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Hoffer EP. Primary Care in the United States: Past, Present and Future. Am J Med 2024; 137:702-705. [PMID: 38499134 DOI: 10.1016/j.amjmed.2024.03.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/05/2024] [Revised: 03/11/2024] [Accepted: 03/12/2024] [Indexed: 03/20/2024]
Abstract
Even though a well-functioning primary care system is widely acknowledged as critical to population health, the number of primary care physicians (PCPs) practicing in the United States has steadily declined, and PCPs are in short supply. The reasons are multiple and include inadequate income relative to other specialties, excessive administrative demands on PCPs and the lack of respect given to primary care specialties during medical school and residency. Advanced practice nurses can augment the services of primary care physicians but cannot substitute for them. To change this situation, we need action on several fronts. Medical schools should give preference to students who are more likely to enter the primary care specialties. The income gap between primary care and other specialties should be narrowed. The administrative load placed on PCPs, including cumbersome electronic medical records, must be lessened. Insurers, including Medicare and Medicaid, must provide the resources to allow primary care physicians to act as leaders of multidisciplinary teams.
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Jurlina Bs A, Maul T, Hunsaker Bs P, Steffen Bs M, Gawaskar Bs S, Sarandria J, Glass TF, Blake K, Alexander K, Rivera-Sepulveda A. Changes in Bronchiolitis Characteristics During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Description of Pediatric Emergency Department Visits in a Community Hospital, 2019-2021. Clin Pediatr (Phila) 2024; 63:73-79. [PMID: 37872735 PMCID: PMC11061886 DOI: 10.1177/00099228231208941] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/25/2023]
Abstract
A retrospective, cross-sectional study of children with bronchiolitis aged 1 to 24 months during an ED visit between 2019 and 2021 was performed. Chi-square or Kruskal-Wallis was used to compare groups. The gamma coefficient was used to measure the association of variables through time. Bronchiolitis cases decreased by 75% from 2019 to 2020 and rose back to prepandemic levels by 2021. Radiographs (gamma -0.443), steroids (gamma -0.298), and bronchodilators (gamma -0.414) decreased during the study period (P < .001). Laboratory studies (gamma 0.032), viral testing (gamma 0.097), antibiotic use (gamma -0.069), and respiratory support (gamma 0.166) were unchanged. The decrease in steroids and bronchodilators was related to a clinical pathway that discouraged their use. Respiratory support remained unchanged. The COVID-19 pandemic (2019-2021) seems to have had little effect on the severity or resource utilization associated with bronchiolitis but may have unraveled a potential bronchiolitis phenotype that may have been more prominent during the pandemic.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna Jurlina Bs
- College of Medicine, University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL, USA
| | - Timothy Maul
- Department of Cardiac Surgery, Nemours Children's Hospital, Orlando, FL, USA
- Department of Bioengineering, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | | | | | | | - John Sarandria
- Division of Hospitalist Medicine, Nemours Children's Health, Orlando, FL, USA
| | - Todd F Glass
- Division of Emergency Medicine and Urgent Care, Nemours Children's Health, Orlando, FL, USA
| | | | - Kenneth Alexander
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Nemours Children's Hospital, Orlando, FL, USA
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