"Several years ago, a study conducted by a group at Vanderbilt University demonstrated that unsolicited complaints about physicians correlated with physicians whowere rude to patients and families, and who did not show respect to the patient and family," writes Philip Greenland, M.D., editor of Archives of Internal Medicine, in an accompanying editorial. "The same study also suggested that practice volume, translating into less time available for each patient, was associated with a higher volume of complaints and higher malpractice risk.We must remember that we accepted the duty of caring for patients when we entered medicine, and we must continue to practice with professional attitudes and behaviors no matter what the pressures we face. I believe strongly that we can address our share of the crisis in health care today by returning and holding fast to these long-held values."

(Arch Intern Med. 2005; 165: 607 608. Available post-embargo at www.archinternmed.com.)

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Negative Physician Attitudes Toward HIV-Infected Injection Drug Users
To contact corresponding author, Paul D. Cleary, Ph.D., call John Lacey at 617-432-0442.

Lin Ding, Ph.D., of Harvard Medical School, Boston, and colleagues surveyed a representative sample of 2,864 HIV-infected patients and their physicians to determine if negative attitudes toward HIV-infected injection drug users affected the patient's exposure to highly active antiretroviral therapy, reported problems, satisfaction with care, unmet needs, or perceived access to care.

The researchers found that 23.2 percent of HIV-infected patients had physicians with negative attitudes toward injecti
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Contact: Liz Crown
312-503-8928
JAMA and Archives Journals
28-Mar-2005