Infectious diseases consultations from general internal medicine physicians in Japan: A descriptive single-center study

How Do We Establish the Utility and Evidence of General Medicine in Japan?

Hospital Medicine in the United States has achieved significant progress in the accumulation of evidence. This development has influenced the increasing societal demand for General Medicine in Japan. Generalists in Japan actively engage in a wide range of interdisciplinary clinical practices, education, and management. Furthermore, Generalists have also contributed to advances in research. However, there is limited evidence regarding the benefits of General Medicine in Japan in all these areas, with most of the evidence derived from single-center studies. In Japan, the roles of Generalists are diverse, and the comprehensive definition of General Medicine makes it difficult to clearly delineate its scope. This results in an inadequate accumulation of evidence regarding the benefits of General Medicine, potentially making it less attractive to the public and younger physicians. Therefore, it is necessary to categorize General Medicine and collect clear evidence regarding its benefits.

Medico-legal risk of infectious disease physicians in Canada: A retrospective review

Objective

There is little known about the medico-legal risk for infectious disease specialists in Canada. The objective of this study was to identify the causes of these medico-legal risks with the goal of improving patient safety and outcomes.

Methods

A 10-year retrospective analysis of Canadian Medical Protective Association (CMPA) closed medico-legal cases from 2012 to 2021 was performed. Peer expert criticism was used to identify factors that contributed to the medico-legal cases at the provider, team, or system level, and were contrasted with the patient complaint.

Results

During the study period there were 571 infectious disease physician members of the CMPA. There were 96 patient medico-legal cases: 45 College complaints, 40 civil legal matters, and 11 hospital complaints. Ten cases were associated with severe patient harm or death. Patients were most likely to complain about perceived deficient assessments (54%), diagnostic errors (53%), inadequate monitoring or follow-up (20%), and unprofessional manner (20%). In contrast, peer experts were most critical of the areas of diagnostic assessment (20%), deficient assessment (10%), failure to perform test/intervention (8%), and failure to refer (6%).

Conclusion

While infectious disease physicians tend to have lower medico-legal risks compared to other health care providers, these risks still do exist. This descriptive study provides insights into the types of cases, presenting conditions, and patient allegations associated with their practice.

Survey of Inpatient Consultations with General Internal Medicine Physicians in a Tertiary Hospital: A Retrospective Observational Study

Purpose

The general internal medicine (GIM) department can be an effective diagnostic coordinator for undiagnosed outpatients. We investigated the contribution of GIM consultations to the diagnosis of patients admitted to specialty departments in hospitals in Japan that have not yet adopted a hospitalist system.

Patients and Methods

This single-center, retrospective observational study was conducted at a university hospital in Japan. GIM consultations from other departments on inpatients aged ≥20 years, from April 2016 to March 2021, were included. Data were extracted from electronic medical records, and consultation purposes were categorized into diagnosis, treatment, and diagnosis and treatment. The primary outcome was new diagnosis during hospitalization for patients with consultation purpose of diagnosis or diagnosis and treatment. The secondary outcomes were the purposes of consultation with the Diagnostic and Generalist Medicine department.

Results

In total, 342 patients were included in the analysis. The purpose of the consultations was diagnosis for 253 patients (74%), treatment for 60 (17.5%), and diagnosis and treatment for 29 patients (8.5%). In 282 consultations for diagnosis and diagnosis and treatment, 179 new diagnoses were established for 162 patients (57.5%, 95% confidence interval [CI], 51.5-63.3).

Conclusion

The GIM department can function as a diagnostic consultant for inpatients with diagnostic problems admitted to other specialty departments in hospitals where hospitalist or other similar systems are not adopted.