R S Hooker — Page 2 | Search PubMed

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Management of established osteoporosis.

Osteoporosis is established when certain types of fractures occur or a reliable form of bone densiometry detects low bone mass. The treatment of established osteoporosis is undertaken with a number of choices. The goals of therapy are to stabilize the patient's condition and to prevent fractures. Generally, this means preventing further osteoporosis and, if possible, increasing bone mineral density. Estrogen, calcitonin, alendronate, etidronate, exercise, and calcium with vitamin D are the most available therapies in the United States. Other therapies are discussed.

Absorptiometry, Photon↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Physician assistants and nurse practitioners in hospital outpatient departments, 1993-1994.

OBJECTIVE: To describe the characteristics of visits to physician assistants (PAs) and nurse practitioners (NPs) in hospital outpatient departments in the United States. METHODS: Data from the 1993 and 1994 National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Surveys were used to compare hospital outpatient department visits in which the patient was seen by a PA or NP, or both, with outpatient visits to all practitioners. RESULTS: An average of 64 million annual outpatient visits were made in 1993-1994, and patients were seen by PAs, NPs, or both, at 8% of these visits. PA-NP visits were more likely than total visits to occur in the Midwest, in non-urban areas, and in obstetric-gynecology clinics, and a higher proportion involved patients younger than age 25. Smaller differences were found between PA-NP visits and total outpatient visits in "reason for visit," "principal diagnosis," and "medication prescribed." CONCLUSION: Beyond the care they provide in physicians' offices and other non-hospital settings, PAs and NPs make an important contribution to ambulatory health care delivery in hospital outpatient departments.

Adolescent↗