Two studies were conducted to assess the train clinical interviewing skills. In Experiment 1, eight university practicum students ("therapists") and either role played or volunteer "clients" were audiotaped during simulated interviews. Following the collection of baseline data on both therapist and client responses, training was provided by way of written materials, classroom instruction and pr...

Numbers of women discharged from hospital after being treated for acute salpingitis decreased by 40% in Sweden between 1974 and 1984. Several factors argue that this decrease was real, rather than a shift from inpatient to outpatient treatment. (Outpatients here include those treated by general practitioners as well as at hospital outpatient clinics). The decrease was nation wide and included a...

INTRODUCTION We investigated whether event-related potentials (ERP) collected in outpatient settings and analyzed with standardized methods can provide a sensitive and reliable measure of the cognitive deficits associated with early Alzheimer's disease (AD). METHODS A total of 103 subjects with probable mild AD and 101 healthy controls were recruited at seven clinical study sites. Subjects we...

Many experimental trials of community mental health interventions fail to develop testable conceptual models of the specific mechanisms and pathways by which relevant outcomes may occur, thus falling short of usefully interpreting what happens inside the experimental "black box." This paper describes a conceptual model of involuntary outpatient commitment (OPC) for persons with severe and persi...

Catter Matil, 2253 TAMU College Station, TX 77843-2253 Ph: (979)845-2142 • Fax: (979) 862-6842 [email protected] • nfs.tamu.edu Optometrists are concerned with the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of abnormalities associated with the visual system. Doctors of Optometry (O.D.) evaluate the refractive status of the eye, as well as the selection, design, provision, and adaptation of corrective mea...

Overuse of hospital outpatient clinics in Egypt, due to lack of an effective gatekeeper system, has threatened the sustainability of improved primary care services. In this pilot project in Menoufia in the Nile delta region, the price of direct hospital outpatient visits was increased, encouraging patients to attend primary care clinics first. As a result, direct hospital outpatient utilization...

OBJECTIVE Involuntary outpatient commitment (OPC), also referred to as community treatment orders or assisted outpatient treatment, is a legal intervention intended to improve treatment adherence among persons with serious mental illness. This paper reviews the empirical literature on the procedure's effectiveness. METHODS We identified and reviewed all English-language studies of OPC and rel...

BACKGROUND The measurement of consumer satisfaction is an essential part of the assessment of health care services in terms of service quality and health care system responsiveness. Studies across Europe have described various strategies health care users employ to secure services with good quality and quick access. In Central and Eastern European countries, such strategies also include informa...

Effective in 2000, Medicare's Outpatient Prospective Payment System (OPPS) sets pre-determined reimbursement rates for hospital outpatient services, replacing the prior cost-based methods of reimbursement. Using Florida outpatient discharge data, we study the effect of OPPS on hospital outpatient volume. We find that on average Medicare rate cuts either decreased or had no significant effect on...

OBJECTIVE Letters from the hospital to the general practitioner are important for maintaining continuity of care. Although doctors feel letters are important, they are often not written on time. To improve the number and timeliness of letters sent from the hospital outpatient department to the general practitioner using an email-based intervention evaluated in a randomized controlled trial. M...