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Biomedical subjects

T V Perneger

Publications and source records attributed to T V Perneger.

At least 91 records · Page 5Linked to original sources
PubMed1997

Patient satisfaction with emergency house calls.

STUDY OBJECTIVES: To identify determinants of patient satisfaction with emergency house calls and to assess the properties of a satisfaction measurement questionnaire. DESIGN: Patient survey, combined with routinely collected information on the circumstances of the house call. SETTING: Emergency house calls provided by an independent emergency care organization (ECO) in Geneva, Switzerland. PARTICIPANTS: Consecutive sample of 389 patients (67% response rate). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Patient satisfaction. PREDICTOR VARIABLES: patient age and sex, type of medical problem, time of visit, waiting time, duration of visit, perceived effectiveness of treatment. RESULTS: The satisfaction questionnaire was easy to administer. Factor analysis identified 3 separate dimensions of satisfaction, which pertained to the visit itself, to access and to general attitude toward the ECO. Validation tests were consistent with expectations. In multivariate analysis, older patient age and greater perceived treatment effectiveness predicted independently all satisfaction scales. Presence of a mixed physical and mental problem reduced satisfaction with the visit itself only, a delay between the phone call and the visit exceeding one hour reduced satisfaction with access and worsened the attitude toward the ECO. CONCLUSION: The instrument used to measure patient satisfaction with emergency house calls performed well. Overall levels of satisfaction were high. Perceived effectiveness of treatment was the strongest correlate of patient satisfaction. Monitoring of patient satisfaction in emergency settings may contribute to improvements of quality of care.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1997

History of hypertension in patients treated for end-stage renal disease.

OBJECTIVES: To describe patterns of hypertension history in patients with various types of end-stage renal disease (ESRD) and in persons with normal kidney function; and to identify risk factors for the diagnosis 'hypertensive ESRD'. DESIGN: A case-control study. SETTING: Population-based. PARTICIPANTS: Patients with ESRD due to hypertension (n = 214), diabetes (n = 239), other specified causes (n = 181), unknown causes (n = 82) and control subjects drawn from the general population (n = 361). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Participants' history of hypertension. RESULTS: The prevalence of hypertension was 90% in ESRD patients and 27% in controls. Only 6% of patients with hypertensive ESRD had a history of malignant hypertension. Patients with hypertensive ESRD were more likely to have been hospitalized because of hypertension (36%) than were other ESRD patients (18%) or controls (5%). ESRD of any cause was more strongly associated with hypertension of > or = 25 years duration (odds ratio 51.0, compared with normal blood pressure) than it was with hypertension of shorter duration (15-25 years: odds ratio 31.8, 5-15 years: odds ratio 16.0, < 5 years: odds ratio 21.2). Among patients who had both hypertension and ESRD, the diagnosis of 'hypertensive ESRD' was associated independently with a long duration of hypertension, greater severity of hypertension, the absence of diabetes, black race, and limited education. CONCLUSIONS: Hypertension is common among patients with ESRD. The risk of ESRD from any cause increases progressively with the duration of hypertension, and with indicators of severe hypertension. This result supports the hypothesis that nonmalignant hypertension of long duration may cause renal insufficiency. The criteria used to diagnose hypertensive ESRD are consistent with pathophysiologic and epidemiologic evidence.

Adult↗
PubMed1997

Kidney damage in 'benign' essential hypertension.

During the past 12 months additional evidence has emerged from observational studies indicating that high blood pressure is an important independent predictor of incident renal damage, progression of existing renal disease, and morbidity and mortality in patients with renal failure. Several of these studies suggest that elevation of systolic blood pressure is a stronger predictor of risk than a corresponding increase in diastolic blood pressure. Furthermore, the relationship between blood pressure and incident renal disease appears to be positive and continuous throughout the entire spectrum of blood pressure, including in the 'normotensive' range. Recent clinical trial experience in patients with renal insufficiency of diverse etiology supports the beneficial effect of treatment with angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors noted in earlier studies confined to patients with type II diabetes. Ongoing trials should help clarify optimal choice of antihypertensive medications and goals for reduction of blood pressure in prevention of renal disease. In the interim, two new guidelines for management of hypertension in patients with existing renal disease provide helpful guidance for the clinician.

Antihypertensive Agents↗
PubMed1997

Prospective versus retrospective measurement of change in health status: a community based study in Geneva, Switzerland.

STUDY OBJECTIVES: To compare prospective and retrospective measurements of change in health status. DESIGN: Health status was measured using a French language version of the short form 36 (SF-36) health survey on two occasions one year apart--in 1992 and 1993. Differences in SF-36 scores measured prospectively were compared with the patients' single item retrospective evaluation of change in health (transition item). SETTING: This was a community based study among members of two health insurance plans in Geneva, Switzerland. PARTICIPANTS: Altogether 831 young adults (mean age 30 years at baseline). MAIN RESULTS: Health status remained stable on average during the study period. The retrospective rating correlated well with changes in health measured prospectively: those who said in 1993 that their current health was "much worse" than in 1992 experienced an average decrease of 1.06 SD on the eight SF-36 scales, while those who said that their health was "much better" recorded an average improvement of 0.43 SD. The associations between prospective and retrospective assessments of change were approximately linear for all scales but physical functioning. The transition item also discriminated between time periods: transition reported for 1991-92 did not correlate with changes recorded for 1992-93. Relative validity analyses indicated that the transition item was better suited to capture changes in general health than changes in purely physical or mental aspects of health. CONCLUSIONS: The concordance between retrospective and prospective measures of change in health suggests that both are sensitive, to some extent, to true changes in health status. Using both types of assessment may improve the reliability of measurements of change.

Adult↗
PubMed1997

Introducing managed care in Switzerland: impact on use of health services.

The objectives of this study were to assess changes in the self-reported use of health care services after gatekeeping by general practitioners and a global budget were introduced in the health insurance plan for students at the University of Geneva, Switzerland, in October 1992. A random sample of 336 members of the University plan answered questions about their use of health care services during the year before (1992) and the year after (1993) the introduction of managed care. Similar data were collected among a random sample of 300 members of a comparison plan. All participants were 18-44 y old in 1992, spoke French and lived in Geneva. The proportion of insurees who visited specialists decreased by 10% in the University plan between 1992 and 1993 and remained unchanged in the comparison group. The proportion of insurees who visited general practitioners increased by 12% in the University plan and remained unchanged in the comparison group. No effects on the total number of health care visits, on hospitalisations or on use of medications were detected. The introduction of gatekeeping and of a global budget managed by physicians was associated with a transfer of patient visits from specialists to general practitioners.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1997

Predictors of patient retention in a newly established methadone maintenance treatment programme.

AIMS: To identify predictors of patient retention in methadone maintenance. DESIGN: Prospective study. SETTING: Methadone maintenance treatment programme newly established in Geneva, Switzerland. PARTICIPANTS: All patients who initiated treatment between February 1991 and January 1995. MEASUREMENTS: Baseline patient characteristics, dose of methadone, year of enrollment and retention in treatment. FINDINGS: Overall, 111 patients contributed 164.4 person-years of follow-up. The retention rate was 84% after 12 months. In multivariate analysis, the risk of dropping out was significantly higher for patients who had been using opioids for < or = 7 years (relative hazard (RH) 3.0, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.2-7.4), and for patients who had no stable income at baseline (RH 3.3, 95% CI 1.2-9.1). Dropouts were less frequent at the highest doses of methadone (65-110 mg/day, RH 1.0) than at middle doses (45-60 mg/day, RH 2.0, 95% CI 0.7-5.5) but, quite unexpectedly, dropouts were least likely at the lowest doses (15-40 mg/day, RH 0.5, 95% CI 0.1-1.8). Dropouts were more likely among patients who enrolled in the first (RH 6.2, 95% CI 2.3-16.7) and second (RH 1.9, 95% CI 0.6-5.6) years of the programme, compared with subsequent years (RH 1.0). CONCLUSIONS: Patients who have a long history of drug use and who have a stable income were more likely to stay in methadone maintenance treatment. Independent of patient characteristics, retention improved dramatically in the first years of programme functioning, suggesting that patient retention is a sensitive indicator of programme performance.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1996

[Patient satisfaction in the ambulatory setting: validation of a scale and identification of associated factors].

BACKGROUND: Patient satisfaction is increasingly used to evaluate the performance of health services. Validated French-language instruments to measure satisfaction are currently lacking. This study was designed to validate a questionnaire of this kind and to identify factors associated with patient satisfaction. METHODS: Mail survey of 1027 patients who consulted at 4 different ambulatory health care settings in Geneva, Switzerland. The participation rate was 81%. The questionnaire measured 7 dimensions of satisfaction using 16 items adapted from other sources. RESULTS: The questionnaire was easy to respond to (scores were available for 95 to 99% of respondents, depending on the scale). The internal consistency of the scales was satisfactory (Cronbach alpha between 0.65 and 0.82) for 5 of 6 multi-item scales; it was lower for the scale which measures satisfaction with access to care. Factor analysis identified two principal components corresponding roughly to the "process" and to the "organization" of care. Open comments also confirmed the validity of the multi-item scales. Several patient or visit characteristics were independently associated with the level of satisfaction: older patients, those who were born in Switzerland, who had a visit appointment, who consulted a specialist, and those who saw the same physician as at their previous visit were more satisfied than other patients. CONCLUSIONS: The brief satisfaction questionnaire described in this paper is easy to use, and its reliability and validity are good. Its use can be recommended in ambulatory health care settings. Several variables associated with the level of satisfaction were identified; they should be measured in satisfaction surveys to allow correct appraisal of the results.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1996

[Current models in health insurance and health care delivery].

Health care organizations similar to American HMOs have recently appeared in Switzerland. They elicit many reactions, both in the general public and among the medical profession. In contrast to traditional health insurance, HMOs organize and actively manage health care delivered to their members. This paper reviews the historical background of similar organizations in Europe and in the United States, and focuses in particular on the recent evolution and fragmentation of the concept of "managed care". Follows a discussion of the mechanisms and the side-effects of various tools used to manage care, both in managed care settings and by traditional health insurance plans. It appears that all of health care is managed, that all management tools have potential side effects, and that use of some management tools implies a redistribution of the respective roles of plan members, administrators, and physicians. The authors suggest that the complexity of health care management requires a more active implication of the health professions in that process.

Delivery of Health Care↗
PubMed1996

Prognostic value of viremia in patients with long-standing human immunodeficiency virus infection. Swiss HIV Cohort Study Group.

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) viremia was evaluated in 73 patients with long-standing infection to investigate its relationship with clinical or biologic parameters and to assess its use as a predictor of clinical progression and death. After adjustment for other parameters, baseline HIV RNA level was significantly associated with baseline clinical stage and CD4 cell count. During follow-up (mean, 14.6 months), 16 patients died; 34 others had clinical progression of disease. In multivariate analysis, mortality was better predicted by baseline CD4 cell count (relative hazard [RH] for 100-cell decrease, 3.5; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.5-8.2; P = .003) than by HIV RNA (P = .28) or clinical stage. HIV RNA level was the best predictor of clinical progression (RH for 1 log increase, 2.8; 95% CI, 1.6-4.9; P < .001). Monitoring of HIV RNA level may help to identify patients who might benefit from antiretroviral or prophylactic therapy.

Adult↗
PubMed1996

Does sponsorship matter in patient satisfaction surveys? A randomized trial.

The purpose of this study was to assess the impact of sponsorship of a mailed satisfaction survey on response patterns and patient satisfaction ratings, and to establish whether satisfaction ratings depend on the timing of response. The study was part of a patient satisfaction survey conducted in a medical group practice in Geneva, Switzerland. All persons who had received an outpatient visit at the medical practice in the last week of September 1993 were assigned randomly to receiving the survey package either on university letterhead or on the medical practice letterhead. Participation rates were 80.5% and 80.4% in the two groups, respectively. The sponsorship of the survey had no detectable impact on response speed or response completeness. Six out of seven satisfaction scores were higher in the "medical practice" group, but the differences were not statistically significant. As data collection progressed, the cumulative satisfaction rating decreased gradually. This association was statistically significant but moderate. Whether a satisfaction survey is sponsored by a university or a health care provider does not seem to affect survey results. However, low survey response rates may moderately bias satisfaction estimates toward higher values.

Data Collection↗
PubMed1996

Analgesics and chronic renal disease.

Intake of analgesics has been associated with the presence of chronic renal diseases in a number of studies. Phenacetin was the first drug to be linked with chronic renal disease. Four out of five case-control studies that have examined this issue have also demonstrated an association of acetaminophen use with renal disease. Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs have not been available for a long enough time to evaluate risk associated with their use. Several studies suggest that mixtures of analgesics are most harmful to the Kidney. The National Kidney Foundation recently issued a position paper on analgesics and the kidney that provides guidance to patients and providers.

Analgesics↗
PubMed1996

Comparison of patient satisfaction with ambulatory visits in competing health care delivery settings in Geneva, Switzerland.

OBJECTIVES: To measure satisfaction with medical visits in various health care settings and to assess the extent to which differences in satisfaction scores between health care settings can be attributed to patients' characteristics. DESIGN: This was a cross sectional survey to measure seven dimensions of patient satisfaction. SETTINGS: Ambulatory visits to 'gatekeepers' or specialists in a newly established managed care organisation, a private group practice, or a university hospital outpatient clinic in Geneva, Switzerland. PATIENTS: There were altogether 1027 adult patients (81% participation rate). RESULTS: Patients who consulted physicians in the private group practice reported higher levels of satisfaction (overall mean 83.2 on a scale between 0 and 100) than university clinic patients (79.7), patients of independent specialists within the managed plan (78.5), and patients of managed plan gatekeepers (69.8, intergroup differences p < 0.001). Differences between settings were reduced after adjustment for sex, age, country of origin, general practitioner versus specialist visit, and scheduled versus urgent visit (adjusted scores: 80.8, 78.8, 77.6, and 72.7 in the four settings, p < 0.001). Intergroup differences were largest for general satisfaction, but small and non-significant for satisfaction with explanations given by the physician and for time spent with the patient. CONCLUSIONS: Patient satisfaction varied widely between health care settings. Differences in satisfaction ratings could be ascribed only partly to disparities in patient populations. Patients of managed plan gatekeepers were least satisfied, presumably because they could not choose their physician freely. Comparison of patient satisfaction across health care settings can provide a basis for targeted quality improvement initiatives.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1996

Switching Swiss enrollees from indemnity health insurance to managed care: the effect on health status and stisfaction with care.

OBJECTIVES: In 1992, most members of a Swiss indemnity health insurance plan were automatically transferred into a newly created managed care organization. This study examined whether this semivoluntary change affected enrollees' health status and satisfaction with care. METHODS: Three groups of enrollees were compared: 332 plan members who accepted the switch (managed care joiners); 186 plan members who opted to maintain indemnity coverage (non-joiners); and 296 persons continuosly enrolled in another indemnity plan (indemnity plan members). Health status, health related behaviors, and satisfaction with care received in the previous year were surveyed at baseline and 1 year later. RESULTS: Health status remained unchanged in all three groups. Smoking prevalence decreased among managed care joiners but remained constant in the other groups. Satisfaction with insurance coverage increased between baseline and follow-up in managed care joiners, but decreased in nonjoiners and indemnity plan members. The latter groups had higher satisfaction with health care, particularly with continuity of care. CONCLUSIONS: A semivoluntary switch from indemnity health insurance to managed care reduced satisfaction with health care but increased satisfaction with insurance coverage. There were no changes in self-perceived health status.

Adult↗
PubMed1996

The role of blood pressure as a risk factor for renal disease: a review of the epidemiologic evidence.

The aim of the paper is to examine the relationship between blood pressure (BP) and renal disease with an overview of observational and experimental investigations, with the emphasis on studies that provide data obtained in unselected population samples. We have found an increasing body of evidence from cross-sectional, case-control, prospective, and experimental studies that indicate BP is an important, independent predictor of both increased relative and attributable risk of renal insufficiency and end-stage renal disease. The relationship between BP and subsequent renal disease appears to be positive and continuous throughout the entire range of BP. Furthermore, the data indicate that elevations in systolic BP (SBP) are stronger predictors of risk compared to corresponding increases in diastolic BP (DBP). Clinical trials experience suggests that reduction in BP decreases the risk of subsequent renal disease. Ongoing trials should help to clarify issues related to choice of antihypertensive therapy and optimal goals for reduction of BP in order to prevent renal disease.

Animals↗
PubMed1995

Does the onset of tuberculosis in AIDS predict shorter survival? Results of a cohort study in 17 European countries over 13 years. AIDS in Europe Study Group.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the impact of tuberculosis on mortality in patients with AIDS. DESIGN: Community based cohort study. SETTING: 52 centres in 17 countries (AIDS in Europe study). SUBJECTS: 5249 patients who were alive and free of tuberculosis one month after the diagnosis of AIDS, enrolled between 1979 and 1989, and followed up until 1992. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Onset of clinically active tuberculosis or death, or both. RESULTS: During a mean follow up period of 15 months 201 (4%) patients developed tuberculosis and 3889 (74%) died. Patients who developed tuberculosis survived significantly longer (median 22 months) than those who did not (median 16 months). This apparent survival advantage was due to patients who survived longer having more opportunity to develop tuberculosis (or any other disease). In models that took into account the time at which tuberculosis was diagnosed, the onset of tuberculosis was associated with a significant increase in mortality (adjusted relative hazard of death 1.34; 95% confidence interval 1.12 to 1.60). CONCLUSIONS: The onset of tuberculosis in patients with AIDS predicts a substantial increase in mortality. Whether this increased mortality is directly attributable to the tuberculosis remains uncertain. If the association is causal preventive chemotherapy and aggressive treatment of tuberculosis could improve survival in AIDS.

AIDS-Related Opportunistic Infections↗
PubMed1995

Race and end-stage renal disease. Socioeconomic status and access to health care as mediating factors.

OBJECTIVE: To examine whether lower socioeconomic status and limited access to health care explain the racial inequities in the incidence of end-stage renal disease (ESRD), and whether these factors are independently associated with ESRD. METHODS: This case-control study compared 716 patients with ESRD with 361 population controls of the same age, 20 to 64 years old, from Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, and Washington, DC. Race, indicators of socioeconomic status (household annual income, years of education), and indicators of access to health care (health insurance status, number of missing teeth, usual source of care, use of preventive services) were assessed via a telephone interview. RESULTS: Independent risk factors for ESRD included non-white race (odds ratio for blacks, 5.5; 95% confidence interval, 3.8 to 8.0; odds ratio for other nonwhites, 3.5; 95% confidence interval, 1.2 to 10.0), categories of income (odds ratio gradient, 1.0 to 4.5; 95% confidence interval, 2.6 to 7.8), receipt of Medicaid benefits (odds ratio, 3.5; 95% confidence interval, 1.5 to 8.4), and number of missing teeth (odds ratio gradient, 1.0 to 2.2; 95% confidence interval, 1.2 to 4.1). Adjustment for socioeconomic variables reduced the odds ratio for blacks only partially, from 8.1 to 5.5. The proportions of ESRD incidence that could be attributed to each risk factor were 46% for minority race, 53% for income categories, and 33% for missing teeth. CONCLUSIONS: Low socioeconomic status and limited access to health care were strong risk factors for kidney failure, but they explained only part of the excess of ESRD in blacks. Racial and social factors account for a large part of ESRD incidence. The mechanisms of these associations should be targeted by further research.

Adult↗