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PubMed2005

Somatization increases medical utilization and costs independent of psychiatric and medical comorbidity.

CONTEXT: Somatoform disorders are an important determinant of medical care utilization, but their independent effect on utilization is difficult to determine because somatizing patients frequently have psychiatric and medical comorbidity. OBJECTIVES: To assess the extent of the overlap of somatization with other psychiatric disorders; to compare the medical utilization of somatizing and nonsomatizing patients; and to determine the independent contribution of somatization alone to utilization. DESIGN: Patients were surveyed with self-report questionnaires assessing somatization and psychiatric disorder. Medical care utilization was obtained from automated encounter data for the year preceding the index visit. Medical morbidity was indexed with a computerized medical record audit. SETTING: Two hospital-affiliated primary care practices. PARTICIPANTS: Consecutive adults making scheduled visits to their primary care physicians on randomly chosen days. In all, 2668 questionnaires were distributed, and 1914 (71.7%) were returned. Of these, 1546 (80.8%) contained complete data and met eligibility criteria. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Medical care utilization and costs within our hospital system in the preceding 12 months. RESULTS: Two hundred ninety-nine patients (20.5%) received a provisional diagnosis of somatization; 42.3% of these patients had no comorbid depressive or anxiety disorder. Somatizing patients, when compared with nonsomatizing patients, had more primary care visits (mean [SE], 4.90 [0.32] vs 3.43 [0.11]; P<.001); more specialty visits (mean [SE], 8.13 [0.55] vs 4.90 [0.21]; P<.001); more emergency department visits (mean [SE], 1.29 [0.15] vs 0.52 [0.036]; P<.001); more hospital admissions (mean [SE], 0.32 [0.051] vs 0.13 [0.014]; P<.001); higher inpatient costs (mean [SE], USD 3146 [USD 380] vs USD 991 [USD 193]; P<.001); and higher outpatient costs (mean [SE], USD 3208 [USD 180] vs USD 1771 [USD 91]; P<.001). When these results were adjusted for the presence of comorbid anxiety and depressive disorders, major medical morbidity, and sociodemographic characteristics, patients with somatoform disorder still had more primary care visits (P = .04), more specialist visits (P = .002), more emergency department visits (P<.001), more hospital admissions (P<.001), more ambulatory procedures (P<.001), higher inpatient costs (P<.001), and higher outpatient costs (P<.001). When these findings are extrapolated to the national level, an estimated USD 256 billion a year in medical care costs are attributable to the incremental effect of somatization alone. CONCLUSIONS: Patients with somatization had approximately twice the outpatient and inpatient medical care utilization and twice the annual medical care costs of nonsomatizing patients. Adjusting the findings for the presence of psychiatric and medical comorbidity had relatively little effect on this association.

Adult↗
PubMed2004

[Impact of the law of the 4 March 2002 relative to patients' rights on request for medical information received in a medical dispatching center and mobile intensive care unit (Samu 93)].

INTRODUCTION: Law of the 4 March 2002 allowed patient's access to his medical record. This law could increase the number of requests in medical dispatching centers and prehospital intensive care units. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of this law on the number of requests for medical information received in our unit. METHODS: Since the promulgation of the law, from March to December 2002, medical requests were prospectively collected and classified in categories including request for transmission of medical record. Requests received before the law, from January 2000 to February 2002 were classified according to the same items. Number of requests received during the two periods were compared according to the total number of medical record managed in our medical dispatching center and prehospital intensive care unit. RESULTS: The total number of requests for medical information significantly increased since the law of March 2002 (results are expressed as cases per month per 10 000 record: 4.8 +/- 2.5 vs. 8.0 +/- 4.5; p = 0.04). Specific request for transmissions of medical record significantly increased since the law (1.3 +/- 1.6 vs. 3.0 +/- 3.0; P = 0.046). This increase was progressive and constant since March 2002. DISCUSSION: Physicians and patients should take in consideration consequences of this law. Physician should be vigilant with the quality of their medical dossiers. Interpretation of this law and its ethics consequences will probably be discussed again as one should not exclude perverse impact of this law. In effect, insurances and mutual insurances companies could find in this law a way to obtain medical information, such as circumstances of death, previously unavailable. CONCLUSION: The law of 4 March 2002 relative to patients' rights significantly increased number of requests for medical information received in our dispatching center and prehospital intensive care unit.

Access to Information↗
PubMed2006

Adherence behaviour with psychotropic medication is a form of self-medication.

Adherence with psychotropic medication is at least at poor as adherence with medication for physical health problems. There has been an assumption this was due to loss of insight resulting from psychiatric disorders themselves. Consequently, interventions have focussed on treating the underlying psychiatric disorder and generating psychological strategies to promote awareness. Recent surveys of patient preferences for information and involvement in health care decisions highlight that most individuals want to participate in the process of medical care. Patients often have strong pre-existing beliefs about different therapeutic options. This is supported by the self-determination theory which distinguishes between autonomous behaviour and behaviours that are influenced by external forces. When considering the patient perspective in medication adherence, it is useful to consider the self-medication hypothesis. This can equally be applied to prescribed and non-prescribed drugs. The self-medication hypothesis states that patients decide to start, adjust or stop prescribed medication according to perceived health needs. Such decisions are often conducted intentionally and rationally, given the information available to the patient and their understanding of their condition. In this narrative review, the evidence for and against intentionality in psychotropic adherence behaviour is examined. Studies of compliance and related predictors are examined in depression, schizophrenia and bipolar affective disorder. Results suggest that although concordance depends on patient, illness and clinician factors, patient choice is usually the final common pathway. Illness severity and insight is important in some cases but can act in concert with cognitive factors. Individuals appear to prefer to take medication "as required" (symptomatically) rather than prophylactically. Significant influences upon self-medication habits are prior health beliefs, medication attitudes, adverse effects and adequacy of communication from the health care professional. The self-medication hypothesis applied to prescribed psychotropic medication should assist rather than heed clinicians in improving adherence by taking a patient centred approach and where possible promoting patient autonomy.

Attitude to Health↗
PubMed2005

Medication management at home: medication-related risk factors associated with poor health outcomes.

BACKGROUND: Some patients may have medication-related risk factors only identified by home visits, but the extent to which those risk factors are associated with poor health outcomes remains unclear. OBJECTIVE: To determine the association between medication-related risk factors and poor patient health outcomes from observations in the patients' homes. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study. SETTING: Patients' homes. SUBJECTS: 204 general practice patients living in their own homes and at risk of medication-related poor health outcomes. METHODS: Medications and medication-related risk factors were identified in the patients' homes by community pharmacists and general practitioners (GPs). The medication-related risk factors were examined as determinants of patients' self-reported health related quality of life (SF-36) and their medication use, as well as physicians' impression of patient adverse drug events and health status. RESULTS: Key medication-related risk factors associated with poor health outcomes included: Lack of any medication administration routine, therapeutic duplication, hoarding, confusion between generic and trade names, multiple prescribers, discontinued medication repeats retained and multiple storage locations. Older age and female gender were associated with some poorer health outcomes. In addition, expired medication and poor adherence were also associated with poor health outcomes, however, not independently. CONCLUSION: The findings support the theory that polypharmacy and medication-related risk factors as a result of polypharmacy are correlated to poor health outcomes.

Adult↗
PubMed1999

Teaching public health to medical students in the United Kingdom--are the General Medical Council's recommendations being implemented?

BACKGROUND: Despite frequent calls to improve undergraduate medical public health teaching, little is known about whether curricula have changed. We report a survey of undergraduate public health teaching in UK medical schools in 1996. The survey aimed to assess whether the General Medical Council's 1993 recommendations to strengthen undergraduate medical education in public health have been implemented. METHODS: We asked heads of academic departments of public health at all 26 UK medical schools to complete a questionnaire and provide supporting documentation for each undergraduate public health course or module. We compared results from the 1996 survey with those from a similar survey in 1992. RESULTS: Twenty-one out of 26 (81 per cent) medical schools responded. All responding medical schools included public health teaching within their curriculum. The median number of public health courses per medical school was unchanged since 1992. A wide variety of topics were taught. Core public health subjects were taught at most schools, though over a quarter of medical schools did not cover some core topics. Between 1992 and 1996 the proportion of time devoted to teaching by lectures decreased, whereas the following all increased: teaching by small group methods; the proportion of courses using methods of assessment encouraging active learning; and the contribution of public health courses to the final degree assessment. CONCLUSION: The findings suggest that many of the General Medical Council's recommendations for improving the delivery of undergraduate education are being addressed by public health teaching in UK medical schools. However, addressing the gaps in undergraduate public health teaching revealed in this survey is a continuing challenge for academic public health departments. Medical schools should review the content of their undergraduate public health teaching to ensure that tomorrow's doctors are adequately equipped with public health knowledge and skills.

Cross-Sectional Studies↗
PubMed2006

Comparison of administrative data and medical records to measure the quality of medical care provided to vulnerable older patients.

BACKGROUND: Administrative data are used to determine performance for publicly reported in health plan "report cards," accreditation status, and reimbursement. However, it is unclear how performance based on administrative data and medical records compare. METHODS: We compared applicability, eligibility, and performance on 182 measures of health care quality using medical records and administrative data during a 13-month period for a random sample of 399 vulnerable older patients enrolled in managed care. RESULTS: Of 182 quality indicators (QIs) spanning 22 conditions, 145 (80%) were applicable only to medical records and 37 (20%) to either medical records or administrative data. Among 48 QIs specific to geriatric conditions, all were applicable to medical records; 2 of these also were applicable to administrative data. Eligibility for the 37 QIs that were applicable to both medical records and administrative data was similar for both data sources (94% agreement, kappa = 0.74). With the use of medical records, 152 of the 182 the QIs that were applicable to medical records were triggered and yielded an overall performance of 55%. Using administrative data, 30 of the 37 QIs that were applicable to administrative data were triggered and yielded overall performance of 83% (P < 0.05 vs. medical records). Restricting to QIs applicable to both data sources, overall performance was 84% and 83% (P = 0.21) for medical records and administrative data, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The number and spectrum of QIs that can be measured for vulnerable elderly patients is far greater for medical records than for administrative data. Although summary estimates of health care quality derived from administrative data and medical records do not differ when using identical measures, summary scores from these data sources vary substantially when the totality of care that can be measured by each data source is measured.

Aged↗
PubMed1991

How the medical comorbidity of depressed patients differs across health care settings: results from the Medical Outcomes Study.

OBJECTIVE: Although depression is one of the most common problems of medical and psychiatric outpatients, it has not been clear whether the extent of medical comorbidity among depressed patients varies across major types of clinical settings in which depressed patients receive care--especially by type of treating clinician (general medical versus mental health specialty) or type of payment for services (prepaid versus fee-for-service). METHODS: The authors examined these issues using data on 1,152 adult outpatients with current depressive symptoms and a lifetime history of unipolar depressive disorder who received care in one of three health care delivery systems in three U.S. sites. RESULTS: Depressed patients had a similarly high prevalence (64.9%-71.0%) of any of eight common chronic medical conditions whether they were seen in the general medical or specialty mental health sector; however, those visiting medical clinicians had a significantly higher prevalence of the two most common chronic medical conditions, hypertension and arthritis. Among depressed patients with hypertension, those visiting the general medical sector were more likely to be taking antihypertensive medication than were those visiting the mental health specialty sector. Type of payment (prepaid versus fee-for-service) was unrelated to either prevalence or severity of comorbid medical conditions, suggesting that the typical depressed patient in all types of practices studied had medical comorbidity. CONCLUSIONS: These data suggest that clinicians in all health care settings must be prepared to encounter chronic medical conditions and complaints in the depressed patients who visit them.

Adult↗
PubMed2004

Scientific basis for selection of emergency medical examination gloves for emergency medical technicians, paramedics, firefighters, and emergency department personnel.

Dusting powders were first applied to gloves to facilitate donning. After 1980, manufacturers devised innovative techniques to manufacture gloves without dusting powders. It has been well documented that the powders on gloves present a health hazard to patients, as well as healthcare workers. First, these powders elicit tissue toxicity in every tissue in the body. Second, these powders serve as carriers of latex allergen and may precipitate a life-threatening allergic reaction in sensitized patients. These well-documented hazards of glove powders have caused a growing number of emergency medical technicians, paramedics, firelighters, and hospitals to abandon the use of powdered emergency medical examination gloves, using only powder-free gloves. Powder-free latex as well as non-latex gloves are now available to emergency medical technicians, paramedics, firefighters, and emergency department personnel. The use of powder-free natural rubber latex-free gloves is especially important to emergency medical technicians, paramedics, firefighters, as well as emergency department personnel to avoid eliciting an allergic reaction in the latex sensitized patient. The majority of our emergency medical technicians, paramedics and firefighters are now wearing powder-free emergency medical examination gloves that comply with the stringent Codes and Standards established by the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), while very few hospital emergency department personnel have been provided with NFPA approved gloves. It is the purpose of this report to review the stringent regulations for emergency medical examination gloves that are outlined by the NFPA. This design and performance Standard was devised by the NFPA to address protective clothing for emergency medical operations. The design and performance requirement of the emergency medical examination gloves were described in the NFPA 1999, Standard on Protective Clothing for Emergency Medical Operations, 1997 Edition. In September 2003, the emergency medical examination glove must meet the new design and performance requirements of emergency medical examination gloves discussed

Certification↗