential for development as an assessment tool to measure physician competence in eliciting relevant psychosocial data.

Diagnosis, Differential↗
PubMed1992

The recognition and management of somatization. What is needed in primary care training.

This article addresses the medical education issues associated with teaching primary care residents about somatization. Specific training designed to recognize and manage somatization involves a hierarchical series of five knowledge domains with associated discrete skills. As a foundation, a biopsychosocial model must be embraced by the medical leadership of the training program. Second, because psychosocial stresses play a critical etiologic role in somatization, the ability to identify relevant psychosocial issues during medical interviewing is a fundamental skill. Third, basic psychiatric diagnostic areas (depression and anxiety) must be mastered as a prerequisite for identifying somatization. Specific interviewing and management techniques are reviewed, along with two current programmatic approaches. Finally, the concept of physician countertransference also must be explicitly addressed as part of the curriculum. Without assuring that these building blocks are in place, residents are likely to become overwhelmed by the management of somatizing patients and continue the pattern of frustration associated with these patients.

Curriculum↗
PubMed1989

Physicians' attitudes toward using deception to resolve difficult ethical problems.

To assess physicians' attitudes toward the use of deception in medicine, we sent a questionnaire to 407 practicing physicians. The questionnaire asked for responses to difficult ethical problems potentially resolvable by deception and asked general questions about attitudes and practices. Two hundred eleven (52%) of the physicians responded. The majority indicated a willingness to misrepresent a screening test as a diagnostic test to secure an insurance payment and to allow the wife of a patient with gonorrhea to be misled about her husband's diagnosis if that were believed necessary to ensure her treatment and preserve a marriage. One third indicated they would offer incomplete or misleading information to a patient's family if a mistake led to a patient's death. Very few physicians would deceive a mother to avoid revealing an adolescent daughter's pregnancy. When forced to make difficult ethical choices, most physicians indicated some willingness to engage in forms of deception. They appear to justify their decisions in terms of the consequences and to place a higher value on their patients' welfare and keeping patients' confidences than truth telling for its own sake.

Adult↗
PubMed1981

Psychosocial aspects of illness.

Medical practice and research today are largely guided by a biomedical model of disease which assumes that disease can be fully accounted for by deviations from the norm of measurable biologic variables. It is suggested that this model has outlived its usefulness. Instead, the biopsychosocial model offers greater understanding of the illness process, and thus has greater utility for the practicing physician. Suggestions are offered for diagnosis and treatment within this biopsychosocial perspective.

Female↗
PubMed1980

Preoperative irradiation, lymphadenectomy and 125iodine implant for patients with localized prostatic carcinoma: a correlation of implant dosimetry with clinical results.

The 30 patients with clinically and surgically localized prostatic carcinoma who were selected for treatment by a short course of preoperative irradiation (1,050 rad), pelvic lymphadenectomy and 125iodine implant have been followed for 1 to 4 years. Perioperative morbidity (10 per cent), postimplant impotence (11 per cent), lymphedema (17 per cent), tumor recurrence (4 per cent) and distant metastasis (4 per cent) have been minimal to date. However, urinary irritative symptoms, which usually subsided in 6 to 9 months, occurred in half of the patients and correlated with implant volume. Total dose and total dose per unit of implanted activity were calculated. Of the various implant parameters evaluated implant dose homogeneity has corrrelated with the rate of tumor regression.

Brachytherapy↗
PubMed1979

Changes in physicians' attitudes toward telling the cancer patient.

In answer to a questionnaire administered in 1961, 90% of responding physicians indicated a preference for not telling a cancer patient his diagnosis. To assess attitudinal changes, the same questionnaire was submitted to 699 university-hospital medical staff. Of 264 respondents, 97% indicated a preference for telling a cancer patient his diagnosis--a complete reversal of attitude. As in 1961, clinical experience was the major policy determinant, but the 1977 population emphasized the influence of medical school and hospital training. Our respondents indicated less likelihood that they would change their present policy or be swayed by research. Clinical experience was the determining factor in shaping two opposite policies. Physicians are still basing their policies on emotion-laden personal conviction rather than the outcome of properly designed scientific studies.

Attitude of Health Personnel↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Effects of managed care on physician-patient relationships, quality of care, and the ethical practice of medicine: a physician survey.

BACKGROUND: Survey studies have shown that physicians believe managed care is having significant impact on many of their professional obligations. METHODS: Primary care physicians were asked about the impact of managed care on: (1) physician-patient relationships, (2) the ability of physicians to carry out their professional ethical obligations, and (3) quality of patient care. In 1996 we surveyed 1011 primary care physicians in Pennsylvania. The survey group's responses were graded on a Likert scale. Space was provided for respondents to include written comments. The SPSS statistical software (SPSS Inc, Chicago, Ill) was used to analyze the data. RESULTS: The response rate was 55%. Most respondents indicated that under managed care physicians are less able to avoid conflicts of interest and less able to place the best interests of patients first. The majority responded that quality of health care is compromised by limitations in location of diagnostic tests, length of hospital stay, and choice of specialists. A significant minority (27%-49%) noted a decrease in the physician's ability to carry out ethical obligations, to respect patient autonomy, and to respect confidentiality in physician-patient communication. Most physicians expressed that managed care made no impact on ability to obtain informed consent or to provide information. There were small but statistically significant sex differences, with female physicians more negative toward managed care. CONCLUSIONS: Many physicians surveyed believe managed care has significant negative effects on the physician-patient relationship, the ability to carry out ethical obligations, and on quality of patient care. These results have implications for health care system reform efforts.

Attitude of Health Personnel↗