Primary Care Service Utilization Among People at High Risk of Fatal Opioid Overdose: A Short Communication on an Autopsy Study

Objectives: We sought to explore the sociodemographics and primary care service utilization among people who died from opioid overdose and to assess the possibility of using this information to identify those at high risk of opioid overdose using routine linked data. Methods: Data related to decedents of opioid overdose between January 1, 2012 and December 31, 2015 were linked with general practitioner (GP) records over a period of 36 months prior to death. Results: Of n = 312 decedents of opioid overdose, 73% were male (n = 228). Average age at death was 40.72 (SD 11.92) years. A total of 63.8% of the decedents were living in the 2 most deprived quintiles according to the Welsh Index of Multiple Deprivation. Over 80% (n = 258) of the decedents were recorded as having at least 1 GP episode during the 36-month observation period prior to death. The median number of episodes per decedent was 75 [38-118]. Overall, 31.8% (n = 82) of decedents with at least 1 GP episode received a prescription for a proton pump inhibitor and 31% (n = 80) were prescribed a broad-spectrum antibiotic. According to their GP records, less than 10% were referred to or receiving specialist drug treatment (n = 24, 9.3%); or were known to be drug dependent (n = 21, 8.14%), or a drug user (n = 5, 1.94%). In all, 81% were recorded as smokers (n = 209) and 10.5% as ex-smokers (n = 27). Conclusions: The majority of decedents of opioid overdose were in contact with GP services prior to death. GPs are either often unaware of high-risk opioid use, or rarely record details of opioid use in patient notes. It is possible that GP awareness of high-risk opioid use could be increased. For example, awareness of the risks associated with opioid use, and the relationship between the sociodemographic and clinical characteristics of opioid overdose decedents could be raised using educational materials prominently displayed in waiting areas. Clinicians in primary care may be in an excellent position to intervene in problematic opioid use.

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Characteristics of Patients Using Different Patient Portal Functions and the Impact on Primary Care Service Utilization and Appointment Adherence: Retrospective Observational Study

Journal of Medical Internet Research ◽

10.2196/14410 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 22 (2) ◽

pp. e14410 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Xiang Zhong ◽

Jaeyoung Park ◽

Muxuan Liang ◽

Fangyun Shi ◽

Pamela R Budd ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Primary Care ◽

Service Utilization ◽

Care Delivery ◽

Care Service ◽

Primary Care Service ◽

Patient Portal ◽

Patient Portals ◽

Appointment Adherence ◽

Primary Care Patients ◽

The Impact

Background Patient portals are now widely available and increasingly adopted by patients and providers. Despite the growing research interest in patient portal adoption, there is a lack of follow-up studies describing the following: whether patients use portals actively; how frequently they use distinct portal functions; and, consequently, what the effects of using them are, the understanding of which is paramount to maximizing the potential of patient portals to enhance care delivery. Objective To investigate the characteristics of primary care patients using different patient portal functions and the impact of various portal usage behaviors on patients’ primary care service utilization and appointment adherence. Methods A retrospective, observational study using a large dataset of 46,544 primary care patients from University of Florida Health was conducted. Patient portal users were defined as patients who adopted a portal, and adoption was defined as the status that a portal account was opened and kept activated during the study period. Then, users were further classified into different user subgroups based on their portal usage of messaging, laboratory, appointment, and medication functions. The intervention outcomes were the rates of primary care office visits categorized as arrived, telephone encounters, cancellations, and no-shows per quarter as the measures of primary care service utilization and appointment adherence. Generalized linear models with a panel difference-in-differences study design were then developed to estimate the rate ratios between the users and the matched nonusers of the four measurements with an observational window of up to 10 quarters after portal adoption. Results Interestingly, a high propensity to adopt patient portals does not necessarily imply more frequent use of portals. In particular, the number of active health problems one had was significantly negatively associated with portal adoption (odds ratios [ORs] 0.57-0.86, 95% CIs 0.51-0.94, all P<.001) but was positively associated with portal usage (ORs 1.37-1.76, 95% CIs 1.11-2.22, all P≤.01). The same was true for being enrolled in Medicare for portal adoption (OR 0.47, 95% CI 0.41-0.54, P<.001) and message usage (OR 1.44, 95% CI 1.03-2.03, P=.04). On the impact of portal usage, the effects were time-dependent and specific to the user subgroup. The most salient change was the improvement in appointment adherence, and patients who used messaging and laboratory functions more often exhibited a larger reduction in no-shows compared to other user subgroups. Conclusions Patients differ in their portal adoption and usage behaviors, and the portal usage effects are heterogeneous and dynamic. However, there exists a lack of match in the patient portal market where patients who benefit the most from patient portals are not active portal adopters. Our findings suggest that health care delivery planners and administrators should remove the barriers of adoption for the portal beneficiaries; in addition, they should incorporate the impact of portal usage into care coordination and workflow design, ultimately aligning patients’ and providers’ needs and functionalities to effectively deliver patient-centric care.

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Characteristics of Patients Using Different Patient Portal Functions and the Impact on Primary Care Service Utilization and Appointment Adherence (Preprint)

10.2196/preprints.14410 ◽

2019 ◽

Author(s):

Xiang Zhong ◽

Jaeyoung Park ◽

Muxuan Liang ◽

Fangyun Shi ◽

Pamela R. Budd ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Primary Care ◽

Service Utilization ◽

Care Service ◽

Office Visit ◽

Health Problems ◽

Primary Care Service ◽

Patient Portal ◽

Patient Portals ◽

Appointment Adherence ◽

The Impact

BACKGROUND Patient portals are now widely available and increasingly adopted by patients and providers. OBJECTIVE The objective of this study was to investigate the characteristics of primary care patients using different patient portal functions and the impact of patient portal usage on patients’ primary care service utilization and appointment adherence. METHODS A retrospective observational study using a large dataset of primary care patients of University of Florida (UF) Health was conducted. A total of 4312 patient portal users and 17580 nonusers were identified during the study period July 2013 – June 2016. Patients were classified into different user subgroups based on their portal usage of messaging, laboratory, appointment, and medication functions. The association between patient demographics and portal usage were analyzed. Primary care service utilization and appointment adherence were measured by primary care office visits arrived, no-show, cancellation, and telephone encounter rates per quarter. Generalized linear models (GLM) were built to compare the time-dependent portal usage effects across different user subgroups and nonusers. RESULTS Five different user subgroups based on their dominant portal activities and usage frequency were identified. After adopting portals, patients with fewer active health problems used portal infrequently (silent users). Medicare (P = 0.04), White, and age 46-64 (P = 0.01) and 65 and older (P = 0.04) were positively associated with messaging usage. Age 19-30 (P < 0.001) was positively associated with appointment usage, and gender female (P = 0.01) was positively associated with laboratory usage. On the impact of portal usage, disease burden adjusted rate ratios (RR) between user subgroups and nonusers were obtained. The office visit and telephone encounter RRs of users to nonusers were significantly larger than 1 right after portal adoption (with P values less than 0.05), but were not significantly different 2 years after adoption, except for the silent users, whose office visit and telephone encounter rates were significantly smaller after around 1 year post portal adoption (with P values less than 0.05). Office visit cancellation rates were not changed, and no-show rates were significantly reduced or at least not changed post portal adoption. Patients who used messaging and laboratory functions more often exhibited a larger reduction in no-show among other user subgroups. CONCLUSIONS Interestingly, a high propensity to adopt patient portals does not necessarily imply more frequent usage of portals. In particular, the number of active health problems was negatively associated with portal adoption but was positively associated with portal usage. For patients with fewer active health problems, their primary care service utilization was even lower after portal adoption; with a heavy disease burden, the utilization was temporarily increased but was not significantly changed after 2 years post adoption. Overall, appointment adherence was improved after portal adoption.

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Mycoplasma genitalium- testing and treating in a level 2 primary care service

10.26226/morressier.58ef94ddd462b80290b505c9 ◽

2017 ◽

Author(s):

Tamuka Gonah

Keyword(s):

Primary Care ◽

Care Service ◽

Mycoplasma Genitalium ◽

Primary Care Service ◽

Level 2

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Home Visits and Home-Based Care: A Necessary, Impractical, or Humanitarian Primary Care Service?

Family Medicine and Primary Care: Open Access ◽

10.29011/2688-7460.100022 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 3 (1) ◽

Keyword(s):

Primary Care ◽

Care Service ◽

Home Visits ◽

Primary Care Service ◽

Home Based ◽

Home Based Care

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A national evaluation of the Irish public health counselling in primary care service– examination of initial effectiveness data

BMC Psychiatry ◽

10.1186/s12888-021-03226-x ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 21 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Charles Brand ◽

Fiona Ward ◽

Niamh MacDonagh ◽

Sharon Cunningham ◽

Ladislav Timulak

Keyword(s):

Primary Care ◽

Large Scale ◽

Care Service ◽

Outcome Data ◽

Primary Care Service ◽

Observational Research ◽

Research Approach ◽

Growth Curve Analysis ◽

Republic Of Ireland ◽

Post Therapy

Abstract Background The Counselling in Primary Care service (CIPC) is the first and only nationally available public counselling service in the Republic of Ireland. This study provides initial data for the effectiveness of short-term psychotherapy delivered in a primary care setting in Ireland for the first time. Method A practice-based observational research approach was employed to examine outcome data from 2806 clients receiving therapy from 130 therapists spread over 150 primary care locations throughout Ireland. Pre-post outcomes were assessed using the CORE-OM and reliable and clinically significant change proportions. Binary logistic regression examined the effect of pre therapy symptom severity on the log odds of recovering. Six and 12 month follow up data from a subsample of 276 clients were also analysed using growth curve analysis. Results Of 14,156 referred clients, 5356 presented for assessment and 52.3% (N = 2806) consented to participate. Between assessment and post-therapy a large reduction in severity of symptoms was observed- Cohen’s d = 0.98. Furthermore, 47% of clients achieved recovery,a further 15.5% reliably improved, 2.7% reliably deteriorated and34.7% showed no reliable improvement. Higher initial severity was associated with less chance of recovering at post-therapy. Significant gains were maintained between assessment and12 months after therapy- Cohen’s d = 0.50. Conclusions Outcomes for clients in the CIPC service compared favourably with large scale counselling and psychotherapy services in jurisdictions in the U.K., the U.S.A., Norway and Sweden. This study expands the international primary care psychotherapy research base to include the entire Republic of Ireland jurisdiction.

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Improving harm reduction with a naloxone intervention in primary care to prescribe and educate a support person

Journal of Opioid Management ◽

10.5055/jom.2021.0621 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 17 (2) ◽

pp. 109-113

Author(s):

Julienne K. Kirk, PharmD, CDE, BCPS ◽

Matthew Q. Tran, PharmD ◽

Samantha Pelc, PharmD ◽

Katherine G. Moore, PharmD, BCPS, BCACP

Keyword(s):

Primary Care ◽

High Risk ◽

Family Medicine ◽

Quality Improvement Intervention ◽

Opioid Overdose ◽

Naloxone Administration ◽

Support Person ◽

High Risk Patients ◽

Increased Risk ◽

Risk Patients

Objective: To determine whether a pharmacist-led intervention would increase the number of naloxone prescriptions and naloxone administration education in a primary care family medicine setting.Design: Prospective quality improvement intervention in an academic family medicine clinic.Methods: We surveyed providers about naloxone knowledge, prescribing habits, and prescribing barriers. We identified patients on chronic opioid therapy, through electronic health records for the year 2019. Overdose risk categories based upon morphine milligram equivalent doses and concomitant benzodiazepine use were used to determine patients who met criteria for naloxone. Pharmacists phoned qualified patients to discuss overdose risk and naloxone benefits. Patients who accepted naloxone prescriptions used their local pharmacy through a department-approved standing order set.Results: From the survey results, there were 47 of 54 provider responses, and the majority noted that they do not routinely prescribe naloxone in high-risk patients. The predominant barriers were lack of time during visit and naloxone administration education. The population of patients from chart review included 93 high-risk patients with a mean age of 58 years. During the time of intervention, 71 patients remained eligible for naloxone coprescribing. Of the patients contacted, 29 (40 percent) accepted the intervention prescription, and subsequently, 22 picked up their prescription from the pharmacy. Sixteen received counseling with a support person. Twelve patients had naloxone already at home, and two received counseling with a support person.Conclusion: The naloxone prescribing intervention is achievable. The results of this intervention support identifying patients at increased risk of opioid overdose and offer education of a support person for naloxone in a large academic family medicine clinic.

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Providing a primary care service for psychiatric in-patients

Psychiatric Bulletin ◽

10.1192/pb.28.5.167 ◽

2004 ◽

Vol 28 (5) ◽

pp. 167-170 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Enone Welthagen ◽

Sarah Talbot ◽

Oliver Harrison ◽

Michael Phelan

Keyword(s):

Primary Care ◽

Chronic Conditions ◽

Psychiatric Care ◽

Care Service ◽

Primary Care Service ◽

Clinical Implications ◽

Model Of Care ◽

Wide Range ◽

Set Up ◽

Acute Psychiatric Care

Aims and MethodA prospective descriptive study was set up to evaluate the feasibility, acceptability and activity of an innovative weekly primary care service for patients admitted for acute psychiatric care.ResultsDuring 10 months, 36 clinics were held and 123 appointments were attended. Presenting complaints included a wide range of acute and chronic conditions, affecting all body systems. As well as treating specific complaints, the doctor providing this service undertook considerable health promotion work and gave advice about patient management to junior psychiatrists.Clinical ImplicationsIt appears that there is considerable need for primary care expertise within an acute psychiatric unit, and that a weekly clinic is a feasible model of care.

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Roll-over test in primigravidae attending a public primary care service

Sao Paulo Medical Journal ◽

10.1590/s1516-31801997000500004 ◽

1997 ◽

Vol 115 (5) ◽

pp. 1533-1536

Author(s):

Luiz Francisco Marcopito

Keyword(s):

Blood Pressure ◽

Primary Care ◽

Roc Curve ◽

Operating Characteristic ◽

Care Setting ◽

Care Service ◽

Primary Care Service ◽

Pregnancy Induced Hypertension ◽

Predictive Values ◽

Induced Hypertension

OBJECTIVE:To determine the roll-over test (ROT) performance in predicting pregnancy-induced hypertension (PIH) in primigravidae aged 15-29 years in a public primary care service. METHOD: Prospective cohort study enrolling 369 consecutive and initially normotensive primigravidae. The ROT was applied within 28-32 weeks of pregnancy. PIH was defined as diastolic blood pressure (DBP) 90 mm Hg or systolic blood pressure (SBP) 140 mm Hg, or a rise in DBP 15 mm Hg or a rise in SBP 30 mm Hg. The ROT prognostic properties were calculated, and a receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was constructed. RESULTS: For the 20 mm Hg cutoff point, sensitivity was 20% and specificity was 93%. Positive and negative predictive values were, respectively, 23% and 92%, for a PIH cumulative incidence of 9.5%. With other cutoff points, the ROC curve showed a poor discriminatory value of the test. CONCLUSION: The ROT was not useful for predicting PIH in a primary prenatal care setting.

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