A rationale and framework for addressing physician cognitive impairment.

Medical error is costly, in terms of the health and wellbeing of the patient, their family, and the financial burden placed on the medical system. Reducing medical error is paramount to minimizing harm and improving outcomes. One potential source of medical error is physician cognitive impairment. Determining how to effectively assess and mange physician cognitive impairment is an important, albeit difficult problem to address. There have been calls and attempts to implement age-based cognitive screening, but this approach is not optimal. Instead, we propose that neuropsychological assessment is the gold standard for fitness-for-duty evaluations and that there is a need for the development of physician-based, normative data to improve these evaluations. Here, we outline the framework of our research protocol in a large, academic medical center, in partnership with hospital leadership and legal counsel, which can be modeled by other medical centers. With high rates of physician burnout and an aging physician population, the United States is facing a looming public health crisis that requires proactive management.

Epidemiology of 2009 pandemic influenza A (H1N1) deaths in the United States, April-July 2009.

During the spring of 2009, pandemic influenza A (H1N1) virus (pH1N1) was recognized and rapidly spread worldwide. To describe the geographic distribution and patient characteristics of pH1N1-associated deaths in the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention requested information from health departments on all laboratory-confirmed pH1N1 deaths reported from 17 April through 23 July 2009. Data were collected using medical charts, medical examiner reports, and death certificates. A total of 377 pH1N1-associated deaths were identified, for a mortality rate of .12 deaths per 100,000 population. Activity was geographically localized, with the highest mortality rates in Hawaii, New York, and Utah. Seventy-six percent of deaths occurred in persons aged 18-65 years, and 9% occurred in persons aged ≥ 65 years. Underlying medical conditions were reported for 78% of deaths: chronic lung disease among adults (39%) and neurologic disease among children (54%). Overall mortality associated with pH1N1 was low; however, the majority of deaths occurred in persons aged <65 years with underlying medical conditions.

Characteristics of women reporting multiple recent sex partners presenting to a sexually transmitted disease clinic for care.

BACKGROUND: Sexually transmitted disease (STD) clinic attendees are considered to be at higher risk of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) than the general population. However, little is known about STD clinic subpopulations and their unique risks for STI's. The goal of this project was to begin to characterize an important STD clinic subpopulation, the small proportion of women reporting a recent history of multiple sex partners. METHODS: Screening of electronic medical records from 2007 identified 347 (7%) women with ≥4 partners in the last 12 months. Records for women with ≥4 sex partners were matched with women reporting 1 sex partner in the last 12 months. Demographic, sexual history, STI history, and laboratory diagnosis(es) were extracted from the electronic medical record and compared using a case-control study design. RESULTS: Approximately 5000 women presented to our STD clinic in 2007; 7.0% reported≥4 sex partners. Women with ≥4 sex partners were less often black and on average younger than women with single partners (Median age, 24 vs. 29). They reported more nonvaginal sex, more same-sex contacts, but more consistent condom use than women with single partners. Dyspareunia, genital lesions, abdominal pain, and skin findings were more commonly reported by women with ≥4 sex partners. Women with multiple partners were also more likely to report ever having had ≥3 STI's and were more likely to report a history of gonorrhea or syphilis. They were also more likely to be diagnosed at presentation with chlamydia, gonorrhea, or syphilis. CONCLUSION: Women reporting multiple sex partners are an important minority among STD clinic attendees. Understanding the antecedents to high risk sexual behavior as determined by partner number is an important step in reducing STI's in this group.