BACKGROUND Practice-based research networks are growing and undertaking larger and more complex studies to inform the clinical practice of family physicians. We describe a study that compares clinical behaviors of physicians in the Ambulatory Sentinel Practice Network (ASPN), a large national practice-based research network, with those from the National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (NAMCS). ...

background: successful rehabilitation of cardiac surgery patients should include consideration of their sexual activity, but there is paucity of data regarding this matter. objective: this study determined the incidence and type of sexual dysfunction in our patients. materials and methods: two hundred-seventy nine men with age under 70 years old who had coronary artery bypass graft (cabg), valv...

OBJECTIVE To determine the efficacy of a 22-mg nicotine patch combined with the National Cancer Institute program for physician advice and nurse follow-up in providing withdrawal symptom relief, 1-year smoking cessation outcome, and percentage of nicotine replacement. DESIGN Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. SUBJECTS Two-hundred forty healthy volunteers who were smoking at...

BACKGROUND Diet is the first line of treatment for elevated cholesterol. High-intensity dietary counseling (≥360 minutes/year of contact with providers) improves blood lipids, but is expensive and unsustainable in the current healthcare settings. Low-intensity counseling trials (≤30 minutes/year) have demonstrated modest diet changes, but no improvement in lipids. This pilot study evaluated the...

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that 33 636 deaths and 84 258 nonfatal injuries from firearms occurred in the United States in 2013.1 Physician counseling concerning gun safety has been identified as a key component of the prevention of firearm injury and deaths.2 However, recently proposed or enacted state laws that are perceived as restricting physicians’ conversation...

BACKGROUND Despite various guidelines, shortcomings in lifestyle counseling in primary care have been demonstrated. Comparisons between countries may provide insight on how to improve such counseling. To the best of our knowledge, studies comparing patients' views of lifestyle counseling beween the United States (US) and European countries have not been reported. OBJECTIVES To quantify and co...

Abstract Background Competency based curricula across the globe stress on importance of effective physician patient communication. A variety courses have been used to train physicians for this purpose. However, few them link competencies with practice resulting in confusions implementation and assessment. This issue can be resolved by treating certain specific communication related tasks as act...