Natural family planning methods provide a unique option for committed couples. Advantages include the lack of medical adverse effects and the opportunity for participants to learn about reproduction. Modern methods of natural family planning involve observation of biologic markers to identify fertile days in a woman's reproductive cycle. The timing of intercourse can be planned to achieve or av...

GOALS This study aimed to investigate follow-up patterns among celiac disease (CD) patients. BACKGROUND Gender factors are important in CD with women diagnosed more frequently than men despite equal seropositivity in screening studies. To determine if gender influences postdiagnosis care, we performed a retrospective cohort study investigating the impact of gender and mode of presentation on ...

Over the past several months clinicians have been confronted at an escalating rate with reports describing the risks of COX-2 inhibitors (coxibs). Information on this class of drugs appears not only in traditional medical journals and textbooks, but also on the Web sites of regulatory agencies, professional societies, and pharmaceutical manufacturers.1–9 An unusual, but noteworthy, aspect of th...

According to the United States Census Bureau, there was a 15.1% increase in the sixty-five and older population between 2000 and 20101 and is expected to climb to 16.3% by 2020.2 In addition, older adults have shown a greater need for health care resource utilization in America; while only 12.8% of the U.S. population in 2008, older adults accounted for 26% of office visits, 35% of hospital sta...

Healthy eating and increased physical activity can prevent or delay diabetes and its complications. Techniques that facilitate adherence to these lifestyle changes can be adapted to primary care. Often, the patient's readiness to work toward change must be developed gradually. To prepare patients who are reluctant to change, it is effective to assess and address their conviction and confidence....

KEY FINDINGS Data from the National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey •During 2012-2013, an estimated annual average of 6.1 million physician office visits were made by children aged 4-17 years with a primary diagnosis of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). •The ADHD visit rate among children aged 4-17 years was more than twice as high for boys (147 per 1,000 boys) as for girls (62 pe...

BACKGROUND A core measure of the meaningful use of EHR incentive program is the generation and provision of the clinical summary of the office visit, or the after visit summary (AVS), to patients. However, little research has been conducted on physician perceptions and beliefs about the AVS. OBJECTIVES Evaluate physician perceptions and beliefs about the AVS and the effect of the AVS on workl...

Asthma is one of the most common causes of office visits in the primary care and emergency care settings. Individuals are often able to maintain symptomatic control with long-term pharmacological therapy. Exacerbations of asthma commonly occur due to exposure to triggers such as viruses, pollutants, and allergens. While it is widely accepted that exposure to immunoglobulin E food allergens can ...

Pacemakers and implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) cardiac leads are used for delivery of short direct current electrical pulses. Low-energy pulses in pacemakers provoke myocardial stimulation while high-energy pulses in ICDs are delivered for lethal arrhythmia termination. Pacing impedance measurements offer insight into implanted pacemaker system status; a decrease in impedance value...

Delaying treatment for benign musculoskeletal conditions may allow patients to learn self-efficacy and develop coping strategies, leading to less medical intervention and reduced cost. We tested the hypothesis that time from booking until appointment is not associated with healthcare costs. We further tested the secondary hypothesis that time from booking to appointment is not associated with s...