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Zhao N, Gu M, Li J, Zhang H, Yang J. Factors influencing contracting of residents with family doctors in China: a national cross-sectional survey. BMC Health Serv Res 2024; 24:213. [PMID: 38360648 PMCID: PMC10870580 DOI: 10.1186/s12913-024-10606-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/02/2023] [Accepted: 01/16/2024] [Indexed: 02/17/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Family doctor contract services (FDCS) have been introduced in China in 2009 [1] and rapidly expanded recently. This study sought to investigate factors that influenced the willingness of Chinese residents to use FDCS. METHODS We employed multistage stratified and convenience sampling to administer questionnaires to 1455 Beijing, Qinghai, and Fujian residents. The willingness of residents in each province to contract family doctors was analyzed using the chi-square test and binary logistic regression. RESULTS The analysis in this study found that the signing rate of family doctors in China was about 27.77%, with differences in the signing up levels in Beijing (13.68%), Fujian (64.49%) and Qinghai (11.22%). In addition, the binary logistic regression results emphasized the relative importance of age, education, medical preference and policy knowledge on the willingness to sign up. Distrust of family doctors' medical skills (65.7%), not knowing how to contract (47.8%), and not knowing what medical problems can be solved (41.1%) were the top three reasons accounting for the reluctance of residents to contract with family doctors. CONCLUSION Residents from different backgrounds have different willingness to sign up, so the specific circumstances and needs of different groups should be taken into account. In order to increase the signing-up rate, consideration can be given to promoting the family doctor model in Fujian throughout the country. Individual hesitation can be eliminated by increasing the reimbursement rate of health insurance, reducing the out-of-pocket expenses of contracted patients, and providing incentives of certain discounts for consecutive contracted patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ning Zhao
- School of Public Health, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China
| | - Mei Gu
- School of Public Health, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China
| | - Jin Li
- School of Public Health, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China
| | - Haiyan Zhang
- Department of Health Education, Beijing Huairou Hospital of University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Jia Yang
- School of Public Health, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China.
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Tsai CY, Shen CW, Lai HL, Chen CY. Adherence and treatment patterns of disease-specific drugs among patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension: A nationwide, new-user cohort study. Front Pharmacol 2023; 13:1030693. [PMID: 36712686 PMCID: PMC9877219 DOI: 10.3389/fphar.2022.1030693] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/29/2022] [Accepted: 12/21/2022] [Indexed: 01/15/2023] Open
Abstract
Background: Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is an incurable pulmonary disease that might result in right heart failure and death. Treatment guidelines recommend upfront or sequential combination therapy for patients with PAH. Recently, several PAH-targeted medications have been approved in Taiwan. This study aimed to investigate treatment patterns and medication adherence in real-world settings. Method: This was a new-user design study on patients treated with PAH-specific medication between 1 January 2014, and 31 December 2019. Data were extracted from the National Health Insurance Research Database. Medication adherence was evaluated by the proportion of days covered (PDC). Adherence was defined as PDC ≥ .8. Statistical analyses were performed to compare the study outcomes. Logistic regression analysis was performed to identify the association between baseline characteristics and adherence. P < .05 indicated statistical significance. Results: A total of 1,900 patients with PAH were identified, and 75.3% of them were females. The mean (standard deviation (SD)) age was 57.2 (17.5) years. Only 23 (1.2%) patients began the initial combination therapy. A total of 148 (7.8%) patients switched their initial treatment to another treatment, and 159 (8.4%) patients had sequential combination therapy. The most common combination therapy was endothelin receptor antagonist (ERA) plus phosphodiesterase-5 inhibitor (PDE5i), mostly macitentan plus sildenafil, for initial or sequential combination. The mean (SD) PDC was .71 (.33), and 1,117 (58.8%) patients were adherent. A significant difference in mean PDC was observed between initial ERA users and PDE5i users (p < .0001). No factor was significantly associated with medication adherence. Conclusion: Patients with PAH mostly initiated sildenafil as monotherapy, and macitentan was added as a sequential combination therapy. The initial ERA and combination groups showed higher medication adherence. Further investigations are needed to identify other factors associated with adherence.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cheng-Yu Tsai
- Master Program in Clinical Pharmacy, School of Pharmacy, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan
| | - Chuan-Wei Shen
- School of Pharmacy, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan
| | - Hsuan-Lin Lai
- Division of Pharmacy, Zuoying Branch of Kaohsiung Armed Forces General Hospital, Kaohsiung, Taiwan,*Correspondence: Chung-Yu Chen, ; Hsuan-Lin Lai,
| | - Chung-Yu Chen
- School of Pharmacy, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan,Department of Pharmacy, Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital, Kaohsiung, Taiwan,Department of Medical Research, Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital, Kaohsiung, Taiwan,*Correspondence: Chung-Yu Chen, ; Hsuan-Lin Lai,
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Weng TL, Chu FY, Li CL, Chen TJ. Choices of Specialties and Training Sites among Taiwanese Physicians Graduating from Polish Medical Schools. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH 2022; 19:ijerph19063727. [PMID: 35329418 PMCID: PMC8950236 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph19063727] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/05/2022] [Revised: 03/14/2022] [Accepted: 03/18/2022] [Indexed: 02/05/2023]
Abstract
Taiwanese students who graduated from Polish medical schools (P-IMGs) accounted for the second-largest group of international medical graduates in Taiwan. In 2009, domestic medical students in Taiwan staged mass demonstrations against P-IMG’s exemption from the qualifying test before the licensing exam. Although medical circles in Taiwan might still hold prejudices against P-IMGs, little is known about their career development. This study will analyze P-IMGs’ choices of specialties and training sites from 2000 to 2020 using data from the membership section of the Taiwan Medical Journal, the monthly official publication of the Taiwan Medical Association. Of 372 P-IMGs, 34.2% chose internal medicine and 17.1% surgery. Although academic medical centers offered 76% of all available trainee positions in a year, only 49.3% of P-IMGs received training there. By contrast, 20.9% of P-IMGs were trained at nonmetropolitan hospitals that altogether accounted for only 5.8% of trainee positions. In conclusion, P-IMGs had their residency training at less favorable specialties and sites. Their long-term career development deserves further study.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tzu-Ling Weng
- Department of Family Medicine, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taipei 112, Taiwan;
- School of Medicine, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, Taipei 112, Taiwan;
| | - Feng-Yuan Chu
- School of Medicine, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, Taipei 112, Taiwan;
- Division of Clinical Toxicology and Occupational Medicine, Department of Medicine, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taipei 112, Taiwan
| | - Chiao-Lin Li
- Department of Family Medicine, Taipei City Hospital Yangming Branch, Taipei 111, Taiwan;
| | - Tzeng-Ji Chen
- Department of Family Medicine, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taipei 112, Taiwan;
- School of Medicine, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, Taipei 112, Taiwan;
- Correspondence:
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Family Medicine Academic Workforce of Medical Schools in Taiwan: A Nationwide Survey. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH 2021; 18:ijerph18137182. [PMID: 34281118 PMCID: PMC8297066 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph18137182] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/23/2021] [Revised: 06/30/2021] [Accepted: 06/30/2021] [Indexed: 12/03/2022]
Abstract
Little is known about family medicine academic workforce in Taiwan, and basic data on this may aid healthcare decision-makers and contribute to the limited literature. We analyzed data from 13 medical schools in Taiwan collected by the Taiwan Association of Family Medicine from June to September 2019, regarding characteristics of medical schools, and total staff, gender, age, degree, working title (adjunct/full-time), academic level, and subspecialty of each current family medicine faculty member. Total 13 medical schools in Taiwan with an undergraduate education program in family medicine, but only nine of the 13 medical schools had family medicine departments, while four still do not. A total of 116 family medicine faculty members ranging from 33–69 years. Of these, most were male (n = 85, 73.3%), with a mean age of 43.3 years. Most faculty members possessed a master’s degree (n = 49, 42.2%), were academic lecturers (n = 49, 42.2%), were located in northern Taiwan (n = 79, 68.1%), and subspecialize in gerontology and geriatrics (n = 55, 47.4%) and hospice palliative care (n = 53, 45.7%). Additionally, most family medicine faculty in medical schools were adjunct faculty (n = 90, 77.6%), with only about one-fourth (n = 26, 22.4%) working full-time. Our study provides the most holistic census to date on academic family medicine faculty from all medical schools in Taiwan. The novel information can provide educational leaders, health policy managers, and decision-makers about the current developments of the family medicine departments in Taiwan’s medical schools. The basic data will help formulate an effective medical school family medicine education plan and improve the establishment and development of the family medicine faculty workforce to help medical education and national health policy development in the future in Taiwan.
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Chen HF, Chang YH, Lo HJ, Isfandiari MA, Martini S, Hou WH, Li CY. Incidence of idiopathic cardiomyopathy in patients with type 2 diabetes in Taiwan: age, sex, and urbanization status-stratified analysis. Cardiovasc Diabetol 2020; 19:177. [PMID: 33054769 PMCID: PMC7558694 DOI: 10.1186/s12933-020-01144-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/15/2020] [Accepted: 09/27/2020] [Indexed: 02/08/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND The epidemiology of diabetes and idiopathic cardiomyopathy have limited data. We investigated the overall and the age-, sex-, and urbanization-specific incidence and relative hazard of idiopathic cardiomyopathy in association with type 2 diabetes and various anti-diabetic medications used in Taiwan. METHODS A total of 474,268 patients with type 2 diabetes were identified from ambulatory care and inpatient claims in 2007-2009 from Taiwan's National Health Insurance (NHI) database. We randomly selected 474,266 age-, sex-, and diagnosis date-matched controls from the registry of NHI beneficiaries. All study subjects were linked to ambulatory care and inpatient claims (up to the end of 2016) to identify the possible diagnosis of idiopathic cardiomyopathy. The person-year approach with Poisson assumption was used to estimate the incidence, and Cox proportional hazard regression model with Fine and Gray's method was used to estimate the relative hazards of idiopathic cardiomyopathy in relation to type 2 diabetes. RESULTS The overall incidence of idiopathic cardiomyopathy for men and women patients, respectively, was 3.83 and 2.94 per 10,000 person-years, which were higher than the corresponding men and women controls (2.00 and 1.34 per 10,000 person-years). Compared with the control group, patients with type 2 diabetes were significantly associated with an increased hazard of idiopathic cardiomyopathy (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR]: 1.60, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.45-1.77] in all age and sex stratifications except in those men aged > 64 years. Patients with type 2 diabetes aged < 45 years confronted the greatest increase in the hazard of idiopathic cardiomyopathy, with an aHR of 3.35 (95% CI 2.21-5.06) and 3.48 (95% CI 1.60-7.56) for men and women, respectively. The usage of some anti-diabetic medications revealed lower risks of idiopathic cardiomyopathy. CONCLUSIONS In Taiwan, diabetes increased the risk of idiopathic cardiomyopathy in both sexes and in all age groups, except in men aged > 64 years. Younger patients were vulnerable to have higher HRs of idiopathic cardiomyopathy. Some anti-diabetic medications may reduce the risks of cardiomyopathy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hua-Fen Chen
- Department of Endocrinology, Far Eastern Memorial Hospital, New Taipei City, Taiwan
- School of Medicine and Department of Public Health, College of Medicine, Fujen Catholic University, New Taipei City, Taiwan
| | - Ya-Hui Chang
- Department of Public Health, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan
| | - Hsien-Jung Lo
- Department of Cardiology, Cardiovascular Center, Far Eastern Memorial Hospital, New Taipei City, Taiwan
| | | | - Santi Martini
- Department of Epidemiology, Faculty of Public Health, Universitas Airlangga, Surabaya, Indonesia
| | - Wen-Hsuan Hou
- Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Taipei Medical University Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan
- Master Program in Long-Term Care, College of Nursing, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan
- Graduate Institute of Clinical Medicine, College of Medicine, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Chung-Yi Li
- Department of Public Health, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan.
- Department of Epidemiology, Faculty of Public Health, Universitas Airlangga, Surabaya, Indonesia.
- Department of Public Health, College of Public Health, China Medical University, Taichung City, Taiwan.
- Department of Healthcare Administration, College of Medical and Health Science, Asia University, Taichung City, Taiwan.
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Wu WT, Chen CY. Protective Effect of Statins on Pulmonary Hypertension in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Patients: A Nationwide Retrospective, Matched Cohort Study. Sci Rep 2020; 10:3104. [PMID: 32080265 PMCID: PMC7033169 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-59828-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/05/2019] [Accepted: 02/04/2020] [Indexed: 01/26/2023] Open
Abstract
In Taiwan, patients with pulmonary hypertension (PH) related to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are most common PH population (group 3). However, efficacy of medical treatments and optimal prevention methods in this group remain uncertain. Statins such as indirect RhoA/Rho-kinase inhibitors influence one of key signalling pathways that promote PH onset. In this study, we explored protective effects of statins against PH in COPD patients using database from Taiwan National Health Insurance programme from 2002 to 2017. The main outcome was the risk of PH. The Cox proportional-hazards model and the Fine and Gray model were used to adjust covariate and competing risks to estimate the subdistribution hazard ratios (sHRs). 553,617 newly diagnosed COPD patients were stratified by statin users (n = 41,168) and statin nonusers (n = 512,449). After 1:1 propensity score matching of statin users (n = 41,163), and 41,163 statin nonusers were included for outcome analysis. Statin users had a 22% lower risk of PH than nonusers (sHR: 0.78, 95% confidence interval: 0.65-0.94). During subgroup analysis, taking higher daily doses and for a longer duration displayed a more significantly reduced risk of PH (both P for trend <0.001). Statins may have a protective effect against PH that is dose- and time-dependent.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wen-Ting Wu
- Master Program in Clinical Pharmacy, School of Pharmacy, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan
- Department of Pharmacy, Wan Fang Hospital, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Chung-Yu Chen
- Master Program in Clinical Pharmacy, School of Pharmacy, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan.
- Department of Pharmacy, Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital, Kaohsiung, Taiwan.
- Department of Medical Research, Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital, Kaohsiung, Taiwan.
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Lo SH, Tang HJ, Lee SSJ, Lee JC, Liu JW, Ko WC, Chang K, Lee CY, Chang YT, Lu PL. Determining the clinical characteristics and prognostic factors for the outcomes of Japanese encephalitis in adults: A multicenter study from southern Taiwan. JOURNAL OF MICROBIOLOGY, IMMUNOLOGY, AND INFECTION = WEI MIAN YU GAN RAN ZA ZHI 2019; 52:893-901. [PMID: 31628089 DOI: 10.1016/j.jmii.2019.08.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/02/2019] [Revised: 08/08/2019] [Accepted: 08/13/2019] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND In Southeast Asia, Japanese encephalitis (JE) is an important cause of viral encephalitis which may cause severe neurological sequelae. JE affects mostly children; therefore, clinical presentations and prognosis of adult JE patients are seldom addressed. This study aimed to describe the clinical characteristics and prognostic factors for the outcome of adult JE patients. METHODS Medical records of adult JE patients with acute encephalitis syndrome during 2001-2018 from five medical centers in southern Taiwan were reviewed. Clinical characteristics, brain images, and prognostic factors for outcomes were analyzed. Patients were divided into the good outcome (GO) group and poor outcome (PO) group according to their Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) scores (GCS >8 vs. ≤ 8) at discharge. RESULTS Sixty-eight patients (men, 61.8%; median age, 50 years) were included. Summer is the epidemic season, and the number of cases peaked in June. The most common symptoms at initial presentation were altered consciousness and fever (both 94.1%), followed by headache (51.4%). The most commonly involved brain regions were thalamus (55.7%) and basal ganglion (37.7%). The median GCS score at nadir was 8, and the median time from onset to nadir was five days. Fifty-two patients were included in the GO group, while 16 were included in the PO group. On multivariate analysis, flaccidity, rigidity, and elevated CSF protein level were identified as independent prognostic factors for PO. CONCLUSION Initial clinical presentations of abnormal muscle tone including flaccidity, rigidity and high CSF protein levels are independent prognostic factors for PO in adult JE patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shih-Hao Lo
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Internal Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital, Kaohsiung Medical University, Taiwan
| | - Hung-Jen Tang
- Department of Medicine, Chi Mei Medical Center, Tainan, Taiwan
| | - Susan Shin-Jung Lee
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Internal Medicine, Kaohsiung Veterans General Hospital, Kaohsiung, Taiwan; Faculty of Medicine, School of Medicine, National Yang Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Jen-Chieh Lee
- Department of Internal Medicine, National Cheng Kung University Hospital, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan
| | - Jien-Wei Liu
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Internal Medicine, Kaohsiung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital; Chang Gung University Medical College, Taoyuan, Taiwan
| | - Wen-Chien Ko
- Department of Internal Medicine and Center of Infection Control, National Cheng Kung University Hospital, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan; Department of Medicine, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan
| | - Ko Chang
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Internal Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital, Kaohsiung Medical University, Taiwan; Department of Medicine, College of Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan; Department of Internal Medicine, Kaohsiung Municipal Siao-Kang Hospital, Taiwan
| | - Chun-Yuan Lee
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Internal Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital, Kaohsiung Medical University, Taiwan; Department of Medicine, College of Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan; Department of Internal Medicine, Kaohsiung Municipal Siao-Kang Hospital, Taiwan; Graduate Institute of Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan
| | - Ya-Ting Chang
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Internal Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital, Kaohsiung Medical University, Taiwan.
| | - Po-Liang Lu
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Internal Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital, Kaohsiung Medical University, Taiwan; Department of Medicine, College of Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan
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