The body of evidence of late-life depression: the complex relationship between depressive symptoms, movement, dyspnea and cognition.

BACKGROUND: Physical symptoms play an important role in late-life depression and may contribute to residual symptomatology after antidepressant treatment. In this exploratory study, we examined the role of specific bodily dimensions including movement, respiratory functions, fear of falling, cognition, and physical weakness in older people with depression. METHODS: Clinically stable older patients with major depression within a Psychiatric Consultation-Liaison program for Primary Care underwent comprehensive assessment of depressive symptoms, instrumental movement analysis, dyspnea, weakness, activity limitations, cognitive function, and fear of falling. Network analysis was performed to explore the unique adjusted associations between clinical dimensions. RESULTS: Sadness was associated with worse turning and walking ability and movement transitions from walking to sitting, as well as with worse general cognitive abilities. Sadness was also connected with dyspnea, while neurovegetative depressive burden was connected with activity limitations. DISCUSSION: Limitations of motor and cognitive function, dyspnea, and weakness may contribute to the persistence of residual symptoms of late-life depression.

Association of Clinician Denial of Patient Requests With Patient Satisfaction.

Importance: Prior studies suggesting clinician fulfillment or denial of requests affects patient satisfaction included limited adjustment for patient confounders. The studies also did not examine distinct request types, yet patient expectations and clinician fulfillment or denial might vary among request types. Objective: To examine how patient satisfaction with the clinician is associated with clinician denial of distinct types of patient requests, adjusting for patient characteristics. Design, Setting, and Participants: Cross-sectional observational study of 1319 outpatient visits to family physicians (n = 56) by 1141 adults at one Northern California academic health center. Main Outcomes and Measures: We used 6 Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems Clinician and Group Adult Visit Survey items to measure patient satisfaction with the visit physician. Standardized items were averaged to form the satisfaction score (Cronbach α = 0.80), which was then percentile-transformed. Seven separate linear mixed-effects models examined the adjusted mean differences in patient satisfaction percentile associated with denial of each of the following requests (if present)-referral, pain medication, antibiotic, other new medication, laboratory test, radiology test, or other test-compared with fulfillment of the respective requests. The models adjusted for patient sociodemographics, weight, health status, personality, worry over health, prior visit with clinician, and the other 6 request categories and their dispositions. Results: The mean (SD) age of the 1141 patients was 45.6 (16.1) years, and 902 (68.4%) were female. Among 1319 visits, 897 (68.0%) included at least 1 request; 1441 (85.2%) were fulfilled. Requests by category were referral, 294 (21.1%); pain medication, 271 (20.5%); antibiotic, 107 (8.1%); other new medication, 271 (20.5%); laboratory test, 448 (34.0%); radiology test, 153 (11.6%); and other tests, 147 (11.1%). Compared with fulfillment of the respective request type, clinician denials of requests for referral, pain medication, other new medication, and laboratory test were associated with worse satisfaction (adjusted mean percentile differences, -19.75 [95% CI, -30.75 to -8.74], -10.72 [95% CI, -19.66 to -1.78], -20.36 [95% CI, -29.54 to -11.18], and -9.19 [95% CI, -17.50 to -0.87]), respectively. Conclusions and Relevance: Clinician denial of some types of requests was associated with worse patient satisfaction with the clinician, but not for others, when compared with fulfillment of the requests. In an era of patient satisfaction-driven compensation, the findings suggest the need to train clinicians to deal effectively with requests, potentially enhancing patient and clinician experiences.

Reliability of Physician-Level Measures of Patient Experience in Primary Care.

BACKGROUND: Patient experience measures are widely used to compare performance at the individual physician level. OBJECTIVE: To assess the impact of unmeasured patient characteristics on visit-level patient experience measures and the sample sizes required to reliably measure patient experience at the primary care physician (PCP) level. DESIGN: Repeated cross-sectional design. SETTING: Academic family medicine practice in California. PARTICIPANTS: One thousand one hundred forty-one adult patients attending 1319 visits with 56 PCPs (including 45 resident and 11 faculty physicians). MEASUREMENTS: Post-visit patient experience surveys including patient measures used for standard adjustment as recommend by the Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS) Consortium and additional patient characteristics used for expanded adjustment (including attitudes toward healthcare, global life satisfaction, patient personality, current symptom bother, and marital status). RESULTS: The amount of variance in patient experience explained doubled with expanded adjustment for patient characteristics compared with standard adjustment (R2 = 20.0% vs. 9.6%, respectively). With expanded adjustment, the amount of variance attributable to the PCP dropped from 6.1% to 3.4% and the required sample size to achieve a reliability of 0.90 in the physician-level patient experience measure increased from 138 to 255 patients per physician. After ranking of the 56 PCPs by average patient experience, 8 were reclassified into or out of the top or bottom quartiles of average experience with expanded as compared to standard adjustment [14.3% (95% CI: 7.0-25.2%)]. CONCLUSIONS: Widely used methods for measuring PCP-level patient experience may not account sufficiently for influential patient characteristics. If methods were adapted to account for these characteristics, patient sample sizes for reliable between-physician comparisons may be too large for most practices to obtain.

Physical Exercise for Late-Life Depression: Customizing an Intervention for Primary Care.

OBJECTIVES: To identify which individual- and context-related factors influence the translation into clinical practice of interventions based on physical exercise (PE) as an adjunct to antidepressants (AD) for the treatment of late-life major depression (LLMD). DESIGN: Secondary analysis of a randomized controlled trial. SETTING: Primary care with psychiatric consultation-liaison programs (PCLPs)-organizational protocols that regulate the clinical management of individuals with psychiatric disorders. PARTICIPANTS: Individuals aged 65 and older with major depression according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition (N = 121). INTERVENTION: Participants with LLMD were randomized to AD (sertraline) or AD plus PE (AD + PE). MEASUREMENTS: Participant characteristics that were associated with greater effectiveness of AD + PE (moderators) were identified, and effect sizes were calculated from success rate differences. Whether the characteristics of the study setting influenced participant flow and attendance at exercise sessions was then explored, and primary care physicians (PCPs) were surveyed regarding their opinions on PE as a treatment for LLMD. RESULTS: The following participant characteristics were associated with greater likelihood of achieving remission from depression with AD + PE than with AD alone: aged 75 and older (effect size 0.32), polypharmacy (0.35), greater aerobic capacity (0.48), displaying psychomotor slowing (0.49), and less-severe anxiety (0.30). The longer the PCLP had been established at a particular center, the more individuals were recruited at that center. After participating in the study, PCPs expressed positive views on AD + PE as a treatment for LLMD and were more likely to use this as a therapeutic strategy. CONCLUSIONS: The combination of PE and sertraline could improve the management of LLMD, especially when customized for individuals with specific clinical features. Liaison programs might influence the implementation of similar interventions in primary care, and PCPs viewed them positively.

Body mass index and health care utilization in diabetic and nondiabetic individuals.

BACKGROUND: Although controversial, most studies examining the relationship of body mass index (BMI) with mortality in diabetes suggest a paradox: the lowest risk category is above normal weight, versus normal weight in nondiabetic persons. One proposed explanation is greater morbidity of diabetes in normal weight persons. If this were so, it would suggest a health care utilization paradox in diabetes, paralleling the mortality paradox, yet no studies have examined this issue. OBJECTIVE: To compare the relationship of BMI with health care utilization in diabetic versus nondiabetic persons. DESIGN: Population-based cross-sectional study. SUBJECTS: Adults in the 2000-2011 Medical Expenditures Panel Surveys (N=120,389). MEASURES: Total health care expenditures, hospital utilization (≥1 admission), and emergency department utilization (≥1 visit). BMI (kg/m) categories were: <20 (underweight); 20 to <25 (normal); 25 to <30 (overweight); 30 to <35 (obese); and ≥35 (severely obese). Adjustors were age, sex, race/ethnicity, income, health insurance, education, smoking, co-morbidity, urbanicity, region, and year. RESULTS: Among diabetic persons, adjusted mean total health care expenditures were significantly lower in obese versus normal weight persons ($1314, 95% confidence interval [CI], $513-$2115; P=0.001). By contrast, among nondiabetic persons, total expenditures were nonsignificantly higher in obese versus normal weight persons (-$229, 95% CI, -$460 to $2; P=0.052). Findings for hospital and emergency department utilization exhibited similar patterns. CONCLUSIONS: Normal weight diabetic persons used substantially more health care than their overweight and obese counterparts, a difference not observed in nondiabetic persons. These differences support the plausibility of a BMI mortality paradox related to greater morbidity of diabetes in normal weight than in heavier persons.

Satisfaction with health care providers and preventive care adherence: a national study.

BACKGROUND: Prior studies demonstrating associations between patient satisfaction with health care providers and preventive adherence were cross-sectional, limiting causal inferences. In cross-sectional and prospective analyses, we explored 3 hypotheses previously invoked to explain associations between satisfaction with providers and preventive adherence: (1) receiving preventive care increases satisfaction; (2) enhancing satisfaction increases preventive care; (3) satisfaction and adherence reflect patient characteristics, incompletely adjusted for in previous studies. METHODS: We conducted 3 sets of logistic regression analyses employing 2000-2010 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey data: 1 cross-sectional and 2 prospective (baseline preventive care/follow-up year satisfaction, and baseline satisfaction/follow-up year preventive care), each set cumulatively adjusting for patient demographics, socioeconomics, morbidity, health care access, and medical skepticism. Consumer Assessment of Health Plans Survey items measured satisfaction with care from all providers in the preceding year. Preventive care examined included influenza vaccination and colorectal cancer, Papanicolaou, mammography, and prostate-specific antigen screening. RESULTS: In cross-sectional analyses adjusted for demographics (N = 74,792), highest (vs. lowest) quartile satisfaction was associated with preventive adherence [adjusted odds ratios (95% confidence interval)]: influenza vaccination 1.14 (1.07, 1.22); colorectal cancer screening 1.08 (0.99, 1.18); Papanicolaou screening 1.14 (1.04, 1.24); mammography screening 1.20 (1.11, 1.31); prostate-specific antigen screening 1.38 (1.25, 1.52). With full adjustment, associations of satisfaction with adherence were substantially attenuated, eliminated, or reversed. Prospective analyses yielded findings similar to the cross-sectional analyses. CONCLUSIONS: Cross-sectional and prospective associations between satisfaction with providers and preventive care adherence were similarly explained by patient characteristics. The findings question previously hypothesized causal relationships between satisfaction and preventive adherence.

Short-term stability and spread of the U.S. News & World Report primary care medical school rankings.

PURPOSE: The annual U.S. News & World Report (USN&WR) Primary Care Medical School (PCMS) ranking attracts considerable attention, but its measurement properties have not been published. The authors examined the short-term stability of the PCMS ranking and the PCMS score from which it derives, along with the short-term spread of schools' rankings. METHOD: The authors employed published data and methods to reconstruct the 2009-2012 PCMS scores and rankings. They used mixed-effects models to assess the within-school, between-year reliability (short-term stability) of the PCMS score and ranking, yielding intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs). They defined short-term spread as the median within-school range in ranking across the four-year study period. RESULTS: Reconstructed PCMS scores correlated highly with published scores all four years (Pearson correlations≥98.9%). Most schools' mean annual PCMS scores were tightly clustered near the center of the score distribution. ICCs for the PCMS score and ranking were, respectively, 94% and 90%. The median difference between the best and worst ranking over the study period was 4 for the 18 schools with an average annual ranking of 1 to 20, and 17 for the other 89 schools (P<.001, Kruskal-Wallis test). CONCLUSIONS: The short-term stability of the USN&WR PCMS score and ranking were reasonably good. However, the short-term spread in PCMS rankings was large, particularly among schools with mean annual rankings below the top 20. The variability is greater than could be plausibly attributed to actual changes in training quality. These findings raise questions regarding the ranking's validity and usefulness.

Gender of physician as the usual source of care and patient health care utilization and mortality.

BACKGROUND: Practice styles differ by provider gender, but whether provider gender influences health care utilization and mortality is unknown. The objective of this study was to examine associations of the gender of a patient's usual source of health care (USOC) with health care utilization and mortality. METHODS: This was a prospective observational study employing data from respondents aged ≥18 years entering the 2002 to 2008 United States Medical Expenditure Panel Surveys, reporting a USOC at entry, and participating for 2 years (N = 21,365). Analyses examined the association of gender of the USOC in survey participation year 1 with the following health care utilization outcomes in participation year 2: total health care expenditures, prescription drug expenditures, and number of office visits (Poisson regressions) and having more than one emergency visit and more than one hospitalization (logistic regressions). A Cox regression examined survival (ascertained via linkage with the National Death Index) through 2006 for the subset of respondents enrolled from 2002 to 2006 (n = 11,328). All analyses were adjusted for respondent sociodemographic and health characteristics and USOC specialty and race/ethnicity. RESULTS: Reporting a female USOC was associated with being younger, female, and urban. There were no significant adjusted associations of female USOC status with total expenditures (parameter estimate of increase [PE], 4.56%; 95% confidence interval [CI], -3.04 to 12.76), prescription expenditures (PE, 3.33% ; 95% CI, -4.32 to 11.59), number of office visits (PE, 1.28%; 95% CI, -3.30 to 6.08), having more than one emergency visit (odds ratio, 0.98; 95% CI, 0.87-1.11), having more than one hospitalization (odds ratio, 0.98; 95% CI, 0.87-1.11), or mortality (hazard ratio, 0.94; 95% CI, 0.64-1.38). CONCLUSIONS: Gender of the USOC was not associated with health care utilization or mortality. These findings suggest reported gender of the USOC may not have nationally important effects on health care utilization and mortality.

Extended office hours and health care expenditures: a national study.

PURPOSE: A key component of primary care improvement efforts is timely access to care; however, little is known regarding the effects of extended (evening and weekend) office hours on health care use and outcomes. We examined the association between reported access to extended office hours and both health care expenditures and mortality. METHODS: We analyzed data from individuals aged 18 to 90 years responding to the 2000-2008 Medical Expenditure Panel Surveys reporting access or no access to extended hours via a usual source of care in 2 successive years (year 1 and year 2; N = 30,714). Dependent variables were year 2 total health care expenditures and, for those enrolled in 2000-2005, all-cause mortality through 2006. Covariates were year 1 sociodemographics and health care use, and year 2 health insurance, health status, and chronic conditions. We conducted further analyses, progressively adjusting for year 2 use, to explore mechanisms. RESULTS: Total expenditures were 10.4% lower (95% confidence interval, 7.2%-13.4%) among patients reporting access to extended hours in both years vs neither year. Adjustment for year 2 prescription drug expenditures, and to a lesser extent, office visit-related expenditures (but not total prescriptions or office visits, or emergency and inpatient expenditures) attenuated this relationship. Extended-hours access was not statistically associated with mortality. CONCLUSIONS: Respondents reporting a usual source of care offering evening and weekend office hours had lower total health care expenditures than those without extended-hours access, an association related to lower prescription drug and office visit-related (eg, testing) expenditures, without adverse effects on mortality. Although requiring further study, extended office hours may be associated with more judicious use of health care resources.

Does applicant personality influence multiple mini-interview performance and medical school acceptance offers?

PURPOSE: To examine relationships among applicant personality, Multiple Mini-Interview (MMI) performance, and medical school acceptance offers. METHOD: The authors conducted an observational study of applicants who participated in the MMI at the University of California, Davis, School of Medicine during the 2010-2011 admissions cycle and responded to the Big Five Inventory measuring their personality factors (agreeableness, conscientiousness, extraversion, neuroticism, openness). Individuals' MMI performance at 10 stations was summarized as a total score. Regression analyses examined associations of personality factors with MMI score, and associations of personality factors and MMI score with acceptance offers. Covariates included sociodemographic and academic performance measures. RESULTS: Among the 444 respondents, those with extraversion scores in the top (versus bottom) quartile had significantly higher MMI scores (adjusted parameter estimate = 5.93 higher, 95% CI: 4.27-7.59; P < .01). In a model excluding MMI score, top (versus bottom) quartile agreeableness (AOR = 3.22; 95% CI 1.57-6.58; P < .01) and extraversion (AOR = 3.61; 95% CI 1.91-6.82; P < .01) were associated with acceptance offers. After adding MMI score to the model, high agreeableness (AOR = 4.77; 95% CI 1.95-11.65; P < .01) and MMI score (AOR 1.33; 95% CI 1.26-1.42; P < .01) were associated with acceptance offers. CONCLUSIONS: Extraversion was associated with MMI performance, whereas both extraversion and agreeableness were associated with acceptance offers. Adoption of the MMI may affect diversity in medical student personalities, with potential implications for students' professional growth, specialty distribution, and patient care.

The cost of satisfaction: a national study of patient satisfaction, health care utilization, expenditures, and mortality.

BACKGROUND: Patient satisfaction is a widely used health care quality metric. However, the relationship between patient satisfaction and health care utilization, expenditures, and outcomes remains ill defined. METHODS: We conducted a prospective cohort study of adult respondents (N = 51,946) to the 2000 through 2007 national Medical Expenditure Panel Survey, including 2 years of panel data for each patient and mortality follow-up data through December 31, 2006, for the 2000 through 2005 subsample (n = 36,428). Year 1 patient satisfaction was assessed using 5 items from the Consumer Assessment of Health Plans Survey. We estimated the adjusted associations between year 1 patient satisfaction and year 2 health care utilization (any emergency department visits and any inpatient admissions), year 2 health care expenditures (total and for prescription drugs), and mortality during a mean follow-up duration of 3.9 years. RESULTS: Adjusting for sociodemographics, insurance status, availability of a usual source of care, chronic disease burden, health status, and year 1 utilization and expenditures, respondents in the highest patient satisfaction quartile (relative to the lowest patient satisfaction quartile) had lower odds of any emergency department visit (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 0.92; 95% CI, 0.84-1.00), higher odds of any inpatient admission (aOR, 1.12; 95% CI, 1.02-1.23), 8.8% (95% CI, 1.6%-16.6%) greater total expenditures, 9.1% (95% CI, 2.3%-16.4%) greater prescription drug expenditures, and higher mortality (adjusted hazard ratio, 1.26; 95% CI, 1.05-1.53). CONCLUSION: In a nationally representative sample, higher patient satisfaction was associated with less emergency department use but with greater inpatient use, higher overall health care and prescription drug expenditures, and increased mortality.

Patient-centered care: the influence of patient and resident physician gender and gender concordance in primary care.

BACKGROUND: Patient-centered care (PCC) is thought to significantly influence the process of care and its outcomes and has been identified as part of a comprehensive strategy for improving our nation's healthcare delivery system. Patient and physician gender, as well as gender concordance, may influence the provision of PCC. METHODS: Patients (315 women, 194 men) were randomized to care by primary care resident physicians (48 women, 57 men). Sociodemographic information, history of health risk behaviors (tobacco use, alcoholism, and obesity), and self-reported global pain and health status were collected before the first visit. That visit and subsequent patient visits to the primary care physician (PCP) were videotaped during the year-long study period. PCC was measured by coding all videotapes using a modified version of the Davis Observation Code. RESULTS: No significant gender differences in PCC were found between the male and female patients; however, female physicians provided increased PCC to their patients. The greatest amount of PCC was seen in the female patient-female physician gender dyad. Regression analyses, controlling for other patient variables, confirmed that female concordant dyads were associated with a greater amount of PCC. There was no significant relationship for the male patient-male physician concordance (vs. disconcordance). CONCLUSIONS: These findings highlight the influence of gender in the process of care and provision of PCC. Gender concordance in female patient-female physician dyads demonstrated significantly more PCC. Further research in other clinical settings using other measures of PCC is needed. A public mandate to provide care that is patient-centered has implications for medical education.

Patient-provider sex and race/ethnicity concordance: a national study of healthcare and outcomes.

BACKGROUND: Increasing patient-provider sex and race/ethnicity concordance has been proposed to improve healthcare and help mitigate health disparities, but the relationship between concordance and health outcomes remains unclear. OBJECTIVE: To examine associations of patient-provider sex, race/ethnicity, and dual concordance with healthcare measures. RESEARCH DESIGN AND PARTICIPANTS: Analyses of data from adult respondents indicating a usual source of healthcare (N=22,440) in the 2002 to 2007 Medical Expenditure Panel Surveys (each a 2-year panel). MEASURES: Year 1 provider communication, sex-neutral (colorectal cancer screening, influenza vaccination) and sex-specific (mammography, Papanicolaou smear, prostate-specific antigen) prevention; and year 2 health status (SF-12). Analyses adjusted for patient sociodemographics and health variables, and healthcare provider (usual source of care) sex and race/ethnicity. RESULTS: Of 24 concordance assessments, 3 were statistically significant. Women with female providers were more likely to report mammography adherence [average adjusted marginal effect=3.9%, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.6%, 6.2%; P<0.01]. Respondents reporting dual concordance were less likely to rate provider communication in the highest quartile (average adjusted marginal effect =-4.2%, 95% CI: -8.1%, -0.2%; P=0.04), but dual concordance was associated with higher adjusted SF-12 Physical Component Summary scores (0.58 points, 95% CI: 0.00, 1.15; P=0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Little evidence of clinical benefit resulting from sex or race/ethnicity concordance was found. Greater matching of patients and providers by sex and race/ethnicity is unlikely to mitigate health disparities.

Patient-centered care is associated with decreased health care utilization.

PURPOSE: This article uses an interactional analysis instrument to characterize patient-centered care in the primary care setting and to examine its relationship with health care utilization. METHODS: Five hundred nine new adult patients were randomized to care by family physicians and general internists. An adaption of the Davis Observation Code was used to measure a patient-centered practice style. The main outcome measures were their use of medical services and related charges monitored over 1 year. RESULTS: Controlling for patient sex, age, education, income, self-reported health status, and health risk behaviors (obesity, alcohol abuse, and smoking), a higher average amount of patient-centered care recorded in visits throughout the 1-year study period was related to a significantly decreased annual number of visits for specialty care (P = .0209), less frequent hospitalizations (P = .0033), and fewer laboratory and diagnostic tests (P = .0027). Total medical charges for the 1-year study were also significantly reduced (P = .0002), as were charges for specialty care clinic visits (P = .0005), for all patients who had a greater average amount of patient-centered visits during that same time period. For female patients, the regression equation predicted 15.47% of the variation in total annual medical charges compared with male patients, for whom 31.18% of the variation was explained by the average percent of patient-centered care, controlling for sociodemographic variables, health status, and health risk behaviors. CONCLUSIONS: Patient-centered care was associated with decreased utilization of health care services and lower total annual charges. Reduced annual medical care charges may be an important outcome of medical visits that are patient-centered.

Determinants and outcomes of patient-centered care.

OBJECTIVE: This paper defines an interactional analysis instrument to characterize patient-centered care and identify associated variables. METHODS: In this study, 509 new adult patients were randomized to care by family physicians and general internists. An adaption of the Davis Observation Code was used to measure a patient-centered practice style. The main outcome measures were visit-specific satisfaction and healthcare resource utilization. RESULTS: In initial primary care visits, patient-centered practice style was positively associated with higher patient self-reported physical health status (p=0.0328), higher educational level (p=0.0050), and non-smoking status (p=0.0108); it was also observed more often in the interactions of family physicians compared to internists (p=0.0003). Controlling for patient sociodemographic variables, self-reported health status, pain, health risk behaviors (obesity, alcohol abuse, and smoking), and clinic assignment, patient satisfaction was not related to the provision of patient-centered care. Moreover, a higher average amount of patient-centered care recorded in visits throughout the one-year study period was significantly related to lower annual medical charges (p=0.0003). CONCLUSIONS: Patient-centered care was observed more often with family physician caring for healthier, more educated patients, and was associated with lower charges. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: Reduced annual medical care charges are an important outcome of patient-centered medical visits.

Patient gender differences in the prediction of medical expenditures.

AIMS: The prediction of individuals' use of medical services and associated costs is crucial for medical systems. We modeled a risk assessment equation that included patient sociodemographic characteristics and health risk behaviors (obesity, smoking, and alcohol abuse) to strengthen the power of self-reported health status to predict healthcare resource use. We also sought to uncover gender-specific differences in the predictive value of the models. METHODS: Before their first primary care visit, 509 new patients were interviewed. Data collected included sociodemographics, self-reported health status Medical Outcomes Study Short-Form (MOS SF-36), body mass index (BMI), and screening for alcoholism and smoking. Subsequent use of healthcare services for 1 year was determined by reviewing medical and billing records. RESULTS: Generalized linear models and two-part regressions were estimated relating the five types of charges (plus total charges) to self-reported physical health status, controlling for gender, age, education, income, obesity, smoking, alcohol abuse, and mental health status. Lower physical health status was associated with higher charges for primary care (p = 0.0022), specialty care (p = 0.0141), diagnostic services (p < 0.0001), hospitalizations (p = 0.0069), and total charges (p < 0.0001). For female patients, the regression equation predicted 14% of the variation in total medical charges compared with 28% for males. Female patients had higher charges for primary care (p = 0.0019), diagnostic services (p = 0.0005), and total charges (p = 0.0180). CONCLUSIONS: Health status and patient gender were significant predictors of healthcare use and charges. The R² of total charges was two times higher for men vs. women. This research has policy implications for healthcare organizations in predicting the usage patterns.

Attributes affecting the medical school primary care experience.

PURPOSE: Favorable primary care (PC) experiences might encourage more medical students to pursue generalist careers, yet academicians know little about which attributes influence the medical school PC experience. The authors sought to identify such attributes and weight their importance. METHOD: Semistructured interviews with 16 academic generalist leaders of family medicine, general internal medicine, and general pediatrics led to the development of a Web-based survey, administered to a national sample of 126 generalist faculty. Survey respondents rated (on a nine-point Likert-like scale) the importance of each interview-generated PC medical school attribute and indicated (yes/no) whether outside experts' assessment of the attributes would be valid. The authors assessed interrater agreement. RESULTS: Interview thematic analysis generated 58 institutional attributes in four categories: informal curriculum (23), institutional infrastructure (6), educational/curricular infrastructure (6), and specific educational experiences (23). Of these 58, 31 (53%) had median importance ratings of >7 (highly important). For 14 of these (45%), more than two-thirds of respondents indicated external expert surveys would provide a valid assessment. Of the 23 informal curriculum attributes, 20 (87%) received highly important ratings; however, more than two-thirds of respondents believed that external expert survey ratings would be valid for only 4 (20%) of them. Strong agreement occurred among respondents across the generalist fields. CONCLUSIONS: Academic generalist educators identified several attributes as highly important in shaping the quality of the medical school PC experience. Informal curriculum attributes appeared particularly influential, but these attributes may not be validly assessed via expert surveys, suggesting the need for other measures.

The influence of gender on the doctor-patient interaction.

OBJECTIVE: This paper discusses the research focused on gender issues in healthcare communication. METHODS: The majority of papers discussed here are based on a research study in which 509 new adult patients were prospectively and randomly assigned to family practice or internal medicine clinics at a university medical center and followed for one year of care. RESULTS: There are significant differences in the practice style behaviors of female and male doctors. Female doctors provide more preventive services and psychosocial counseling; male doctors spend more time on technical practice behaviors, such as medical history taking and physical examination. The patients of female doctors are more satisfied, even after adjusting for patient characteristics and physician practice style. Female patients make more medical visits and have higher total annual medical charges; their visits include more preventive services, less physical examination, and fewer discussions about tobacco, alcohol and other substance abuse (controlling for health status and sociodemographic variables). The examination of gender concordant and discordant doctor-patient dyads provides a unique strategy for assessing the effect of gender on what takes place during the medical visit. CONCLUSION: Doctor and patient gender can impact the physician-patient interaction and its outcomes. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: The development of appropriate strategies for the implementation of knowledge about physician and patient gender differences will be crucial for the delivery of high quality gender-sensitive healthcare.

Patient-centered communication in primary care: physician and patient gender and gender concordance.

BACKGROUND: Physicians' use of patient-centered communication (PCC) affects important outcomes of care. Although there is evidence that both patient and physician gender affect the process of care, there is limited information about their impact on PCC. Our objective was to investigate the influence of patient and physician gender, as well as gender concordance between patient and physician, on the patient centeredness of primary care visits. METHODS: Participating primary care physicians (100 family physicians and internists) with clinical practices in the Rochester, New York area, had two unannounced covertly audiorecorded standardized patients' visits. Encounters were analyzed using the Measure of Patient-Centered Communication (MPCC), which measures three aspects of physician communication: Component 1 (Exploring both the disease and illness experience), Component 2 (Understanding the whole person), and Component 3 (Finding common ground). RESULTS: Compared with male patients, females had interactions characterized by greater PCC (total and Component 2 scores). Whereas female physicians exhibited higher Component 1 scores, male physicians had higher Component 2 scores, and gender-concordant visits also exhibited higher Component 2 scores. However, there were no significant differences in total MPCC scores for encounters of female vs. male physicians or for gender-concordant compared with discordant patient-physician dyads. CONCLUSIONS: These findings add further evidence that patient gender can affect the interactions between physicians and patients. More research is needed to understand why male patients are less likely to have medical encounters in which their physicians employ a patient-centered practice style.