Biomedical subjects
G Michael Allan
Publications and source records attributed to G Michael Allan.
Clarifying the evidence: vitamin E, vitamin A, and folate.
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Do family physicians know the costs of medical care? Survey in British Columbia.
OBJECTIVE: To determine the cost of 46 commonly used investigations and therapies and to assess British Columbia family doctors' awareness of these costs. DESIGN: Mailed survey asking about costs of 23 investigations and 23 therapies relevant to family practice. A random sample of 600 doctors was asked to report their awareness of costs and to estimate costs of the 46 items. SETTING: British Columbia. PARTICIPANTS: Six hundred family physicians. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Estimates within 25% of actual cost were considered correct. Associations between cost awareness and respondents'characteristics (eg, sex, practice location) were sought. Degree of error in estimates was also assessed. RESULTS: Overall, 283 (47.2%) surveys were returned and 259 analyzed. Few respondents estimated costs within 25% of true cost, and estimates were highly variable. Physicians underestimated costs of expensive drugs and laboratory investigations and overestimated costs of inexpensive drugs. Cost awareness did not correlate with sex, practice location, College certification, faculty appointment, or years in practice. CONCLUSION: Family doctors in British Columbia have little awareness of the costs of medical care.
High-altitude decompression illness: case report and discussion.
Decompression illness (DCI) can occur in a variety of contexts, including scuba diving and flight in nonpressurized aircraft. It is characterized by joint pain, neurologic injury, and respiratory or constitutional symptoms. To prepare flight crews for accidental decompression events, the Canadian Armed Forces regularly conducts controlled and supervised depressurization exercises in specialized chambers. We present the cases of 3 Canadian Armed Forces personnel who successfully completed such decompression exercises but experienced DCI after they took a 3-hour commercial flight 6 hours after the completion of training. All 3 patients were treated in a hyperbaric oxygen chamber. The pathophysiology, diagnosis and management of DCI and the travel implications for military personnel who have undergone such training exercises are discussed. Although DCI is relatively uncommon, physicians may see it and should be aware of its presentation and treatment.
Family practice residents' awareness of medical care costs in British Columbia.
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Health economics continues to be an important issue, and past studies in the United States and Europe have found that physicians and physicians in training have a limited understanding of medical care costs. No medical care cost-awareness studies have been done in Canada. In this study, the costs of 46 commonly used diagnostic tests and therapeutics were determined, and family practice residents' awareness of these costs was assessed. METHODS: Ninety-seven first- and second-year residents of the University of British Columbia Family Practice Program were surveyed using the modified Dillman Total Design Method. Resident cost estimations were considered correct if within 25% or 50% of actual costs, and awareness was correlated with training location, gender, residency year, and importance ratings for ordering behavior. Degree of error was assessed by calculating median percent errors and confidence intervals for each therapeutic and diagnostic test. RESULTS: Costs were determined from the British Columbia Medical Association Guide to Fees, British Columbia Centre for Disease Control, hospital finance departments, and pharmaceutical wholesalers. A total of 82 (85%) residents completed the survey, but 11 were only partially completed. Few residents could estimate the cost of diagnostic tests or therapeutics to within 25% of the true cost, and the estimations were highly variable. Residents underestimated the cost of expensive drugs and overestimated the cost of inexpensive drugs. There was no relationship between cost awareness and training location, gender, residency year, or residents rating cost as important in ordering behaviour. CONCLUSION: Resident physicians in British Columbia, Canada have limited awareness of medical care costs.