PURPOSE This study was performed to determine factors associated with Louisiana dentists' participation in the Dental Medicaid Program. METHODS Surveys were mailed to all pediatric and general dentists as reported by the Louisiana State Board of Licensing. A second mailing was made to non-respondents. RESULTS Surveys from 956 of 1,926 dentists (50%) were returned. Of 607 general dentists an...

This article discusses the crucial role of teaching and learning communication skills for general practitioners, based on the theory of experiential and self-directed learning. It also outlines the proposed ways and methods to teach these communication skills in this project.The patient-doctor interview or what is known as office visit in some countries and consultation in others is the corners...

BACKGROUND Patient self-reporting questionnaires such as the QuickDASH, a shortened version of the Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder and Hand (DASH) outcome measure, are critical to current orthopaedic outcomes research. The use of these questionnaires could introduce recall bias in retrospective, case-control, and cross-sectional studies if no preoperative data has been collected prior to stud...

IMPORTANCE Recent governmental and private initiatives have sought to reduce health care costs by making health care prices more transparent. OBJECTIVE To determine whether the use of an employer-sponsored private price transparency platform was associated with lower claims payments for 3 common medical services. DESIGN Payments for clinical services provided were compared between patients ...

Partners Healthcare System, Boston, MA, has developed a patient Web portal that features a patient-controlled electronic "journal" to allow patients to interact with their physician's electronic medical record. Patients can view and respond to health reminders, critique electronic chart information maintained by their doctor's office, enter additional clinical information, and prepare informati...

BACKGROUND Migraine headaches result in significant patient suffering and high costs to managed care organizations and employers. Studies that evaluate patient outcomes and the financial consequences of migraine treatment are important from a clinical and an economic perspective. METHODS This prospective, observational study assessed the outcomes of migraineurs in a mixed model staff/ indepen...

Depression is a major public health problem in the United States, affecting more than 18 million persons and costing more than $43 billion in treatment costs and lost productivity annually [1]. Historically, depression was considered a phenomenon that only adults experienced; however, research has shown that children and adolescents experience a range of depressive disorders [2] similar to adul...

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES Previous research has examined patients' attitudes toward use of exam room computers by physicians. Our objective was to determine patient attitudes toward physicians' exam room use of new tablet computers. METHODS A random sample of 96 patients was interviewed immediately following a visit to a physician at an outpatient family medicine clinic at a large academic me...

BACKGROUND Patients and physicians value effective communication and consider it an essential part of the medical encounter. This study examined physician-patient communication patterns, and interruptions in communication, during patient visits with family practice and internal medicine residents. METHODS Observational data obtained from 60 routine primary care office visits included the time...

OBJECTIVE To estimate the burden of rheumatic diseases in terms of disability and health-care utilization in the Greek general adult population. METHODS The study was conducted on the total adult population of seven communities (8547 subjects), as well as on 2100 out of 5686 randomly selected subjects in an additional two communities. Rheumatologists visited the participants at their homes to...