Heirs of General Practice
Heirs of General Practice

Author: John McPhee

Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux

Published: 2011-04-01

Total Pages: 130

ISBN-13: 0374708525

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Heirs of General Practice is a frieze of glimpses of young doctors with patients of every age—about a dozen physicians in all, who belong to the new medical specialty called family practice. They are people who have addressed themselves to a need for a unifying generalism in a world that has become greatly subdivided by specialization, physicians who work with the "unquantifiable idea that a doctor who treats your grandmother, your father, your niece, and your daughter will be more adroit in treating you." These young men and women are seen in their examining rooms in various rural communities in Maine, but Maine is only the example. Their medical objectives, their successes, the professional obstacles they do and do not overcome are representative of any place family practitioners are working. While essential medical background is provided, McPhee's masterful approach to a trend significant to all of us is replete with affecting, and often amusing, stories about both doctors and their charges.

Registries for Evaluating Patient Outcomes
Registries for Evaluating Patient Outcomes

Author: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality/AHRQ

Publisher: Government Printing Office

Published: 2014-04-01

Total Pages: 385

ISBN-13: 1587634333

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This User’s Guide is intended to support the design, implementation, analysis, interpretation, and quality evaluation of registries created to increase understanding of patient outcomes. For the purposes of this guide, a patient registry is an organized system that uses observational study methods to collect uniform data (clinical and other) to evaluate specified outcomes for a population defined by a particular disease, condition, or exposure, and that serves one or more predetermined scientific, clinical, or policy purposes. A registry database is a file (or files) derived from the registry. Although registries can serve many purposes, this guide focuses on registries created for one or more of the following purposes: to describe the natural history of disease, to determine clinical effectiveness or cost-effectiveness of health care products and services, to measure or monitor safety and harm, and/or to measure quality of care. Registries are classified according to how their populations are defined. For example, product registries include patients who have been exposed to biopharmaceutical products or medical devices. Health services registries consist of patients who have had a common procedure, clinical encounter, or hospitalization. Disease or condition registries are defined by patients having the same diagnosis, such as cystic fibrosis or heart failure. The User’s Guide was created by researchers affiliated with AHRQ’s Effective Health Care Program, particularly those who participated in AHRQ’s DEcIDE (Developing Evidence to Inform Decisions About Effectiveness) program. Chapters were subject to multiple internal and external independent reviews.

Primary Care Medicine
Primary Care Medicine

Author: Allan H. Goroll

Publisher: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins

Published: 1987

Total Pages: 1042

ISBN-13:

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This easy-to-use reference helps practitioners quickly diagnose common skin disorders and determine appropriate treatment options. More than 500 fullcolor images speed diagnosis by showing the reader distinguishing characteristics of each disorder, as well as providing clear comparisons between similar looking conditions. Features of the text include fornulary tables of leading topical agents and preparations by brand name, as well as patient handouts in English and Spanish. Basic derm rologic procedures are presented in a simple, easyto-understand format, making this guide an invaluable reference for office surgery. The Second Edition features new, larger photos, more patient handouts, and new material on several disorders. Also included is an expanded basic procedures section with new and more detailed procedures and more illustrations and photos of necessary equipment.

Patient-Reported Outcomes in Performance Measurement
Patient-Reported Outcomes in Performance Measurement

Author: David Cella

Publisher: RTI Press

Published: 2015-09-17

Total Pages: 97

ISBN-13: 193483114X

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Patient-reported outcomes (PROs) are measures of how patients feel or what they are able to do in the context of their health status; PROs are reports, usually on questionnaires, about a patient's health conditions, health behaviors, or experiences with health care that individuals report directly, without modification of responses by clinicians or others; thus, they directly reflect the voice of the patient. PROs cover domains such as physical health, mental and emotional health, functioning, symptoms and symptom burden, and health behaviors. They are relevant for many activities: helping patients and their clinicians make informed decisions about health care, monitoring the progress of care, setting policies for coverage and reimbursement of health services, improving the quality of health care services, and tracking or reporting on the performance of health care delivery organizations. We address the major methodological issues related to choosing, administering, and using PROs for these purposes, particularly in clinical practice settings. We include a framework for best practices in selecting PROs, focusing on choosing appropriate methods and modes for administering PRO measures to accommodate patients with diverse linguistic, cultural, educational, and functional skills, understanding measures developed through both classic and modern test theory, and addressing complex issues relating to scoring and analyzing PRO data.

Crossing the Quality Chasm
Crossing the Quality Chasm

Author: Institute of Medicine

Publisher: National Academies Press

Published: 2001-07-19

Total Pages: 359

ISBN-13: 0309132967

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Second in a series of publications from the Institute of Medicine's Quality of Health Care in America project Today's health care providers have more research findings and more technology available to them than ever before. Yet recent reports have raised serious doubts about the quality of health care in America. Crossing the Quality Chasm makes an urgent call for fundamental change to close the quality gap. This book recommends a sweeping redesign of the American health care system and provides overarching principles for specific direction for policymakers, health care leaders, clinicians, regulators, purchasers, and others. In this comprehensive volume the committee offers: A set of performance expectations for the 21st century health care system. A set of 10 new rules to guide patient-clinician relationships. A suggested organizing framework to better align the incentives inherent in payment and accountability with improvements in quality. Key steps to promote evidence-based practice and strengthen clinical information systems. Analyzing health care organizations as complex systems, Crossing the Quality Chasm also documents the causes of the quality gap, identifies current practices that impede quality care, and explores how systems approaches can be used to implement change.

Formulating a Differential Diagnosis for the Advanced Practice Provider
Formulating a Differential Diagnosis for the Advanced Practice Provider

Author: Jacqueline Rhoads, PhD, APRN-BC, CNL-BC, PMHNP-BE, FAANP

Publisher: Springer Publishing Company

Published: 2017-11-17

Total Pages: 580

ISBN-13: 0826152236

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Praise for the First Edition: “Developing a comprehensive differential diagnosis for a specific complaint is a daunting task even for experienced advanced practice nurses. This user-friendly clinical guide provides a strategy and standard format for working through this complex task. It is a wonderful tool for both students and new advanced practice nurses...” -- 5 stars, Doody’s This easy-access clinical guide to over 70 commonly seen symptoms, written for advanced practice provider (APP) students and new practitioners, describes a step-by-step process for obtaining a reliable patient history, choosing the appropriate physical exam, and using the patient history and physical exam findings to form a differential diagnosis. The second edition continues to include the case study approach, and is updated to incorporate 22 new symptoms along with contributions by a new editor, who is a leader in holistic health. The guide is distinguished by several unique features including focused patient history questions and responses, Physical Exam Findings, a Differential Diagnosis Table (clearly comparing potential diagnostic choices based on symptoms), a Diagnostic Examination table (including estimated costs and codes), and a Case Study Summary highlighting the critical thinking process. Symptoms are presented alphabetically in a systematic, unfolding case study approach and include chief complaint, presenting history, past history, and explicit methodology for determining correct diagnosis. Key Features: Describes over 70 (22 new to the second edition) commonly presented symptoms with unfolding case scenarios Offers a step-by-step approach to building clinical decision-making skills Provides quick access to differential diagnosis, requisite diagnostic tests, and clinical-decision making Guides APP students and novice practitioners in conducting a problem-focused history and examination Includes unique Differential Diagnosis tables and Diagnostic Examinations tables that help clarify strategies for diagnostic decision making

Assessment and Evaluation of Health and Medical Care
Assessment and Evaluation of Health and Medical Care

Author: Crispin Jenkinson

Publisher: McGraw-Hill Education (UK)

Published: 1997-09-16

Total Pages: 202

ISBN-13: 0335231934

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A comprehensive methods text describing the variety of approaches available in the assessment and evaluation of health and medical care. The text not only describes the principles of randomized controlled trials, case control studies, cohort studies and social surveys but also the value of qualitative methods in gaining an understanding of healthcare. Chapters are also included on the principles and problems of measuring outcomes in terms of patient satisfaction and quality of life, and assessing the economic value of treatments. The specific methodological problems of screening are discussed, and a final chapter outlines the issues surrounding meta-analysis and systematic reviews.