Search PubMed⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search PubMed

Results for “Professional Practice Location”

Search indexed PubMed citations on genomics, clinical trials, systematic reviews and public health. Explore titles, authors and supplied subject terms, then open the PubMed record.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 253 records · Page 14Linked to original sources

Assessing the cultures of medical group practices.

BACKGROUND: The culture of medical group practices is gaining increasing attention as one of the most important organizational factors influencing the costs and quality of health care. Based on organizational theory, we propose that the culture of the practice differs depending on size, ownership, location, and the number of medical specialties. METHODS: A survey was sent to 1223 physicians in 191 clinics in the upper Midwest. The clinic response rate was 77%. The survey instrument identifies 9 culture dimensions, each with 3 to 6 measurement statements. RESULTS: Smaller clinics had higher scores on 6 of the 9 dimensions. Physician-owned clinics had higher scores on 4 of the 9 dimensions, whereas system-owned clinics had a higher score on only 1 dimension. Only 1 dimension differed among the locations. Single-specialty clinics had higher scores on 4 dimensions and multispecialty clinics had higher scores on 2 dimensions. CONCLUSION: Our data confirm the contention that the culture of medical group practices varies considerably; to a degree, this variance is as predicted by organizational theory. The culture changes as group practices become larger and more complex through diversification into multispecialty practices or become part of larger health care systems.

Ambulatory Care Facilities↗

Nursing in the community--impact of context on the practice agenda.

The agenda for health care detailed in recent policy statements has a strong community and primary health care focus. The impact of the community, and specifically the patient's home, as a location for practising and learning to practise nursing, is an issue which has received limited exploration. Recent research suggests that the context influences the practice agenda in a number of ways. Highlighting the impact of working in the community context is timely in order that education providers, policy makers and managers are fully aware of the impact of moving care 'closer to home'.

Adaptation, Psychological↗

Rural and urban nonphysician providers in Georgia.

Nonphysician providers make valuable contributions to health care in rural areas. This study examines provider and practice characteristics, location preference, and reasons for location preference among Georgia nurse practitioners (NPs), certified nurse midwives, and physician assistants (PAs) (N = 1,079). Data collected through a statewide survey revealed that providers were concentrated in urban areas. Rural providers tended to be older, less educated, possess fewer specialty credentials, and were employed longer than urban providers. NPs were significantly more likely to prefer smaller communities, and PAs were significantly more likely to prefer larger communities. Providers who preferred smaller communities were likely to practice in rural and urban areas, but providers who preferred larger communities were substantially more likely to practice in urban areas. Providers who preferred smaller communities were significantly more likely to mention the importance of community dynamics, while providers who preferred larger communities were significantly more likely to mention professional context.

Adult↗

Patient satisfaction in the ambulatory setting. Influence of data collection methods and sociodemographic factors.

To evaluate the impact of patient characteristics and method of data collection on satisfaction results used for the comparison of practice locations, questionnaires were distributed to 1,208 adult outpatients at five medicine clinics, either on-site or by mail. Patient dissatisfaction with three service domains was measured: communication with the provider, courtesy of the office staff, and timeliness of care. Practice location, survey methodology, and patient characteristics were significant predictors of dissatisfaction, and adjustment for the latter two factors affected the rankings of practices by dissatisfaction rates for all three domains. Further study of the impact of patient characteristics and method of data collection should be conducted before the comparison of unadjusted satisfaction results becomes the accepted standard.

Adult↗

Medical career choice and practice location: early factors predicting course completion, career choice and practice location.

AIMS: The overall aim of the study was to identify the factors that best predict medical career choice and practice location. METHOD: A longitudinal, cohort study was conducted. This followed 2 cohorts of students, numbering a total of 229 students, who commenced medical studies at the University of Western Australia in 1984 and 1989. Data concerning the students' sociodemographic backgrounds, admission scores and personality characteristics were collected in Year 1. Regression analyses were performed to identify the student characteristics that best predicted course completion, a choice of general practice 4 years after graduation and a rural location of practice. OUTCOMES: We found that students who had lower university admission scores and who were less outgoing were less likely to complete the course. Students who were male, had a father in medicine and were more creative and abstract in their thinking and more conscientious and rule-bound were more likely to choose a specialist career. A rural background was found to be the most important predictor of both rural general and specialist practice.

Adolescent↗

National distribution of child and adolescent psychiatrists.

OBJECTIVE: To describe the national distribution of child and adolescent psychiatrists by state, community, and youth population. METHOD: Data on child and adolescent psychiatrists were compiled for states and counties and compared by state, county characteristics, number of youth, percentage of youth living in poverty, and child and adolescent psychiatry residents. RESULTS: The number of child and adolescent psychiatrists per 100,000 youth varied greatly by state and county. Child and adolescent psychiatrists were significantly more likely to be located in metropolitan counties and counties with a low percentage of children living in poverty. The distribution of child and adolescent psychiatrists was not significantly related to the distribution of child and adolescent psychiatry residency training programs. CONCLUSIONS: The shortage of child and adolescent psychiatrists is accentuated for nonmetropolitan areas and youth at greatest risk for mental disorders by the current pattern of distribution.

Adolescent Psychiatry↗

Geographic variation, physician characteristics, and diabetes care disparities in a metropolitan area, 2003-2004.

Quality improvement begins with quality measurement. Quality improvement continues by examining variation in patient standards of care. Diabetes is a complex chronic disease requiring aggressive care to improve and prolong life. Identifying and determining what factors explain care variation-including physician office location, physician characteristics, practice factors, and the translation of knowledge over time-is an area of important research. Determining physician practice characteristics' impact on these diabetes measures is an important step in understanding diabetes care in greater Kansas City. Aggregated diabetes HEDIS data from numerous private insurance plans from greater Kansas City, and associated practice factors from these same providers serves as a large and representative source of information to evaluate the impact of these factors on diabetes care. Using both multivariate and logistic methods, we find that the variation in care is largely explained by physician office location, but there is statistical explanatory significance for physician age on A1c testing rates. Also, nephropathy screening rates are positively related to whether a physician is a member of a group or a solo practice. The location of a practice has significant effects for diabetes care because physician office location approximates to some extent patient characteristics. This is not to say that physician practice factors are unimportant, rather that diabetes care is complex, and requires a fruitful interaction between physician and patient. Quantifying the interaction between an informed, activated patient and a prepared, proactive physician is difficult to observe and measure, and evaluating testable hypotheses about this interaction is correspondingly difficult.

Benchmarking↗

Premedical education: the contribution of small local colleges.

CONTEXT: Small local colleges may be sources of medical students with the gender, ethnicity, and background that promote identity with and empathy for underserved populations. PURPOSE: This study examined the impact of attendance at these premedical colleges on outcomes of medical education. METHODS: Data for 2508 matriculates to the University of Alabama School of Medicine, a state-supported medical school, were examined according to premedical colleges attended. FINDINGS: Medical students who had graduated from small local colleges were more diverse in gender, race, and rural background than other students. They had slightly lower academic performance in medical school, were more likely to drop out (10.6% versus 5.3% overall), and were more likely to locate in rural areas of the host state. CONCLUSIONS: Small local colleges may be rich sources of student diversity and medical students who choose rural practice, outcomes that are gained at a cost in terms of drop-out rate. Compared with other students, minor differences in performance and larger differences in the drop-out rate raise the question of cultural context and social support during medical school as points for intervention.

Adult↗

[Geographic distribution of physicians in Brazil: an analysis based on a locational choice model].

The primary aim of this study was to analyze the geographic distribution of physicians among the Regions and States of Brazil using a locational choice model. Our individual data analysis showed a positive relationship between the number of physicians per 1,000 inhabitants in a State and the number of places in residency programs. Thus, the concentration of residency programs in some States has contributed to the unequal distribution of physicians in Brazil. There are also significant differences in physicians' income between Regions.

Brazil↗

Economic regulation and hospital behavior: the effects on medical staff organization and hospital-physician relationships.

New forms of payment, growing competition, the continued evolution of multiunit hospital systems, and associated forces are redefining the fundamental relationship between hospitals and physicians. As part of a larger theory of organizational response to the environment, the effects of these external forces on hospital-medical staff organization were examined using both cross-sectional data and data collected at two points in time. Findings suggest that regulation and competition, at least up to 1982, have had relatively little direct effect on hospital medical staff organization. Rather, changes in medical staff organization are more strongly associated with hospital case mix and with structural characteristics involving membership in a multiunit system, size, ownership, and location. The pervasive effect of case mix and the consistent effect of multiunit system involvement support the need for policymakers to give these factors particular attention in considering how hospitals and their medical staffs might respond to future regulatory and/or competitive approaches.

Certificate of Need↗

Outcomes of rural training tracks: a review.

Rural training tracks (RTTs) have developed as a strategy to encourage family medicine resident entrance into rural practice. Because most programs are small (two to four residents), data must be aggregated to determine RTT impact on practice preparation and location. Several studies over the last decade reveal that 76 percent of RTT graduates are practicing in rural America and that graduates describe themselves as prepared for rural practice. Sixty-five percent are providing obstetrical services, and half are performing cesarean sections. From 1989 to 1999, there were a total of 107 graduates of rural training programs, making it unlikely that, without significant investment, this model could supply an adequate quantity of family physicians for rural America.

Career Choice↗

Specialty location decisions in the reformed NHS: a case study.

A soft systems approach, largely based on soft systems methodology, was used to steer a study (completed in 1996) of the National Health Service contracting process. It led to action research projects on a number of related issues. One such area that emerged very strongly concerns service rationalization and service planning, and in particular the location of 'small' specialties. A Trust-based study involving patient flow modelling demonstrates the form these problems can take within the internal market and highlights the challenge they make to the contracting process or the new primary care group based commissioning process if they are to be resolved in a rational manner.

Catchment Area, Health↗

Financial and organizational factors affecting the employment of nurse practitioners and physician assistants in medical group practices.

This study examines the financial and organizational factors that are associated with the employment of nurse practitioners (NPs) and physician assistants (PAs) in medical group practices. The source of the data is a survey of 128 medical group practices in Minnesota. The findings suggest that the employment of NPs and PAs and their ratios to primary care physicians (PCPs) in practices that employ them are influenced by the organizational characteristics of the group practice but not by the degree of financial risk sharing for patient care. Although neither the number of years of experience in financial risk sharing nor more revenue from capitation payment contracts were related to employment of these midlevel practitioners (MLPs), large practices, those located in rural locations, not-for-profit practices, and those that scored low on cohesive cultural traits were more likely to employ MLPs. The data provide insights into the market for MLPs and the potential for these clinicians in the future health care system. As medical group practices become larger and have more organizational capacity, they can likely be expected to increase the employment of MLPs and integrate them into their organizations.

Capitation Fee↗

Effect of practice and patient population characteristics on the uptake of childhood immunizations.

BACKGROUND: The target-linked payments introduced by the 1990 general practitioners' contact were intended to reflect a close association between payments and performance in general practice. However, a straightforward direct relationship between service uptake in primary care and financial incentives should not be assumed. AIM: This study set out to examine the relationship between the factors which provide a broad profile of practices and general practitioners' performance in terms of primary childhood immunization targets. METHOD: Anonymized data on primary immunization uptake rates in 208 practices in Greater Glasgow Health Board and selected characteristics of the practices and their patient populations were analysed. RESULTS: Seventy five per cent of the practices in the study qualified for a high-target payment in the last quarter of the 1991-92 financial year, but only 53% managed to do so in all four quarters of the year. Tests of differences between means showed that the provision of child health surveillance, the notional' mortality ratio for each practice's patient population and the percentage of patients attracting deprivation payments were significant differentiating factors among the practices grouped according to immunization target achieved at 1 October 1991--high target, low target and neither. There was no evidence that the target achieved was significantly affected by the activity or clinical staffing levels of the practices--number of patients per general practitioner, number of practice nurses or being single handed. A disproportionate number of practices reaching the high target were located in the more affluent areas, whereas a higher than expected proportion of those which either achieved the low target or missed both targets was located in the more deprived areas. Similar results were obtained when the performance of the practices in achieving the high target over four consecutive quarters was considered. CONCLUSION: Practice serving populations living in socially deprived areas and with poorer health were less likely to achieve the high target for childhood immunizations. Evidence of repetition of performance in immunization uptake among the practices leads to concern over increased risk of infectious diseases among children from socially deprived populations who fail to be immunized. This seems to be yet another example of the inverse care law.

Child↗

The National Health Service Corps and Medicaid inpatient care: experience in a southern state.

BACKGROUND: Since 1970, the National Health Service Corps (NHSC) has worked to increase primary care access among underserved groups. This study examined whether NHSC alumni physicians were likely to treat a high proportion of Medicaid patients in their practices. METHODS: Using licensure files and hospital discharge data, we identified all physicians practicing in South Carolina who attended at least one discharge in 1998, excluding physicians who graduated before 1969, residents, and current NHSC-obligated physicians. The outcome studied was ranking in the highest quartile for Medicaid participation. RESULTS: Former NHSC participants, after adjustment for personal characteristics, education, and specialty, were nearly twice as likely to fall into the category of high Medicaid participation. NHSC physicians were more likely to practice in community health centers and to locate in areas with a health professions shortage and counties with high percentages of minorities and people living in poverty. CONCLUSION: NHSC alumni make career choices leading them to serve low-income patients.

Black or African American↗

The impact of civil disturbances on the migration of physicians: the case of Lebanon.

This report examines the impact of war on the migratory patterns of physicians in Lebanon, a country with ever-raging civil disturbances for the past 15 years. The data base included two cohorts of medical graduates of the American University of Beirut: the 1960 through 1969 cohort, whose education and training were completed before the onset of the civil war, and the 1970 through 1979 cohort, who was exposed to the turmoil in Lebanon during either their study or their residency training. Between- and within-cohort comparison of their locations 5 years after graduation was made. Findings suggest that there is an association between civil instability and migration. This relationship could not be explained by possible confounders like nationality, training abroad, and board certification. On the contrary, factors that potentiated migration in the earlier cohort before the onset of the war were less frequent in the latter cohort with the increased tendency to migrate.

Career Choice↗

Predicting the degree of rurality of physician assistant practice location.

This study used a block multiple regression analysis to examine the impacts of different factors on the degree of rurality of physician assistants' (PAs') practice location and compared the power of each block of factors in predicting rurality. Differences in the models for PAs in primary care specialties and for PAs as a whole were also explored. The findings suggest that policies should provide support to PA students in primary care specialties and to rural-oriented PA education/training programs. Efforts to facilitate PA recruitment and retention should include, among other things, increasing practice responsibility/autonomy, broadening acceptance of PA prescriptive authority, and providing equitable reimbursement for nonphysician care of Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries.

Career Choice↗

Practice location as a function of medical school and residency location: implications for resident selection.

Numerous studies have documented an association between the state in which a physician practices and prior education in that state. To determine whether this relationship exists for recent family practice residency graduates, 95 randomly selected programs in which residents completed training in 1979 were surveyed to obtain information regarding practice location and medical school location for their graduates. Seventy-nine percent of physicians completing residency and medical school in the same state also practiced in that state. Of those completing residency in a state other than that of their medical school, 43 percent stayed in the state of their residency to practice, and 22 percent returned to the state of their medical school. An analysis of the impact that a policy restricting house staff positions to in-state students would have on physician supply for the state reveals that only about 10 percent more physicians would be expected to start practice in a state if such a policy were implemented.

Career Mobility↗