BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES Patient anger because of a long wait is a common occurrence, but few studies have looked at how the anger should be addressed. This study determined patient levels of satisfaction, rating of importance, and preference for a variety of approaches for addressing anger being directed toward a physician. METHODS A video trigger tape of an angry patient and 12 physician r...

BACKGROUND Nurse practitioners (NPs) and physician assistants (PAs) are primary care providers for patients with HIV in some clinics, but little is known about the quality of care that they provide. OBJECTIVE To compare the quality of care provided by NPs and PAs with that provided by physicians. DESIGN Cross-sectional analysis. SETTING 68 HIV care sites, funded by Ryan White Comprehensiv...

BACKGROUND National vaccination guidelines recommend influenza vaccination for clinical employees with patient contact. For many other healthy working adults, influenza vaccination is optional. PURPOSE We examined acceptance of a free influenza vaccine among clinical university employees who had patient contact and nonclinical university employees who did not have patient contact. We asked wh...

The scarcity of rural physicians in India has resulted in non-physician clinicians (NPC) serving at primary health centers (PHC). This study examines the clinical competence of NPCs and physicians serving at PHCs to treat a range of medical conditions. The study is set in Chhattisgarh state, where physicians (medical officers) and NPCs: Rural Medical Assistants (RMA), and Indian system of medic...

Patients with lung cancer present to and are managed by a variety of clinicians. In this study the effect of involvement by a respiratory physician on the diagnosis, staging, treatment and survival of a large unselected group of lung cancer patients was investigated. The study population was derived from the Scottish Cancer Registry. A total of 3,855 patients diagnosed during 1995 with lung can...

STUDY OBJECTIVE The STONE score is a clinical decision rule that classifies patients with suspected nephrolithiasis into low-, moderate-, and high-score groups, with corresponding probabilities of ureteral stone. We evaluate the STONE score in a multi-institutional cohort compared with physician gestalt and hypothesize that it has a sufficiently high specificity to allow clinicians to defer com...

Physician assistants (PAs) have been used for decades in the Canadian military. Now, PAs are being introduced in various clinical settings to provide patient care for the general population. This article reviews major developments in the PA profession across Canada over the last decade. Nearly 541 PAs are employed in Canada or work for a Canadian agency. Growing evidence demonstrates the positi...

OBJECTIVES Effective chemoprevention strategies exist for women at high risk for breast cancer, yet uptake is low. Physician recommendation is an important determinant of uptake, but little is known about clinicians' attitudes to chemoprevention. METHODS Focus groups were conducted with clinicians at five Family Cancer Centers in three Australian states. Discussions were recorded, transcribed...