May/June Annals of Family Medicine...( are: Results From a Sample of Family Me...),Health

OTHER STUDIES IN THIS ISSUE

COMPETING DEMANDS VS. CLINICAL INERTIA

Poor glucose control is often attributed to clinical inertia: the recognition of a problem by the physician, but failing to act. This study of 211 primary care encounters between adult patients with type 2 diabetes and their physicians finds the concept of clinical inertia does not adequately characterize the complexity of the primary care encounter; it is really competing demands (patient concerns) that can cause physicians not to act. As the number of patient concerns increased, the likelihood of a change in medication decreased, independent of the length of the encounter. The authors suggest that while the comprehensiveness of care provided by primary care physicians to patients with chronic illness is a strength of primary care, it also is a balancing act that requires prioritization and goal setting by both the patient and the physician during the patient visit. Competing Demands or Clinical Inertia: The Case of Elevated Glycosylated Hemoglobin By Michael L. Parchman, M.D., M.P.H., et al

PRIMARY CARE PRACTICE-BASED RESEARCH NETWORKS REPRESENT MINORITY PATIENTS AND REAL WORLD PRACTICE

Primary care practice-based research networks (PBRNs) are known as a resource for accelerating the translation of research into practice and performing research relevant to everyday primary care. This survey of the 89 of the 111 PBRNs in the United States finds they represent 1,871 practices, 12,957 patients and 14.7 million patients. Of the PBRNs surveyed, most are affiliated with universities. Poor and minority patients are overrepresented in their practices. The networks common focus for research is prevention, diabetes, cardiovascular risk factors and mental health. With the majority of research in the U.S. being performed at academic m
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Contact: Janelle Davis
jdavis@aafp.org
913-906-6000
American Academy of Family Physicians
4-Jun-2007