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Biomedical subjects

G Albertson

Publications and source records attributed to G Albertson.

3 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2000

Alternative/complementary medicine: wider usage than generally appreciated.

OBJECTIVE: To test the hypothesis that there is substantial use of a practitioner of alternative/complementary medicine by patients traditionally considered to be underserved. DESIGN: Cross-sectional, self-administered survey study. SETTINGS: Three university hospital-affiliated general ambulatory clinics serving patients of different socioeconomic status and racial origin. SUBJECTS: Five hundred and thirty-six (93% of those attending) consecutive clinic attendees. OUTCOME MEASURES: Past use and desired future use of one or more practitioners of five modalities of alternative/complementary medicine and willingness to pay for these modalities out-of-pocket. RESULTS: Past usage and desired future usage of one or more practitioners of alternative/complementary medicine was comparable at the three clinic sites despite wide differences in socioeconomic status and willingness/ability to pay out-of-pocket for these services. Multivariable analyses revealed lower self-rated health status and female gender (both p < 0.006) but not income, race, age or education as independent, significant predictors of use of a practitioner of alternative/complementary medicine. CONCLUSION: Usage of alternative/complementary medicine is not confined to any well-circumscribed socioeconomic group and is common in patients often considered to be underserved. Self-assessed lower health status is significantly and independently associated with use of a practitioner of alternative/complementary care.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2000

Patient desire and reasons for specialist referral in a gatekeeper-model managed care plan.

OBJECTIVE: To describe patient desire and reasons for specialist referrals in a gatekeeper-model managed care plan. STUDY DESIGN: Cross-sectional prospective study. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We developed a patient questionnaire to gather demographic data and to gauge patients' desire for specialist referral and their reasons for seeking such referral. The survey was administered at 2 sites--an ambulatory care facility of a university hospital and an internal medicine clinic in a suburban ambulatory care site. Patients asked to complete the questionnaire at the university hospital site were enrolled in a gatekeeper-model managed care plan (called CU Gold); those seen at the internal medicine clinic were enrolled in a group-model health maintenance organization. Patients were asked to complete the 1-page questionnaire in the waiting room before being seen by their primary care physician. RESULTS: Among the 860 CU Gold patients who met the inclusion criteria during the 3-month study period (September to December 1997), 112 (13%) reported a definite desire to see a specialist and 274 (32%) indicated a possible desire to see a specialist at the time of their primary care visit. Compared with the CU Gold patients, significantly fewer patients in the health maintenance organization indicated a definite desire to see a specialist (3% versus 13%), but a similar percentage expressed a possible desire to see a specialist (30% versus 32%). The difference in definite desire for referral between the 2 groups could not be explained by patient or primary care physician characteristics. The principal health concerns for which patients sought referral were musculoskeletal, genitourinary or gynecologic, or dermatologic problems. Need for reassurance (cited by 67% of patients), seeing a specialist before (56%), and believing the primary care physician lacked expertise (49%) were the primary reasons patients sought referral. Seventy-four percent of patients referred by their primary care provider and 54% of those not referred agreed it was a good idea to see their primary care physician first before seeing a specialist. CONCLUSIONS: Patients have a significant desire for specialist referral, driven by their need for reassurance, previous specialist referral, and belief that their primary care physician does not have the requisite expertise. Patients' expectations for referral varied significantly, depending on the healthcare system (academic primary care clinic or health maintenance organization) in which they were enrolled.

Adult↗