scholarly journals A Cross-Sectional Analysis of Primary Care Practice Characteristics and Healthcare Professionals’ Behavioral Responses to Change

2021 ◽  
Vol 58 ◽  
pp. 004695802199651
Author(s):  
Victoria M. Grady ◽  
Tulay G. Soylu ◽  
Debora G. Goldberg ◽  
Panagiota Kitsantas ◽  
James D. Grady
Keyword(s):  
Primary Care ◽  
Healthcare Professionals ◽  
Behavioral Responses ◽  
Care Practice ◽  
Care Organization ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Practice Characteristics ◽  
Care Practices ◽  
Attitudes Toward Change ◽  
Primary Care Practices

The recent decade brought major changes to primary care practices. Previous research on change has focused on change processes, and change implementations rather than studying employee’s feelings, perceptions, and attitudes toward change. The objective of this cross-sectional study was to examine the relationship between healthcare professionals’ behavioral responses to change and practice characteristics. Our study, which builds upon Conner’s theory, addresses an extensive coverage of individual behaviors, feelings, and attitudes toward change. We analyzed survey responses of healthcare professionals (n = 1279) from 154 primary care practices in Virginia. Healthcare professionals included physicians, advanced practice clinicians, clinical support staff, and administrative staff. The Change Diagnostic Index© (CDI) was used to measure behavioral responses in 7 domains: anxiety, frustration, delayed development, rejection of environment, refusal to participate, withdrawal, and global reaction. We used descriptive statistics and multivariate regression analysis. Our findings indicate that professionals had a significantly lower aptitude for change if they work in larger practices (≥16 clinicians) compared to solo practices ( P < .05) and at hospital-owned practices compared to independent practices ( P < .05). Being part of an accountable care organization was associated with significantly lower anxiety ( P < .05). Understanding healthcare professionals’ responses to change can help healthcare leaders design and implement successful change management strategies for future transformation.

scholarly journals The Evolving Role of Medical Assistants in Primary Care Practice: Divergent and Concordant Perspectives from MAs and Family Physicians

2020 ◽  
pp. 107755872096614
Author(s):  
Erin P. Fraher ◽  
Allison Cummings ◽  
Dana Neutze
Keyword(s):  
Primary Care ◽  
Patient Education ◽  
Population Health ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Family Physicians ◽  
Direct Patient Care ◽  
Care Practice ◽  
Medical Assistants ◽  
Care Practices ◽  
Primary Care Practices

Medical assistants (MAs) are a flexible and low-cost resource for primary care practices and their roles are swiftly transforming. We surveyed MAs and family physicians in primary care practices in North Carolina to assess concordance in their perspectives about MA roles, training, and confidence in performing activities related to visit planning; direct patient care; documentation; patient education, coaching or counseling; quality improvement; population health and communication. For most activities, we did not find evidence of role confusion between MAs and physicians, physician resistance to delegate tasks to properly trained MAs, or MA reluctance to pursue training to take on new roles. Three areas emerged where the gap between the potential and actual implementation of MA role transformation could be narrowed—population health and panel management; patient education, coaching, and counseling; and scribing. Closing these gaps will become increasingly important as our health care system moves toward value-based models of care.

scholarly journals Investigating the mechanism of impact and differential effect of the Quality Premium scheme on antibiotic prescribing in England: a longitudinal study

BJGP Open ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
pp. bjgpopen20X101052 ◽  
Author(s):  
Philip Emeka Anyanwu ◽  
Koen Pouwels ◽  
Anne Walker ◽  
Michael Moore ◽  
Azeem Majeed ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Primary Care ◽  
Financial Incentives ◽  
Financial Incentive ◽  
Diabetes Prevalence ◽  
Antibiotic Prescribing ◽  
Prescribing Practices ◽  
Practice Characteristics ◽  
Antibiotic Drugs ◽  
Care Practices ◽  
Primary Care Practices

BackgroundIn 2017, approximately 73% of antibiotics in England were prescribed from primary care practices. It has been estimated that 9%–23% of antibiotic prescriptions between 2013 and 2015 were inappropriate. Reducing antibiotic prescribing in primary care was included as one of the national priorities in a financial incentive scheme in 2015–2016.AimTo investigate whether the effects of the Quality Premium (QP), which provided performance-related financial incentives to clinical commissioning groups (CCGs), could be explained by practice characteristics that contribute to variations in antibiotic prescribing.Design & settingLongitudinal monthly prescribing data were analysed for 6251 primary care practices in England from April 2014 to March 2016.MethodLinear generalised estimating equations models were fitted, examining the effect of the 2015–2016 QP on the number of antibiotic items per specific therapeutic group age–sex related prescribing unit (STAR-PU) prescribed, adjusting for seasonality and months since implementation. Consistency of effects after further adjustment for variations in practice characteristics were also examined, including practice workforce, comorbidities prevalence, prescribing rates of non-antibiotic drugs, and deprivation.ResultsAntibiotics prescribed in primary care practices in England reduced by -0.172 items per STAR-PU (95% confidence interval [CI] = -0.180 to -0.171) after 2015–2016 QP implementation, with slight increases in the months following April 2015 (+0.014 items per STAR-PU; 95% CI = +0.013 to +0.014). Adjusting the model for practice characteristics, the immediate and month-on-month effects following implementation remained consistent, with slight attenuation in immediate reduction from -0.172 to -0.166 items per STAR-PU. In subgroup analysis, the QP effect was significantly greater among the top 20% prescribing practices (interaction p<0.001). Practices with low workforce and those with higher diabetes prevalence had greater reductions in prescribing following 2015–2016 QP compared with other practices (interaction p<0.001).ConclusionIn high-prescribing practices, those with low workforce and high diabetes prevalence had more reduction following the QP compared with other practices, highlighting the need for targeted support of these practices and appropriate resourcing of primary care.

scholarly journals Scaling-up social needs screening in practice: a retrospective, cross-sectional analysis of data from electronic health records from Bronx county, New York, USA

BMJ Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (9) ◽  
pp. e053633
Author(s):  
Kevin P Fiori ◽  
Caroline G Heller ◽  
Anna Flattau ◽  
Nicole R Harris-Hollingsworth ◽  
Amanda Parsons ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Primary Care ◽  
New York ◽  
Electronic Health Records ◽  
Social Care ◽  
Social Needs ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Health Records ◽  
Care Practices ◽  
Electronic Health ◽  
Primary Care Practices

ObjectivesThere has been renewed focus on health systems integrating social care to improve health outcomes with relatively less related research focusing on ‘real-world’ practice. This study describes a health system’s experience from 2018 to 2020, following the successful pilot in 2017, to scale social needs screening of patients within a large urban primary care ambulatory network.SettingAcademic medical centre with an ambulatory network of 18 primary care practices located in an urban county in New York City (USA).ParticipantsThis retrospective, cross-sectional study used electronic health records of 244 764 patients who had a clinical visit between 10 April 2018 and 8 December 2019 across any one of 18 primary care practices.MethodsWe organised measures using the RE-AIM framework domains of reach and adoption to ascertain the number of patients who were screened and the number of providers who adopted screening and associated documentation, respectively. We used descriptive statistics to summarise factors comparing patients screened versus those not screened, the prevalence of social needs screening and adoption across 18 practices.ResultsBetween April 2018 and December 2019, 53 093 patients were screened for social needs, representing approximately 21.7% of the patients seen. Almost one-fifth (19.6%) of patients reported at least one unmet social need. The percentage of screened patients varied by both practice location (range 1.6%–81.6%) and specialty within practices. 51.8% of providers (n=1316) screened at least one patient.ConclusionsThese findings demonstrate both the potential and challenges of integrating social care in practice. We observed significant variability in uptake across the health system. More research is needed to better understand factors driving adoption and may include harmonising workflows, establishing unified targets and using data to drive improvement.

scholarly journals What is the carbon footprint of primary care practices? A retrospective life-cycle analysis in Switzerland

2022 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
John Nicolet ◽  
Yolanda Mueller ◽  
Paola Paruta ◽  
Julien Boucher ◽  
Nicolas Senn
Keyword(s):  
Primary Care ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Carbon Footprint ◽  
Carbon Emissions ◽  
Life Cycle Analysis ◽  
Care Practice ◽  
Worst Case ◽  
Patient Transport ◽  
Care Practices ◽  
Primary Care Practices

Abstract Background The medical field causes significant environmental impact. Reduction of the primary care practice carbon footprint could contribute to decreasing global carbon emissions. This study aims to quantify the average carbon footprint of a primary care consultation, describe differences between primary care practices (best, worst and average performing) in western Switzerland and identify opportunities for mitigation. Methods We conducted a retrospective carbon footprint analysis of ten private practices over the year 2018. We used life-cycle analysis to estimate carbon emissions of each sector, from manufacture to disposal, expressing results as CO2 equivalents per average consultation and practice. We then modelled an average and theoretical best- case and worst-case practices. Collected data included invoices, medical and furniture inventories, heating and power supply, staff and patient transport, laboratory analyses (in/out-house) waste quantities and management costs. Results An average medical consultation generated 4.8 kg of CO2eq and overall, an average practice produced 30 tons of CO2eq per year, with 45.7% for staff and patient transport and 29.8% for heating. Medical consumables produced 5.5% of CO2eq emissions, while in-house laboratory and X-rays contributed less than 1% each. Emergency analyses requiring courier transport caused 5.8% of all emissions. Support activities generated 82.6% of the total CO2eq. Simulation of best- and worst-case scenarios resulted in a ten-fold variation in CO2eq emissions. Conclusion Optimizing structural and organisational aspects of practice work could have a major impact on the carbon footprint of primary care practices without large-scale changes in medical activities.

OP08 Using Real World Data To Support National Postmarketing Surveillance

2018 ◽  
Vol 34 (S1) ◽  
pp. 3-3
Author(s):  
Yeqin Zuo ◽  
Bernie Mullen ◽  
Rachel Hayhurst ◽  
Karen Kaye ◽  
Renee Granger ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Primary Care ◽  
Real World ◽  
National Level ◽  
Clinical Information ◽  
Health Priorities ◽  
Care Practice ◽  
Postmarketing Surveillance ◽  
Care Practices ◽  
Primary Care Practices ◽  
Tract Infections

Introduction:While medicines and medical tests are developed in a controlled clinical trial environment, postmarketing surveillance in the real world can be challenging. MedicineInsight—a database of longitudinal patient-level clinical information from primary care practices in Australia—is a novel program that collects primary care data to improve postmarketing surveillance at a national level.Methods:MedicineInsight collects de-identified clinical information from primary care practice information systems using data extraction tools. MedicineInsight currently includes 3.6 million regular patients of 3,300 family physicians (general practitioners) from 650 primary care practices across Australia. MedicineInsight data include longitudinal clinical information on diagnosis and medicines (dose, strength, route of administration, medication switches over time, adverse events, and allergies), and pathology testing data. A series of observational studies was developed for postmarketing surveillance of management of a range of health priorities including type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), depression, and antibiotics use.Results:Forty-four percent of patients with T2DM in the MedicineInsight database did not have a recorded hemoglobin A1c result and thirty-one percent did not have a recorded blood pressure reading in the previous 6 months. While guidelines recommend a stepwise approach to the initiation of COPD therapy, forty-nine percent of patients with COPD (with or without asthma) were prescribed dual therapy at initiation and a small number (4.5 percent) were prescribed triple therapy. Between 2011 and 2015, the annual rate of antidepressant prescribing per 1,000 family physician encounters increased by eight percent. High volumes of antibiotics were prescribed for respiratory tract infections in Australian primary care, notwithstanding guideline recommendations that antibiotics are not recommended in most cases.Conclusions:Large scale, real-world clinical data from primary care practices can play an important role in postmarketing surveillance at a national level.

scholarly journals Identifying and de-implementing low-value care in primary care: the GP’s perspective—a cross-sectional survey

BMJ Open ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (6) ◽  
pp. e037019
Author(s):  
Rudolf Bertijn Kool ◽  
Eva W Verkerk ◽  
Lieke JA Winnemuller ◽  
Tjerk Wiersma ◽  
Gert P Westert ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Primary Care ◽  
General Practitioners ◽  
Laboratory Tests ◽  
Healthcare Professionals ◽  
Lumbosacral Spine ◽  
Vitamin B ◽  
X Rays ◽  
Negative Consequences ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Care Practices

ObjectiveGeneral practitioners have an important role in reducing low-value care as gatekeepers of the health system. The aim of this study was to assess the experiences of Dutch general practitioners regarding low-value care and to identify their needs to decrease low-value primary care.DesignWe performed a cross-sectional study.ParticipantsWe sent a survey to 500 general practitioners.SettingPrimary care in the Netherlands.Primary and secondary outcomesThe survey contained questions about the provision of low-value care and on clinical cases about lumbosacral spine X-rays in patients with low back pain and vitamin B12 laboratory tests without an evidence-based indication. We also asked general practitioners what they needed to reduce low-value care.ResultsA total of 182 general practitioners (37%) responded. 67% indicated that low-value care practices are regularly provided in general practice. 57% of the general practitioners have seen negative consequences of low-value care, in particular side effects of medication. The most provided low-value care practices are medication prescriptions such as antibiotics and laboratory tests such as vitamin B12 tests. The most reported drivers are patient-related. General practitioners want to maintain a good relationship with their patients by offering their patients an intervention instead of watchful waiting. Lack of time also plays a major role. In order to reduce low-value care, general practitioners suggested that educating patients on the value of tests and treatments might help. Supporting general practitioners and other healthcare professionals with clear guidelines as well as having more time for consultation were also mentioned by general practitioners.ConclusionGeneral practitioners are aware of providing unnecessary care despite their role as gatekeepers and have reasons for this. They need support in order to change their practice. This support might consist of better education of healthcare professionals and providing more time for consultation. Local and national media, such as websites and television, could be used to educate patients while guidelines could support professionals in reducing low-value care.

Enhancing the Safe and Effective Management of Chronic Pain in Accountable Care Organization Primary Care Practices in Kentucky

2016 ◽  
Vol 32 (2) ◽  
pp. 178-185 ◽  
Author(s):  
Selam Wubu ◽  
Laura Lee Hall ◽  
Paula Straub ◽  
Matthew J. Bair ◽  
Jill A. Marsteller ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Primary Care ◽  
Chronic Pain ◽  
Pain Management ◽  
Primary Care Physicians ◽  
The United States ◽  
Care Organization ◽  
Chronic Pain Management ◽  
Accountable Care ◽  
Care Practices ◽  
Primary Care Practices

Chronic pain is a prevalent chronic condition with significant burden and economic impact in the United States. Chronic pain is particularly abundant in primary care, with an estimated 52% of chronic pain patients obtaining care from primary care physicians (PCPs). However, PCPs often lack adequate training and have limited time and resources to effectively manage chronic pain. Chronic pain management is complex in nature because of high co-occurrence of psychiatric disorders and other medical comorbidities in patients. This article describes a quality improvement initiative conducted by the American College of Physicians (ACP), in collaboration with the Kentucky ACP Chapter, and the Center for Health Services and Outcomes Research at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, to enhance chronic pain management in 8 primary care practices participating in Accountable Care Organizations in Kentucky, with a goal of enhancing the screening, diagnosis, and treatment of patients with chronic pain.

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