The role of primary care attributes in preventing loss or change of usual source of care: a nationwide cohort study.

BACKGROUND: The existence of a stable usual source of care (USC) is fundamental to the provision of quality health care. However, no longitudinal studies have examined whether core primary care attributes influence the stability of USC status. OBJECTIVES: We aimed to examine the association between primary care attributes (first contact, longitudinality, coordination, comprehensiveness, and community orientation) and the loss or change of USC. METHODS: This nationwide cohort study was conducted during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic using a representative sample of the Japanese adult population aged 40-75 years. The primary outcome measures were loss of USC and voluntary change in USC during the 12-month follow-up period. Primary care attributes were evaluated in the baseline survey using the Japanese version of Primary Care Assessment Tool (JPCAT). RESULTS: Data were analyzed for 725 participants who had a USC at baseline. Among them, 93 (12.8 %) lost their USC and 46 (6.3%) changed their USC during the follow-up period. Multivariable multinominal logistic regression analyses showed that the JPCAT total score was associated with decreased loss of USC and change in USC. Among the JPCAT domains, longitudinality, comprehensiveness (services available), and community orientation were associated with reductions in both USC loss and change. CONCLUSIONS: Our study indicates that primary care attributes play an important role in preventing the loss or change of USC and contribute to the stability of USC status. These findings provide additional rationale for policymakers, healthcare providers, and managers to seek to strengthen core attributes of primary care.

Perspectives on the optimal timing of advance care planning among Japanese patients undergoing dialysis and clinicians: a cross-sectional study.

KEY MESSAGES: The majority of dialysis patients and clinicians favor early advance care planning in our sample. Yet, there is a disconnect: only 11% of patients discussed future care with their clinicians. Our findings indicate Japanese dialysis patients and clinicians support proactive advance care planning at or before dialysis initiation. BACKGROUND: Little is known about the optimal timing of discussions about advance care planning among dialysis patients and clinicians engaged in dialysis care. We aimed to explore the preferred timing for advance care planning and assess actual participation in advance care planning among dialysis patients and their clinicians. METHODS: A scenario-based survey on Japanese patients aged ≥65 years on dialysis and clinicians involved in their dialysis care was performed. Participants were asked if they would feel prepared to engage in advance care planning with their clinicians, offering a choice among four hypothetical stages within the illness trajectory, extending from the initiation of dialysis to a later phase characterized by the patient's extreme frailty. RESULTS: Overall, 181 patients and 128 clinicians participated in the study. Among these, 131 (72%) patients, and 84 (66%) clinicians indicated that they would prefer to initiate advance care planning around the time of dialysis initiation. Only 20 patients (11%) indicated that they had participated in advance care planning with at least one clinician, including 11 (6%) who indicated that they had discussed their preferences around life-sustaining treatments and 8 (4%) who had discussed their preferences around dialysis continuation. CONCLUSIONS: While fewer than 11% of patients undergoing dialysis and their clinicians enrolled in our study had participated in advance care planning, most indicated that they would be comfortable initiating the discussion around the time of dialysis initiation. These findings suggest untapped opportunities to engage patients in advance care planning early in the course of their dialysis.

Associations of clinical context-specific ambiguity tolerance with burnout and work engagement among Japanese physicians: a nationwide cross-sectional study.

PURPOSE: Ambiguity tolerance specific to the clinical context - in contrast to ambiguity tolerance as a personality trait - may vary with experience and has received considerable attention. Although this tolerance appears to be related to burnout and work engagement, few studies have examined this association among physicians. Thus, we aimed to examine the relationships between clinical context-specific ambiguity tolerance, burnout, and work engagement among physicians in Japan. METHODS: We conducted a nationwide cross-sectional study in Japan. We invited family physicians from 14 family medicine residency programs and physicians with specialties other than family medicine from monitors of an Internet survey company to participate in the study. We measured ambiguity tolerance in the clinical context using the Japanese version of the Tolerance of Ambiguity in Medical Students and Doctors (J-TAMSAD) scale, burnout using the Japanese version of the Burnout Assessment Scale (BAT-J), and work engagement using the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES). We performed a multivariable linear regression analysis to determine whether the J-TAMSAD scale score was associated with the BAT-J and UWES scores. RESULTS: 383 respondents were included in the analysis. After adjustment for possible confounders, clinical context-specific ambiguity tolerance showed a dose-dependent negative association with burnout (adjusted mean difference -0.39, 95% confidence interval (CI) -0.56 to -0.22 for the highest J-TAMSAD score quartile compared with the lowest). Ambiguity tolerance in the clinical context also showed a dose-dependent positive association with work engagement (adjusted mean difference 0.83, 95% CI 0.49 to 1.16 for the highest J-TAMSAD score quartile compared with the lowest). CONCLUSIONS: Our study showed that tolerance for ambiguity in the clinical context was negatively associated with burnout, and positively associated with work engagement. These findings will be useful in developing interventions aimed at preventing burnout and promoting work engagement among physicians.

Diagnostic Performance of Physician Gestalt for Bacteremia in Patients in the Process of Being Admitted With Suspected Infection.

BACKGROUND: Due to potentially fatal consequences of missed bacteremia, blood cultures are often overused. While there are several prediction models that can be used to identify patients who truly need blood cultures, physicians often rely on their gestalt. We evaluated the diagnostic performance of physician gestalt for bacteremia in comparison with 2 existing prediction models: Takeshima and Shapiro. METHODS: The study enrolled consecutive adult patients with suspected infection who were in the process of being admitted to the general medicine department at 2 hospitals between April 2017 and January 2019. Attending physicians provided gestalt regarding risk of bacteremia (0%-100%). Patients with a <10% risk estimated via each strategy (ie, physician gestalt or 2 existing models) were categorized as bacteremia excluded (ie, blood cultures were considered unnecessary). Strategies were compared in terms of safety (proportion of patients with bacteremia among those classified as bacteremia excluded) and efficiency (proportion of patients classified as bacteremia excluded among the total cohort). RESULTS: Among 2014 patients, 292 (14.5%) were diagnosed with bacteremia. The safety of physician gestalt and the Takeshima and Shapiro models was 3.7% (95% confidence interval [CI], 2.2% to 5.7%), 6.5% (95% CI, 5.0% to 7.9%), and 10.8% (95% CI, 9.4% to 12.3%), whereas the efficiency of each strategy was 22.4% (95% CI, 22.5% to 26.3%), 52.7% (95% CI, 50.5% to 54.9%), and 87.8% (95% CI, 86.3% to 89.2%), respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Physician gestalt was safer but less efficient than existing models. Clinical prediction models could help reduce the overuse of blood cultures.

Impact of Primary Care Attributes on Hospitalization During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Nationwide Prospective Cohort Study in Japan.

PURPOSE: During a pandemic, when there are many barriers to providing preventive care, chronic disease management, and early response to acute common diseases for primary care providers, it is unclear whether primary care attributes contribute to reducing hospitalization. We aimed to examine the association between core primary care attributes and total hospitalizations during the COVID-19 pandemic. METHODS: We conducted a nationwide prospective cohort study during the pandemic using a representative sample of the Japanese adult population aged 40 to 75 years. Primary care attributes (first contact, longitudinality, coordination, comprehensiveness, and community orientation) were assessed using the Japanese version of Primary Care Assessment Tool (JPCAT). The primary outcome measure was any incidence of hospitalization during a 12-month period from May 2021 through April 2022. RESULTS: Data from 1,161 participants were analyzed (92% follow-up rate). After adjustment for possible confounders, overall primary care attributes (assessed by the JPCAT total score) were associated in a dose-dependent manner with a decrease in hospitalizations (odds ratio [OR] = 0.37, 95% CI, 0.16-0.83 for the highest score quartile, compared with no usual source of care). All associations between each domain score of the JPCAT and hospitalization were statistically significant when comparing the highest quartile with no usual source of care. CONCLUSIONS: Our study revealed that the provision of primary care, particularly high-quality primary care, was associated with decreased total hospitalization, even during a pandemic when there are many barriers to providing usual medical care. These findings support policies that seek to strengthen primary care systems during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.

App-based interventions for the prevention of postpartum depression: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: This study explored whether psychosocial intervention applications (apps) are effective in preventing postpartum depression. METHODS: We conducted an initial article search on 26 March 2020, and the updated search on 17 March 2023 on the electronic databases of the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), MEDLINE via Ovid, Scopus, PsycINFO, CINAHL, and ProQuest Dissertations & Theses A&I. Furthermore, we searched the International Clinical Trials Platform Search Portal (ICTRP), and Clinical Trials. RESULTS: We identified 2515 references, and sixteen studies were ultimately included in this review. We conducted a meta-analysis of two studies on the onset of postpartum depression. There were no significant differences between the intervention and control groups (RR 0.80; 95% CI 0.62 to 1.04; P = 0.570). We performed a meta-analysis of the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS). The intervention group had significantly lower EPDS scores than the control group (mean difference -0.96; 95% CI -1.44 to -0.48; P < 0.001, I2 = 82%, Chi2 = 62.75, P < 0.001; high heterogeneity). CONCLUSION: This study presents the results of current RCTs on interventions with apps, including an app with an automated psychosocial component for preventing postpartum depression that has been conducted. These apps improved the EPDS score; furthermore, they may prevent postpartum depression.

Association between tolerance for ambiguity specific to the clinical context and empathy in medical trainees: A multicenter cross-sectional study in Japan.

PURPOSE: Physicians' empathy and ambiguity tolerance have recently become a focus of medical education. However, the association between the two concepts remains unclear. This study examined the association between empathy and ambiguity tolerance in the clinical context among medical trainees. METHODS: We conducted a multicenter cross-sectional study in 12 institutions: 2 universities for medical students and 10 hospitals for residents. We assessed ambiguity tolerance using the Japanese version of the Tolerance of Ambiguity in Medical Students and Doctors scale. The outcome variable was empathy, measured using the Japanese translation of the Jefferson Scales of Empathy (JSE). RESULTS: Data from 100 medical students and 135 residents were analyzed. After adjustment for possible confounders, the factor scores of 'tolerance for things that are not black or white in medicine' showed a dose-dependent association with the JSE. There was no clear trend in the association between the total scores or other factor scores and empathy. CONCLUSION: This nationwide multicenter study showed that the factor scores of 'tolerance for things that are not black or white in medicine' were associated with empathy among medical trainees. Our findings may be helpful for developing interventions in the field of medical education to nurture empathy.

The Ecology of Medical Care During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Japan: a Nationwide Survey.

BACKGROUND: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has had a profound impact on health care utilization. However, the overall picture of shifts in health care utilization remains unclear. OBJECTIVE: We assessed the ecology of medical care during the COVID-19 pandemic in Japan and compared it with the results pre-pandemic. We also investigated the associations of sociodemographic and clinical factors with health care utilization during the COVID-19 pandemic. DESIGN AND METHODS: We conducted a nationwide cross-sectional survey of a representative sample of the general Japanese adult population in May 2021. The main outcomes were health care utilization for health-related events in the last month. We assessed sociodemographic and clinical factors, including age, sex, years of education, annual household income, social isolation, and the number of chronic conditions. KEY RESULTS: Data were analyzed from 1747 respondents. Over-the-counter drug use, physician's office visits, and hospital outpatient clinic visits decreased drastically during the COVID-19 pandemic compared with pre-pandemic levels. The decrease in the use of medical facilities was especially pronounced among the elderly. Sociodemographic and clinical factors were differently associated with health care utilization during the COVID-19 pandemic. Social isolation and years of education were positively associated with over-the-counter drug use, while female sex was associated with increased over-the-counter drug use and physician's office visits. In addition, the number of chronic conditions was associated with increased hospital visits. CONCLUSIONS: During the COVID-19 pandemic, the use of medical facilities for health-related events decreased drastically, especially among the elderly. A pharmacy is an important source of health care in a population with social isolation. These findings may be useful to researchers and policymakers in rethinking health care systems during and after the pandemic.

Association between patient care ownership and personal or environmental factors among medical trainees: a multicenter cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: Patient care ownership (PCO) is crucial to enhancing accountability, clinical skills, and medical care quality among medical trainees. Despite its relevance, there is limited information on the association of personal or environmental factors with PCO, and thus, authors aimed to explore this association. METHODS: In 2021, the authors conducted a multicentered cross-sectional study in 25 hospitals across Japan. PCO was assessed by using the Japanese version of the PCO Scale (J-PCOS). To examine the association between personal (level of training, gender, and department) or environmental factors (hospital size, hospital type, medical care system, number of team members, number of patients receiving care, mean working hours per week, number of off-hour calls per month, and perceived level of the workplace as a learning environment) and PCO after adjusting for clustering within hospitals, the authors employed a linear mixed-effects model. RESULTS: The analysis included 401 trainees. After adjusting for clustering within hospitals, it was confirmed that the senior residents had significantly better J-PCOS total scores (adjusted mean difference: 8.64, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 6.18-11.09) than the junior residents and the perceived level of the workplace as a learning environment had a positive association with J-PCOS total scores (adjusted mean difference per point on a global rating of 0-10 points: 1.39, 95% CI: 0.88-1.90). Trainees who received calls after duty hours had significantly higher J-PCOS total scores than those who did not (adjusted mean difference: 2.51, 95% CI: 0.17-4.85). There was no clear trend in the association between working hours and PCO. CONCLUSIONS: Seniority and the perceived level of the workplace as a learning environment are associated with PCO. An approach that establishes a supportive learning environment and offers trainees a reasonable amount of autonomy may be beneficial in fostering PCO among trainees. The study findings will serve as a useful reference for designing an effective postgraduate clinical training program for PCO development.

Translating and validating a Japanese version of the instrument for patient assessment of medical professionalism (J-IPAMP): a cross-sectional survey.

BACKGROUND: Although there are many tools to assess medical professionalism, they rarely address patients' perspectives. The instrument for patient assessment of medical professionalism (IPAMP) comprises 11 items and has been established and validated as a valuable tool for assessing trainees' professionalism from the patient's perspective. However, there is no instrument to assess professionalism from the patient's perspective in Japan. The purpose of the present study was to develop a Japanese version of the IPAMP (J-IPAMP) and test its validity and reliability. METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional survey to examine the reliability and validity of the J-IPAMP in two hospitals (one each in an urban and rural area) in Japan. Receptionists or surveyors distributed the anonymous questionnaire to 276 inpatients; all participants were aged above 20 years and assigned to medical trainees. We evaluated its structural and criterion-related validity, as well as internal consistency reliability. RESULTS: Data of 235 (85.1%) patients were analyzed. Using the split-half validation technique, we performed an exploratory factor analysis (EFA) along with a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). The EFA showed a one-factor solution. Then, to compare the model fitness between two models (the two-factor model from the original English version vs. unidimensional model suggested by the EFA), the CFA was performed. The CFA showed that almost all of the fit indices met their respective criteria and were approximately the same for the two models. Thus, we adopted a single-factor model. The Pearson correlation coefficients between the total J-IPAMP scores and the global ratings were 0.738, indicating adequate criterion-related validity. The Cronbach's alpha of the 11 items of the instrument was 0.96 (95% confidence interval: 0.96-0.97) and the omega value was 0.96, demonstrating acceptable internal consistency reliability. CONCLUSIONS: We developed the Japanese version of the IPAMP. Its validity and reliability were verified through analysis. This instrument can be utilized for professionalism education in the postgraduate training setting.

Better Patient Experience is Associated with Better Vaccine Uptake in Older Adults: Multicentered Cross-sectional Study.

BACKGROUND: Older adults' uptake of influenza and pneumococcus vaccines is insufficient worldwide. Although patient experience of primary care is associated with vaccine uptake in children, this relationship remains unclear for older adults. OBJECTIVE: This study examined the association between patient experience of primary care and influenza/pneumococcal vaccine uptake in older adults. DESIGN AND METHODS: We conducted a multicentered cross-sectional survey involving 25 primary care institutions in urban and rural areas in Japan. Participants were outpatients aged ≥ 65 years who visited one of the participating institutions within the 1-week study period. We assessed patient experience of primary care using the Japanese version of the Primary Care Assessment Tool (JPCAT), which includes six domains: first contact (accessibility), longitudinality (continuity of care), coordination, comprehensiveness (services available), comprehensiveness (services provided), and community orientation. We used a generalized linear mixed-effects model to adjust for clustering within institutions and individual covariates. KEY RESULTS: One thousand participants were included in the analysis. After adjusting for clustering within institutions and other possible confounders, influenza and pneumococcal vaccine uptake was positively associated with JPCAT total scores (odds ratio per 1 standard deviation increase: 1.19, 95% confidence interval: 1.01-1.40 and odds ratio: 1.26, 95% confidence interval: 1.08-1.46, respectively). Of the JPCAT domains, coordination and community orientation were associated with influenza vaccine uptake and longitudinality, coordination, and comprehensiveness were associated with pneumococcal vaccine uptake. CONCLUSIONS: Influenza and pneumococcal vaccine uptake were positively associated with patient experience of primary care in older adults. Consideration of patient experience, particularly longitudinality, coordination, comprehensiveness, and community orientation, could improve vaccine uptake.

Comparison of Primary Care Experience in Hospital-Based Practices and Community-Based Office Practices in Japan.

PURPOSE: The quality of health care, including primary care, is influenced by the context in which care is delivered. We investigated the association between primary care practice location and patient experience with a focus on differences between hospital-based practices and community-based office practices. METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional study in a primary care practice-based research network in Japan among 25 participating facilities: 6 small and medium-sized hospitals and 19 community-based offices. We assessed patient experience of primary care using a Japanese version of Primary Care Assessment Tool (JPCAT), which comprises 6 domains: first contact, longitudinality, coordination, comprehensiveness with respect to services available, comprehensiveness with respect to services provided, and community orientation. RESULTS: Analyses were based on 1,725 primary care patients. After adjustment for possible confounders and clustering within facilities, compared with community-based office practices, hospital-based practices were associated with poorer patient experience of community orientation (adjusted mean difference = -5.76; 95% CI, -10.35 to -1.17). In contrast, hospital-based practices were associated with comparatively better patient experience of first contact (adjusted mean difference = 15.43; 95% CI, 5.13 to 25.72). CONCLUSIONS: Our study elucidates differences in the strengths and challenges of primary care between hospital-based practices and community-based office practices, with a focus on patient centeredness. Improving community orientation in hospital-based practices and improving accessibility, including out-of-hours care, in community-based office practices may enhance the quality of primary care and promote standardization of care across settings.

Development and validation of a concise scale for assessing patient experience of primary care for adults in Japan.

BACKGROUND: The existing scales to measure patient experience of primary care for adults tend to be with many items and difficult to use outside of the research setting. OBJECTIVE: To develop a Japanese version of Primary Care Assessment Tool Short Form as a concise scale for assessing patient experience of primary care and to examine its validity and reliability. METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional survey in a primary care practice-based research network in Japan (25 primary care facilities). We evaluated the structural validity, criterion-related validity, convergent validity and the internal consistency reliability of the scale. RESULTS: Data were analysed for 1725 primary care outpatients. A 13-item scale was constructed, and the confirmatory factor analysis showed excellent goodness of fit of the six-factor model (first contact, longitudinality, coordination, comprehensiveness (services available), comprehensiveness (services provided) and community orientation). Pearson correlation coefficients between the total score and the overall rating of care and the original scale total score were 0.43 and 0.94, respectively. The total score was positively associated with influenza and pneumococcal vaccination (P < 0.001; P = 0.009 for trend). All of the multi-item scales achieved good internal consistency and the overall Cronbach's alpha was 0.77. CONCLUSIONS: We developed a concise patient experience scale, which comprises six domains measuring primary care attributes and evaluated its validity and reliability. This scale can be used as a rapid assessment tool reducing the burden of respondents and provide effective information for further quality improvement and practice-based research in the Japanese primary care settings.

Associations of types of primary care facilities with adult vaccination and cancer screening in Japan.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the association between primary care facility types and the quality of preventive care, especially adult vaccination and cancer screening, with a focus on the differences between community clinics and hospitals. DESIGN: Multicenter cross-sectional study. SETTING: A primary care practice-based research network in Japan (25 primary care facilities). PARTICIPANTS: Adult outpatients for whom the participating facility serves as their usual source of care. INTERVENTION: None. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Influenza and pneumococcal vaccination delivery and performance of colorectal, breast and cervical cancer screening. RESULTS: Data collected from 1725 primary care outpatients were analyzed. After adjustment of possible confounders and clustering within facilities, hospital-based practices were significantly associated with poorer uptake of influenza [adjusted odds ratio (aOR) = 0.64, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.42-0.96] and pneumococcal vaccines (aOR = 0.55, 95% CI 0.40-0.75) and colorectal cancer screening (aOR = 0.59, 95% CI 0.39-0.88) compared with clinic-based practices. In contrast, the associations of types of primary care facilities with uptake of breast and cervical cancer screening were not statistically significant. CONCLUSIONS: Differences in the performance of adult vaccination and cancer screening raised concerns about the provision of preventive care at hospital-based compared with clinic-based primary care practices. Efforts to improve preventive care at hospital-based primary care practices should help to promote equalization of the quality of primary care. Further study is needed on the comparisons of other quality indicators among different structures of primary care facilities.

Sensing Framework for the Internet of Actors in the Value Co-Creation Process with a Beacon-Attachable Indoor Positioning System.

To evaluate and improve the value of a service, it is important to measure not only the outcomes, but also the process of the service. Value co-creation (VCC) is not limited to outcomes, especially in interpersonal services based on interactions between actors. In this paper, a sensing framework for a VCC process in retail stores is proposed by improving an environment recognition based indoor positioning system with high positioning performance in a metal shelf environment. The conventional indoor positioning systems use radio waves; therefore, errors are caused by reflection, absorption, and interference from metal shelves. An improvement in positioning performance was achieved in the proposed method by using an IR (infrared) slit and IR light, which avoids such errors. The system was designed to recognize many and unspecified people based on the environment recognition method that the receivers had installed, in the service environment. In addition, sensor networking was also conducted by adding a function to transmit payload and identification simultaneously to the beacons that were attached to positioning objects. The effectiveness of the proposed method was verified by installing it not only in an experimental environment with ideal conditions, but posteriorly, the system was tested in real conditions, in a retail store. In our experimental setup, in a comparison with equal element numbers, positioning identification was possible within an error of 96.2 mm in a static environment in contrast to the radio wave based method where an average positioning error of approximately 648 mm was measured using the radio wave based method (Bluetooth low-energy fingerprinting technique). Moreover, when multiple beacons were used simultaneously in our system within the measurement range of one receiver, the appropriate setting of the pulse interval and jitter rate was implemented by simulation. Additionally, it was confirmed that, in a real scenario, it is possible to measure the changes in movement and positional relationships between people. This result shows the feasibility of measuring and evaluating the VCC process in retail stores, although it was difficult to measure the interaction between actors.

Analysis of key clinical features for achieving complete remission in stage III and IV non-small cell lung cancer patients.

BACKGROUND: Although development of immune checkpoint inhibitors and various molecular target agents has extended overall survival time (OS) in advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), a complete cure remains rare. We aimed to identify features and treatment modalities of complete remission (CR) cases in stages III and IV NSCLC by analyzing long-term survivors whose OS exceeded 3 years. METHODS: From our hospital database, 1,699 patients, registered as lung cancer between 1st Mar 2004 and 30th Apr 2011, were retrospectively examined. Stage III or IV histologically or cytologically confirmed NSCLC patients with chemotherapy initiated during this period were enrolled. A Cox proportion hazards regression model was used. Data collection was closed on 13th Feb 2017. RESULTS: There were 164 stage III and 279 stage IV patients, including 37 (22.6%) and 51 (18.3%) long-term survivors and 12 (7.3%) and 5 (1.8%) CR patients, respectively. The long-term survivors were divided into three groups: 3 ≤ OS < 5 years, 5 years ≤ OS with tumor, and 5 years ≤ OS without tumor (CR). The median OS of these groups were 1,405, 2,238, and 2,876 days in stage III and 1,368, 2,503, and 2,643 days in stage IV, respectively. The mean chemotherapy cycle numbers were 16, 20, and 10 in stage III and 24, 25, and 5 in stage IV, respectively. In the stage III CR group, all patients received chemoradiation, all oligometastases were controlled by radiation, and none had brain metastases. Compared with non-CR patients, the stage IV CR patients had smaller primary tumors and fewer metastases, which were independent prognostic factors for OS among long-term survivors. The 80% stage IV CR patients received radiation or surgery for controlling primary tumors, and the surgery rate for oligometastases was high. Pathological findings in the stage IV CR patients revealed that numerous inflammatory cells existed around and inside resected lung and brain tumors, indicating strong immune response. CONCLUSIONS: Multiple line chemotherapies with primary and oligometastatic controls by surgery and/or radiation might achieve cure in certain advanced NSCLC. Cure strategies must be changed according to stage III or IV. This study was retrospectively registered on 16th Jun 2019 in UMIN Clinical Trials Registry (number UMIN000037078).

Effect of hip fracture surgery within 24 hours on short-term mobility.

BACKGROUND: Hip fracture constitutes a high-mortality injury in elderly patients. In addition, caregiver burden is also a relevant issue, as patients after hip fracture surgery lose ambulation and require support in the perioperative period and after discharge. Early surgery is recommended to improve mortality. However the positive effect of early surgery on the short-term postoperative ambulatory function is unknown. The objective of this study was to determine whether a shorter waiting time for hip fracture surgery improves short-term postoperative mobility in elderly patients. We used the cumulated ambulation score (CAS), a feasible function scoring system using low-demand activities, to measure short-term postoperative mobility. METHODS: In this retrospective, observational study of 175 hip fracture patients at a single hospital, the patients were divided based on the waiting period for surgery (within 24 hours of arrival, early group; after 24 hours of arrival, delayed group). The primary outcome was postoperative mobility, assessed using the CAS. Multivariable linear regression analysis with adjustment for covariates, age, sex, mobility before injury, comorbidity, presence of dementia and type of fracture. As a subgroup analysis, cognitive function and the interaction between the surgical waiting time and the presence of dementia were considered. RESULTS: The early group had a significantly better CAS (adjusted beta = 1.36; 95% confidence interval [95% CI]: 0.24-2.48, p = 0.02) than the delayed group. Significant CAS improvement was observed among cognitively intact patients (adjusted beta = 2.66; 95% CI: 0.62-4.69, p = 0.01), but not among those with dementia (adjusted beta = 0.43; 95% CI: -0.93 to 1.79, p = 0.53). However, the interaction between the surgical waiting time and the presence of dementia in the entire population did not reach statistical significance (p for interaction = 0.15). CONCLUSIONS: Hip fracture surgery within 24 hours could improve the recovery of postoperative ambulatory function faster. The postoperative caregiver burden would be reduced by early surgery.

Effect of Patient Experience on Bypassing a Primary Care Gatekeeper: a Multicenter Prospective Cohort Study in Japan.

BACKGROUND: To discuss how best to implement the gatekeeping functionality of primary care; identifying the factors that cause patients to bypass their primary care gatekeepers when seeking care should be beneficial. OBJECTIVE: To examine the association between patient experience with their primary care physicians and bypassing them to directly obtain care from higher-level healthcare facilities. DESIGN AND METHODS: This prospective cohort study was conducted in 13 primary care clinics in Japan. We assessed patient experience of primary care using the Japanese version of Primary Care Assessment Tool (JPCAT), which comprises six domains: first contact, longitudinality, coordination, comprehensiveness (services available), comprehensiveness (services provided), and community orientation. The primary outcome was the patient bypassing their usual primary care physician to seek care at a hospital, with this occurring at least once in a year. We used a Bayesian hierarchical model to adjust clustering within clinics and individual covariates. KEY RESULTS: Data were analyzed from 205 patients for whom a physician at a clinic served as their usual primary care physician. The patient follow-up rate was 80.1%. After adjustment for patients' sociodemographic and health status characteristics, the JPCAT total score was found to be inversely associated with patient bypass behavior (odds ratio per 1 SD increase, 0.44; 95% credible interval, 0.21-0.88). The results of various sensitivity analyses were consistent with those of the primary analysis. CONCLUSIONS: We found that patient experience of primary care in Japan was inversely associated with bypassing a primary care gatekeeper to seek care at higher-level healthcare facilities, such as hospitals. Our findings suggest that primary care providers' efforts to improve patient experience should help to ensure appropriate use of healthcare services under loosely regulated gatekeeping systems; further studies are warranted.

Social Isolation and Patient Experience in Older Adults.

PURPOSE: Social isolation has been identified as a major health problem, particularly in the elderly. In the present study, we examine the association between social isolation and patient experience in elderly primary care patients. METHODS: This cross-sectional study was conducted in a primary care practice-based research network (28 clinics) in Japan. We assessed social isolation using an abbreviated Lubben Social Network Scale and patient experience of primary care using a Japanese version of the Primary Care Assessment Tool (JPCAT), which comprises 6 domains: first contact, longitudinality, coordination, comprehensiveness (services available), comprehensiveness (services provided), and community orientation. We used a linear mixed effects model to adjust clustering within clinics and individual covariates. RESULTS: Data were analyzed for 465 elderly primary care patients aged ≥65 years. After adjustment for possible confounders and clustering within clinics, social isolation was negatively associated with the JPCAT total score, (mean difference = -3.67; 95% CI, -7.00 to -0.38). Among the JPCAT domain scores, social isolation was significantly associated with longitudinality, comprehensiveness (service provided), and community orientation scores. CONCLUSIONS: Social isolation was associated with negative patient experience in elderly primary care patients. Raising awareness regarding patient social networks among primary care providers and targeted interventions for socially isolated elderly patients aimed at improving the experience of primary care, especially regarding longitudinality, comprehensiveness, and community orientation, may be warranted.

Effect of Recruitment Methods on Response Rate in a Web-Based Study for Primary Care Physicians: Factorial Randomized Controlled Trial.

BACKGROUND: Low participation rates are one of the most serious disadvantages of Web-based studies. It is necessary to develop effective strategies to improve participation rates to obtain sufficient data. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this trial was to investigate the effect of emphasizing the incentive in the subject line of the invitation email and the day of the week of sending the invitation email on the participation rate in a Web-based trial. METHODS: We conducted a 2×2 factorial design randomized controlled trial. We contacted 2000 primary care physicians from members of the Japan Primary Care Association in January 2017 and randomly allocated them to 1 of 4 combinations of 2 subject lines (presence or absence of an emphasis on a lottery for an Amazon gift card worth 3000 yen or approximately US $30) and 2 delivery days (sending the invitation email on Tuesday or Friday). The primary outcome was the response rate defined as the number of participants answering the first page of the questionnaire divided by the number of invitation emails delivered. All outcomes were collected between January 17, 2017, and February 8, 2017. RESULTS: We analyzed data from 1943 out of 2000 participants after excluding those whose email addresses were invalid. The overall response rate was 6.3% (123/1943). There was no significant difference in the response rates between the 2 groups regarding incentive in the subject line: the risk ratio was 1.12 (95% CI 0.80 to 1.58) and the risk difference was 0.7% (95% CI -1.5% to 2.9%). Similarly, there was no significant difference in the response rates between the 2 groups regarding sending the email on Tuesday or Friday: the risk ratio was 0.98 (95% CI 0.70 to 1.38) and the risk difference was -0.1% (95% CI -2.3% to 2.1%). CONCLUSIONS: Neither emphasizing the incentive in the subject line of the invitation email nor varying the day of the week the invitation email was sent led to a meaningful increase in response rates in a Web-based trial with primary care physicians. TRIAL REGISTRATION: University Hospital Medical Information Network Clinical Trials Registry UMIN000025317; https://upload.umin.ac.jp/cgi-open-bin/ctr_e/ctr_view.cgi?recptno=R000029121 (Archived by WebCite at http://www.webcitation. org/6wOo1jl9t).