BACKGROUND The rapid rise in the availability and use of pharmaceutical agents, and particularly polypharmacy, directly increases the risk for patients to experience adverse drug reactions (ADRs). There are few studies on the overall incidence and costs of ADRs. OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to estimate the incidence and costs of emergency department (ED) visits related to ADRs for pati...

PURPOSE Adverse drug events (ADEs) are a common complication of medical care resulting in high morbidity and medical expenditure. Population level estimates of outpatient ADEs are limited. Our objective was to provide national estimates and characterizations of outpatient ADEs and determine risk factors associated with these events. METHODS Data are from the National Center for Health Statist...

INTRODUCTION Influenza's impact on health and health care is underestimated by influenza diagnoses recorded in health-care databases. We aimed to estimate total and non-admitted influenza-attributable hospital Emergency Department (ED) demand in New South Wales (NSW), Australia. METHODS We used generalized additive time series models to estimate the association between weekly counts of labora...

Introduction: Public health agencies around the world are concerned about an ever-increasing burden of type 2 diabetes and related disability. Access to primary care providers (PCPs) can support early diagnosis management. However, there is limited literature on how frequently older people with access PCPs, their levels in rural Australia relative metropolitan areas. Methods: In this research, ...

BACKGROUND Current perceptions of family physician (FP) shortages in Canada have prompted policies to expand medical schools. Our objective was to assess how FP supply, workloads and access to care have changed over the past decade. METHODS We used an anonymized physician and population registry and administrative health service data from Winnipeg for the period 1991/92 to 2000/01. We calcula...

To describe the number and treatment of skin and soft tissue infections likely caused by Staphylococcus aureus in the United States, we analyzed data from the 1992-1994 and 2001-2003 National Ambulatory Medical Care Surveys and National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Surveys. Each year, data were reported by an average of 1,400 physicians, 230 outpatient departments, and 390 emergency departm...

BACKGROUND There is a lack of clinical evidence that annual vaccination against influenza prevents asthma exacerbations in children. METHODS Retrospective cohort study of 800 children with asthma, where one half did, and the other half did not receive the influenza vaccine. The two groups were compared with respect to clinic visits, emergency department (ED) visits, and hospitalisations for a...

Annual hospital patient visits in the United States number almost 300 million, with outpatient visits approaching one billion. While patient visits are growing at a compounding rate of 3% per year, the requirements for documentation are increasing disproportionately to that growth due to heightened regulations and the desire for greater transparency in preparation for pay for performance. Curre...

OBJECTIVE To determine whether patient access to secure patient-physician messaging affects annual adult primary care office visit and documented telephone contact rates. STUDY DESIGN Retrospective cohort and matched-control studies with pre-post analysis. METHODS The cohort study sample included 4686 adult members of Kaiser Permanente Northwest (KPNW) who had been registered KP HealthConne...

BACKGROUND Bronchiectasis and asthma are different in many respects, but some patients have both conditions. Studies assessing the effect of bronchiectasis on asthma exacerbation are rare. The aim of this study is to investigate the effect of bronchiectasis on asthma exacerbation. METHODS We enrolled 2,270 asthma patients who were followed up in our hospital. Fifty patients had bronchiectasis...