OBJECTIVE: Our aim in this study was to determine the impact of community-level physician retention on the quality of diabetes care in rural Ontario.
METHODS: Using administrative data, we compared diabetes quality of care. We defined retention as the proportion of physicians in a community from one year to the next. We grouped retention level by tertile and added a category for those communities with no physician.
RESULTS: Residents of high-retention communities were more likely to have had glycated hemoglobin (odds ratio [OR], 1.10; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.06 to 1.14) and low-density lipoprotein (OR, 1.17; 95% CI, 1.13 to 1.22) testing, but less likely to have had testing for urine albumin-to-creatine ratio (OR, 0.86; 95% CI, 0.83 to 0.89) or to have received an angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor or angiotensin-2 receptor blocker (OR, 0.91; 95% CI, 0.86 to 0.95) or a statin (OR, 0.91; 95% CI, 0.87 to 0.96), when compared with low-retention communities. Communities with no residing physician had care that was equivalent to or better than that in high-retention communities.
CONCLUSIONS: Community-level physician retention, based on a 2-year time frame, was significantly related to quality of diabetes care. A closer look at models of care in communities with no residing physician is warranted. Community-level physician retention can be used to assess the impact of physician shortages on diabetes management in rural communities.

Our study objective was to develop and validate a questionnaire assessing the knowledge, attitude, and practice (KAP) of family physicians regarding dementia care and dementia strategies in Canada. Using a multistage process with a panel of experts, we developed and distributed an 83-item questionnaire to 542 eligible family physicians in 42 interdisciplinary primary care teams participating in the Quebec Alzheimer Plan implementation. Altogether, 369 physicians (68%) returned questionnaires. Median item-specific non-response rate was 0.8 per cent (0.3%-8.1%). Exploratory factor analyses and scale correlation supported the questionnaire validity. The final questionnaire contained five factors and 31 items. The KAP questionnaire has proved to be a reliable instrument for assessing the KAP of family physicians regarding dementia care and dementia strategies. This questionnaire provides researchers, clinicians, managers, and decision-makers with a tool to assess an intervention, a program, or a policy change implemented in primary health care for patients with dementia.

Patient- vs Physician-Reported Implementation of and Compliance to Anti-Osteoporotic Medication One Year after Sustained Fragility Fracture Abstract. We were interested why therapy recommendations made by specialists are often not followed by general practitioners (GPs) and patients. We evaluated systematic questionnaires comparing both, patient and GP statements (n = 151 each) with regard to the implementation of and compliance to specific therapy recommended by an osteologic specialist one year after an osteoporotic fracture. In 53 % GPs prescribed antiosteoporotic drugs, more often if the indication for treatment was less aggressive (p <0.001). Once prescribed, in 94 % of cases the GPs\' medication followed the specialists\' recommendations. 74 % of patients followed their GP\'s prescription. Patients most often stated a missing prescription as the reason for not taking drugs (39 %), whereas GPs cited a missing interest of their patients (44 %). The observed discrepancies call for a melioration in the communication between all parties involved.
Zusammenfassung. Im Rahmen eines Qualitätsprojekts zur Behandlung von Osteoporosefrakturen fiel auf, dass fachärztliche Therapie-Empfehlungen oftmals nicht umgesetzt wurden, was genauer untersucht werden sollte. Durchgeführt wurde eine systematisch vergleichende Fragebogen-Evaluation bei Patienten wie Hausärzten (n = 151) ein Jahr nach empfohlener Osteoporosetherapie. In 53 % der Fälle folgten die Hausärzte der vom Spezialisten empfohlenen Osteoporosetherapie-Indikation, häufiger, wenn diese medizinisch enger gestellt wurde (p <0,001). Sofern der Patient eine hausärztliche Verordnung erhalten hatte, entsprach diese meist der Spezialisten-Empfehlung (94 %). 74 % der Patienten folgten der hausärztlichen Verschreibung. Patienten gaben am häufigsten eine fehlende Verordnung als Grund für die Nichteinnahme der vom Spezialisten empfohlenen Medikamente an (39 %), hingegen nannten Hausärzte am häufigsten ein Patienten-Desinteresse (44 %). Die beobachteten Diskrepanzen sprechen für einen Bedarf an verbesserter Information, insbesondere im Fall einer eher aggressiv gestellten Therapieindikation.

暂无摘要。

暂无摘要。

Considering the trends in medicine, time just seems to move at a slower pace in general practice/family medicine than in the medical specialties. Novel medical drugs and therapeutic modalities appear to take longer to become well-established, and sometimes it never happens. There are obvious gaps between the requirements of the guidelines issued by scientific medical societies and the practical implementation of these guidelines by primary care physicians. In health services research this is known as the «evidence-performance gap». The aim of this narrative review is to outline the nature and the dynamics of trends in general practice/family medicine on the one hand and in the medical specialties on the other hand, and to elucidate the potential causes leading to the evidence-performance gaps observed.