Family Medicine Update

Does vocational training in family medicine have an impact on antibiotic prescribing pattern?

Fam Pract. 2010 Aug 9;

Authors: Lo YY, Lam CL, Mercer SW, Fong DY

BACKGROUND: Antibiotics overuse is common and is the major cause of antibiotic resistance. Rational use of antibiotics by GPs is essential as most health problems are exclusively dealt within primary care. Postgraduate family medicine (FM) training has become established in various countries over the last few decades but little is known about the effect of FM training on antibiotic prescribing. OBJECTIVE: To determine whether GPs with FM training prescribe less antibiotics than those without training. METHODS: GPs working in a pluralistic primary health care system took part in the 2007-08 primary care morbidity and management survey in Hong Kong and collected information of all consecutive patient encounters during predetermined weeks of data collection. Characteristics of GPs, training status, patient morbidity and antibiotic prescribing pattern were compared using multivariate regression analyses. RESULTS: One hundred and nine GPs, of whom 67 had FM training, participated in the study and recorded 69 973 health problems. The overall antibiotic prescribing rate was 8.5% and that of GPs with FM training was 5.4% compared with the 13.3% among those without. Multivariate logistic regression showed that GPs with FM training were less likely to prescribe antibiotics (odds ratio 0.68, P < 0.05). They had lower antibiotic prescribing rates when managing upper respiratory tract infections, acute bronchitis and cough but higher in treating infective conjunctivitis and acute laryngitis. CONCLUSIONS: Postgraduate FM training in Hong Kong is associated with significantly lower antibiotic prescribing rates. This supports the importance of FM training in rationalizing the use of antibiotics in Hong Kong.

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– Does vocational training in family medicine have an impact on antibiotic prescribing pattern?

Patient-, provider-, and clinic-level predictors of unrecognized elevated blood pressure in children.

Pediatrics. 2010 Jun;125(6):e1286-93

Authors: Brady TM, Solomon BS, Neu AM, Siberry GK, Parekh RS

OBJECTIVE: The goal was to determine patient-, provider-, and clinic-level predictors of unrecognized elevated blood pressure (BP) in children. We hypothesized that being of healthy weight, having a BP of <120/80 mmHg, and being seen by a less experienced provider would result in decreased recognition. METHODS: A cross-sectional study of clinic visits for children 3 to 20 years of age at an urban, pediatric primary care practice between January 1, 2006, and June 30, 2006, was performed. Children with elevated systolic or diastolic BP (> or = 90th percentile or > or = 120/80 mmHg) were included. Recognition was defined as having any of the following documented: repeat BP measurement, elevated-BP/hypertension diagnosis, plan to recheck BP, or initiation of hypertension evaluation. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to identify characteristics associated with underrecognition. RESULTS: Elevated BP occurred in 779 (39%) of 2000 visits. Of 726 cases included in the analysis, 87% were not recognized by providers. Patient-level predictors of underrecognition included systolic BP of <120 mmHg (odds ratio: 7.7 [95% confidence interval: 3.2-18.6]), diastolic BP of <80 mmHg (odds ratio: 2.4 [95% confidence interval: 1.1-5.0]), decreasing BMI z score, male gender, older age, lack of family history of cardiovascular disease, and negative medical history findings. Being seen by a nurse practitioner and being seen by a less-experienced provider also were significant predictors. CONCLUSIONS: Most BP elevations were not recognized by providers. Poor recognition was most influenced by the absence of obviously elevated BP, obesity, and family history of cardiovascular disease.

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Network analysis of team structure in the neonatal intensive care unit.

Pediatrics. 2010 Jun;125(6):e1460-7

Authors: Gray JE, Davis DA, Pursley DM, Smallcomb JE, Geva A, Chawla NV

OBJECTIVE: The goal was to examine nursing team structure and its relationship with family satisfaction. METHODS: We used electronic health records to create patient-based, 1-mode networks of nursing handoffs. In these networks, nurses were represented as nodes and handoffs as edges. For each patient, we calculated network statistics including team size and diameter, network centrality index, proportion of newcomers to care teams according to day of hospitalization, and a novel measure of the average number of shifts between repeat caregivers, which was meant to quantify nursing continuity. We assessed parental satisfaction by using a standardized survey. RESULTS: Team size increased with increasing length of stay. At 2 weeks of age, 50% of shifts were staffed by a newcomer nurse who had not previously cared for the index patient. The patterns of newcomers to teams did not differ according to birth weight. When the population was dichotomized according to median mean repeat caregiver interval value, increased reports of problems with nursing care were seen with less-consistent staffing by familiar nurses. This relationship persisted after controlling for factors including birth weight, length of stay, and team size. CONCLUSIONS: Family perceptions of nursing care quality are more strongly associated with team structure and the sequence of nursing participation than with team size. Objective measures of health care team structure and function can be examined by applying network analytic techniques to information contained in electronic health records.

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