Beginning in 1984, the long-term trend of increasing utilization of inpatient hospital care by Medicare enrollees reversed. As Medicare patients increasingly received care in outpatient hospital facilities, ambulatory surgical centers, and physicians' offices, the structure of charges for physicians' services changed significantly. Medical services by physicians in inpatient hospitals declined ...

BACKGROUND Aspects of U.S. clinical abortion service provision such as gestational age limits, charges for abortion services, and anti-abortion harassment can impact the accessibility of abortion; this study documents changes in these measures between 2008 and 2012. METHODS In 2012 and 2013, we surveyed all known abortion-providing facilities in the United States (n = 1,720). This study summa...

The traditional health care landscape, hospitals and private physicians' offices, is undergoing a major shift of focus. "Womb to tomb" care facilities, typified by boutique developments, medical malls, and health parks, are just now in their infancy. This article provides an overview of the likely direction of health care design as shaped by consumer demand.

BACKGROUND The purpose of this study was to determine whether self-perceived health status is predictive of a doctor's office visit in the Longitudinal Study on Aging (LSOA). METHODS This was a population-based longitudinal study of persons aged ≥70 years who participated in the Study on Aging in 1984 and a follow-up survey of the LSOA in 1986. The cohort for the study consisted of 560 blacks...

OBJECTIVE To identify prevalence of previous blood pressure measurement and analyze some associated factors in adolescents. METHODS This cross-sectional study included 6,077 adolescents aged 14 to 19 years. Demographic characteristics included (sex, age, period of study, region of residence, work, skin color, and economic) status, history of blood pressure measurement within last 12 months, l...

Persistent health disparities still exist in the U.S. despite decades of focus on the importance of prevention. Individual behaviors are the major contributor to oral health. By partnering and linking with community organizations, oral health professionals can expand their reach, overcome the obstacles to delivering effective prevention activities in dental offices and improve the oral health o...

Screening for speech problems in the dental office involves less than five minutes. Procedures include the sampling of a child's pronunciations in counting activities, word responses to pictures or questions, and conversational speech situations. Use of a normative sound development chart will help judge each child's pronunciation skills. Oral diadochokinetic testing provides a means of evaluat...

This study investigates whether an auditor's experience of litigation in the recent past affects subsequent financial reporting quality. At the audit firm level, we find accounting misstatements occur significantly less (more) often after audit firms are sued (not sued). At the audit office level, the negative association between past litigation and future misstatements is stronger for offices ...

Improving the oral health of children and adults requires not only that patients receive high quality clinical care, but also that they gain access to the dental office in the first place. Access to care can be promoted among many systems of care, both within and outside of dentistry. The Association of State and Territorial Dental Directors has developed a Best Practices Project to share ideas...