RAND Research Topic: Physicians 2012-05-24T14:57:27Z Copyright (c) 2012, The RAND Corporation RAND Corporation http://www.rand.org/topics/physicians.html A Shot in the Arm for Adult Vaccination http://www.rand.org/pubs/research_briefs/RB9667.html May 16, 2012 May 16, 2012 Vaccine-preventable diseases take a heavy toll on U.S. adults despite the widespread availability of vaccines. Office-based providers can do more to promote adult vaccinations but need clearer guidance and a better business case to offer them. Promoting Vaccines in Office-Based Medical Settings Is Needed to Boost Adult Immunization Rates http://www.rand.org/news/press/2012/01/11.html Jan 11, 2012 Jan 11, 2012 Promoting immunizations as a part of routine office-based medical practice is needed to improve adult vaccination rates, a highly effective way to curb the spread of diseases across communities, prevent needless illness and deaths, and lower health care costs. Promoting Vaccines in Office-Based Medical Settings Is Needed to Boost Adult Immunization Rates http://www.rand.org/pubs/technical_reports/TR1169.html Jan 11, 2012 Jan 11, 2012 Promoting immunizations as a part of routine office-based medical practice is needed to improve adult vaccination rates, a highly effective way to curb the spread of diseases across communities, prevent needless illness and deaths, and lower health care costs. Online Guide Helps Health Organizations Adopt Electronic Health Records http://www.rand.org/news/press/2011/12/14.html Dec 14, 2011 Dec 14, 2011 A new online tool, called the "Unintended Consequences Guide," is available from the U.S. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality to help hospitals and other health care organizations anticipate, avoid, and address problems that can occur when adopting and using electronic health records. Most Physicians Will Face Malpractice Claims, But Risk of Making Payment Is Low http://www.rand.org/pubs/research_briefs/RB9610.html Sep 16, 2011 Sep 16, 2011 The most comprehensive analysis of the risk of malpractice claims by physician specialty in more than two decades finds that U.S. physicians have a greater than 75% career-long risk of facing litigation. In some specialties, doctors can be virtually certain of a lawsuit over the course of their careers. However, the vast majority of those claims will not result in payment to a plaintiff. Malpractice Risk According to Physician Specialty http://www.rand.org/pubs/external_publications/EP201100158.html Aug 17, 2011 Aug 17, 2011 The likelihood of malpractice suits and the size of indemnity payments vary across specialties, but by age 65, 75% of physicians in low-risk specialties had faced a malpractice claim, as compared with 99% of physicians in high-risk specialties. The Role of Physicians in Controlling Medical Care Costs and Reducing Waste http://www.rand.org/pubs/external_publications/EP201100160.html Jul 31, 2011 Jul 31, 2011 This commentary argues that physicians must take the lead in identifying and eliminating waste in US health care. Bridging the Gap Between Basic Science and Clinical Practice: A Role for Community Clinicians http://www.rand.org/pubs/external_publications/EP20110055.html Apr 5, 2011 Apr 5, 2011 A paradigm shift involving acknowledgement of the value of clinicians in the context of community research, establishment of a stable infrastructure to support a cohort of clinicians across time and research studies, and realignment of incentives to encourage participation in clinical research is required. Bridging the Gap Between Basic Science and Clinical Practice: The Role of Organizations in Addressing Clinician Barriers http://www.rand.org/pubs/external_publications/EP20110053.html Apr 3, 2011 Apr 3, 2011 <p>New National Institutes of Health policies call for expansion of practice-based research to improve the clinical research enterprise and facilitate dissemination of evidence-based medicine. This paper describes organizational strategies that influence clinicians' decisions to participate in clinical research.</p> Reengineering the Clinical Research Enterprise to Involve More Community Clinicians http://www.rand.org/pubs/external_publications/EP20110054.html Apr 3, 2011 Apr 3, 2011 <p>This paper presents a model for the reorganization of clinical research to foster long-term participation by community clinicians.</p> More Than Four in Five Office-Based Physicians Could Qualify for Federal Electronic Health Record Incentives http://www.rand.org/pubs/external_publications/EP20110039.html Feb 28, 2011 Feb 28, 2011 Although most physicians qualify for federal incentives to promote adoption of electronic health records, eligibility varies substantially by specialty and practice size. Facts, Facts, Facts: What Is a Physician to Do http://www.rand.org/pubs/external_publications/EP201100143.html Dec 31, 2010 Dec 31, 2010 This commentary argues that it is timely to reengage physicians in the discussion of international comparative data about health care and to ask why the United States is so provincial in designing the systems by which care is delivered. Most MA Physician Groups Engaged in Improving Patient Experience, but Focus Is Not on Physician Role http://www.rand.org/pubs/external_publications/EP201000122.html Dec 20, 2010 Dec 20, 2010 Most Massachusetts physician groups are using results from a statewide patient survey to help improve patient experiences, but a significant number are not making use of the information or are making relatively limited efforts. Most Massachusetts Physician Groups Engaged in Improving Patient Experience, but Focus is Not on Physician Role http://www.rand.org/news/press/2010/12/20.html Dec 20, 2010 Dec 20, 2010 Most Massachusetts physician groups are using results from a statewide patient survey to help improve patient experiences, but a significant number are not making use of the information or are making relatively limited efforts. Association Between Physician Specialty and Uptake of New Medical Technologies: HPV Tests in Florida Medicaid http://www.rand.org/pubs/external_publications/EP201000159.html Oct 31, 2010 Oct 31, 2010 Uptake of new cervical cancer screening protocols can occur quickly among traditionally underserved groups and may be aided by early adoption by specialists. Information Patients Use to Choose Physicians Not Always Good Predictors of Quality http://www.rand.org/pubs/external_publications/EP20100121.html Sep 12, 2010 Sep 12, 2010 When looking for a new physician, patients are often encouraged to select those who are board certified or who have not made payments on malpractice claims&mdash;characteristics that are not always a good predictor of which physicians will provide the highest quality medical care. Where Do Americans Get Acute Care? Not at Their Doctor's Office http://www.rand.org/pubs/research_briefs/RB9556.html Sep 2, 2010 Sep 2, 2010 <p>Less than half of acute care visits in the United States involve a patient's personal physician. Emergency physicians, who comprise only 4 percent of doctors, handle 28 percent of all acute care encounters and nearly all after-hours and weekend care.</p> Where Americans Get Acute Care: Increasingly, It's Not at Their Doctor's Office http://www.rand.org/pubs/external_publications/EP201000195.html Aug 31, 2010 Aug 31, 2010 Only 42 percent of the 354 million annual visits in the U.S. for acute care&mdash;treatment for newly arising health problems&mdash;are made to patients' personal physicians. The rest are made to emergency departments (28 percent), specialists (20 percent), or outpatient departments (7 percent). Cost Profiles: Should the Focus Be on Individual Physicians or Physician Groups? http://www.rand.org/pubs/external_publications/EP20100102.html Jul 31, 2010 Jul 31, 2010 <p>Cost profiles of physician groups are statistically more reliable than profiles of individual physicians but they don't predict individual physician performance within the group.</p> Results of Physician Cost Profiling Can Vary Widely http://www.rand.org/news/press/2010/05/18.html May 18, 2010 May 18, 2010 Profiles created for physicians based on the cost of the care they provide can vary widely depending upon the methods used by insurance companies to create the profiles.