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Biomedical subjects

Tryfon Beazoglou

Publications and source records attributed to Tryfon Beazoglou.

8 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2006

Efficacy and cost-effectiveness of a clinic-based counseling intervention tested in an ethnically diverse sample of pregnant smokers.

OBJECTIVE: Rates of cigarette smoking are higher among women who receive obstetric care through publicly funded prenatal clinics. This study compared smoking outcomes for pregnant women (n=105) who were randomized to receive either usual care (standard cessation advice from the health care provider) or an intervention conducted in the prenatal clinic consisting of 1.5 h of counseling plus telephone follow-up delivered by a masters prepared mental health counselor. METHODS: Subjects were 105 low income, predominantly Hispanic, pregnant patients in an urban prenatal clinic. Smoking outcomes were assessed at end of pregnancy and 6 months post-partum. RESULTS: At follow-up, 28.3% and 9.4% of participants in the experimental intervention and 9.6% and 3.8% of patients in usual care were abstinent at end of pregnancy (p=.015) and 6 months post-partum, respectively (p=.251). Cost of the intervention was $56 per patient and cost to produce a non-smoker at end of pregnancy was $299. CONCLUSIONS: This model for intervention was cost-effective and was associated with significantly lower smoking rates at end of pregnancy. PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS: If these findings are replicated, prenatal clinics could offer the option for intensive smoking cessation treatment by training mental health counselors to deliver one extended smoking cessation counseling session.

Black or African American↗
PubMed2006

Dental safety net: current capacity and potential for expansion.

OBJECTIVES: The authors' objectives were to determine the size and characteristics of the dentally underserved U.S. population, describe the capacity of the safety net system to treat the underserved, explore policy options for expanding the system and discuss the policy implications of these findings. METHODS: The data came from published reports from health care organizations and researchers, as well as from public officials, dental educators and clinic directors. The values presented are estimates from available data. RESULTS: The underserved population consists of 82 million people from low-income families. Only 27.8 percent of this population visits a dentist each year. The primary components of the safety net are dental clinics in community health centers, hospitals, public schools and dental schools. This system has the capacity to care for about 7 to 8 million people annually. The politically feasible options for expanding the system include increasing the number of community clinics and their efficiency, requiring dental school graduates to receive one year of residency training, and requiring senior dental students and residents to work 60 days in community clinics and practices. This could increase the capacity of the system to treat about 10 million people annually. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS: The safety net system has limited capacity but could be improved to care for another 2.5 million people. Even if it is expanded, however, the majority of low-income patients would need to obtain care in private practices to reduce access disparities. The biggest challenge is convincing the American people to provide the funds needed to care for the poor in safety net clinics and private practices.

Community Health Centers↗
PubMed2006

Evolution of dental school clinics as patient care delivery centers.

Dental school clinics, originally envisioned as closely similar to private practice, evolved instead as teaching clinics. In the former, graduate and licensed dentists perform the treatment while undergraduate dental students are assigned treatment within their capabilities. In the latter, dental students provide the treatment under faculty supervision. It is generally recognized that the care provided by the teaching clinics is inefficient. However, in the last quarter of the twentieth century, dental school clinics began to pay much more attention to how treatment is rendered. The comprehensive care movement and quality assurance systems are leading towards more efficient patient-centered care. Case studies at the University of Maryland, Columbia University, and University of Louisville describe activities to make their clinic programs more efficient and patient-friendly. This article explores whether the potential exists for faculty to take a direct patient care delivery role in dental clinics in order for those clinics to become efficient patient care delivery systems as originally envisioned in the early part of the twentieth century.

Comprehensive Dental Care↗
PubMed2005

The dental safety net in Connecticut.

BACKGROUND: Many poor, medically disabled and geographically isolated populations have difficulty accessing private-sector dental care and are considered underserved. To address this problem, public- and voluntary-sector organizations have established clinics and provide care to the underserved. Collectively, these clinics are known as "the dental safety net." The authors describe the dental safety net in Connecticut and examine the capacity and efficiency of this system to provide care to the noninstitutionalized underserved population of the state. METHODS: The authors describe Connecticut's dental safety net in terms of dentists, allied health staff members, operatories, patient visits and patients treated per dentist per year. The authors compare the productivity of safety-net dentists with that of private practitioners. They also estimate the capacity of the safety net to treat people enrolled in Medicaid and the State Children's Health Insurance Program. RESULTS: The safety net is made up of dental clinics in community health centers, hospitals, the dental school and public schools. One hundred eleven dentists, 38 hygienists and 95 dental assistants staff the clinics. Safety-net dentists have fewer patient visits and patients than do private practitioners. The Connecticut safety-net system has the capacity to treat about 28.2 percent of publicly insured patients. CONCLUSIONS: The dental safety net is an important community resource, and greater use of allied dental personnel could substantially improve the capacity of the system to care for the poor and other underserved populations.

Child↗
PubMed2004

Design, execution, interpretation, and reporting of economic evaluation studies in obstetrics.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this article was to propose guidelines for the design, execution, interpretation, and reporting of economic evaluation studies in obstetrics. Study design We performed a PubMed search of economic evaluation articles to identify those articles that deal with the quality of published economic evaluation studies, the development of guidelines, and the development of checklists/guidelines for the reporting of economic evaluation studies. All other articles were excluded from the review. RESULTS: We identified 160 articles. We included 8 articles in our review that reported on the quality of published economic analyses, 12 articles that reported on guidelines, and 3 articles that reported on checklists/guidelines that are used by journals. There were 2 articles that dealt with the quality of published economic evaluations in obstetrics and gynecology, both of which showed less than optimal quality. There were only 4 articles that provided some general guidelines for the reporting of economic evaluations in obstetrics and gynecology. We found no articles on any checklist/guidelines for the reporting of economic evaluation studies in obstetrics and gynecology. CONCLUSION: There is a need to improve the design, execution, interpretation, and reporting of economic evaluation studies in obstetrics.

Cost-Benefit Analysis↗
PubMed2002

The importance of productivity in estimating need for dentists.

BACKGROUND: Although the number of dentists is an important determinant of supply, other factors also contribute. Technological advancements and well-trained and managed auxiliary personnel affect supply by allowing dentists to produce more dental services per unit of time. METHODS: This article examines trends in dental output, productivity, number of dentists and dental care utilization from 1960 through 1998. The authors estimated growth rates for the entire period and selected subperiods using regression analysis. Growth rates for dentist productivity and per capita utilization are important to estimate the number of active dentists needed in the year 2020. RESULTS: Based on ADA practice survey data, the annual growth rate in dentists' productivity was 1.41 percent from 1960 through 1998. However, productivity grew at different rates during this period. It increased 3.95 percent per year from 1960 to 1974. There was a decline in productivity of 0.13 percent annually from 1974 to 1991. From 1991 to 1998, productivity grew 1.05 percent annually. CONCLUSIONS: Accurate estimates of changes in dentist productivity are important in evaluating the adequacy of the number of dentists to meet the demand for dental services. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS. Since productivity generally increases over time, failure to account for changes in productivity can lead to an overestimation of the number of dentists required for any given level of demand for dental services.

Dental Auxiliaries↗
PubMed2002

The dental work force in Wisconsin: ten-year projections.

BACKGROUND: The national dentist-to-population ratio is expected to decline during the next decade. The Wisconsin Dental Association undertook a study to determine the impact of this decline on the future supply of and demand for dental care in Wisconsin. METHODS: Using state and national data, the researchers estimated the number of dentists leaving and entering the state for the years 2001 through 2010. Then, using multivariate regression equations, the researchers estimated expected changes in dentists' productivity, the growth of the Wisconsin population and increases in utilization of dental services for the next 10 years. From these data, they determined the number of dentists needed in 2010 to maintain the current level of access. They assessed several strategies for increasing the number of dentists in the state. RESULTS: Wisconsin will have 297 fewer dentists in 2010 than it did in 2000. However, with increases in dentists' productivity of 1.8 percent per year, a slowly growing Wisconsin population (0.42 percent per year) and modest increases in utilization (0.82 percent per year), Wisconsin will need only 194 additional dentists to maintain current levels of access to care. The authors examined several options for increasing the number of dentists and their productivity, including increasing the number of Wisconsin (vs. out-of-state) students enrolled at Marquette University School of Dentistry, Milwaukee, employing more auxiliaries and using risk-based scheduling for recall patients. CONCLUSIONS: Wisconsin will have fewer dentists in 2010 than in 2000, but current levels of access can be maintained by implementing modest changes in the selection of dental students at Marquette, in the use of dental auxiliaries and in patient scheduling. CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS: With the national dentist-to-population ratio declining, each state should assess how its supply and demand for dental care will change in the next 10 years. If substantial supply-and-demand imbalances exist, options for correcting the imbalances need to be considered.

Dental Auxiliaries↗