September/October Annals of Family Medicine...( patient-physician relationship are more...),Health

IN-HOSPITAL MEDICAL INJURIES ARE INFLATED WHEN CO-MORBIDITY IS NOT FACTORED IN
Estimates of in-hospital medical injuries are inflated if comorbidity is not accounted for concludes this study. Using a sophisticated surveillance system, 562,317 acute care hospital discharges were evaluated and 13.8 percent (77,666) were associated with at least one medical injury. Patients who sustained a medical injury were more likely to be older, have a higher comorbidity index and experience a longer length of stay and greater number of procedures. The authors assert these findings suggest the number of deaths directly attributable to medical injury may not be as high as previous estimates. They state these findings have implications for the care family physicians provide for hospitalized patients and for the advice they provide their patients who are concerned about the risks of hospitalization. Excess Mortality Due to Medical Injury By Linda N. Meurer, M.D., M.P.H., et al

METHODOLOGICAL THINK TANKS ARE USEFUL
A 10-year review of outcomes of a methodological think tank held at a primary care research meeting finds that methodological think tanks are successful in fostering funded research. Findings include three lessons learned: 1) the importance of careful selection of participating methodologists, 2) all think tank communities of inquiry must go through four stages of development from "pseudocommunity" to "community" and 3) the critical importance of listening by the investigator. The authors assert that researchers and academic departments can use this process locally to develop innovative research designs. Creating Innovative Research Designs: The 10-Year Methodological Think Tank Case Study
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Contact: Kristin Robinson
kristinr@aafp.org
American Academy of Family Physicians
26-Sep-2006