Physician management of hypercholesterolemia. A randomized trial of continuing medical education.

To determine the effect of continuing medical education (CME) on compliance with the recommendations of the National Cholesterol Education Program Expert Panel on high serum cholesterol levels in adults, we randomly assigned primary physicians in 174 practices to 3 groups, 2 that underwent either standard or intensive CME and a control group. The standard CME group was offered a free 3-hour seminar on high serum cholesterol levels; the intensive CME group was offered in addition follow-up seminars and free office materials. After 18 months, we audited 13,099 medical records from the 140 practices that remained in the study. There were no significant differences (P > .15) in screening for high serum cholesterol or compliance with guidelines between the groups receiving continuing medical education (51% screening; 33% compliance) and the control group (57% screening; 37% compliance). In the prespecified subgroup of patients with hypercholesterolemia, there was a trend toward a modest benefit from the continuing medical education interventions: compliance was 21% in the control group, 23% in the standard CME group, and 27% in the intensive CME group (P = .07 overall). These results emphasize the need for better ways to change behavior in practicing physicians and the importance of studying the implementation of preventive health recommendations.

Physician communication skills and malpractice claims. A complex relationship.

We assessed the relationship between patients' opinions about their physicians' communication skills and the physician's history of medical malpractice claims. The sample consisted of 107 physicians and 2,030 of their patients who had had an operation or a delivery. Although patients tended to give their physicians favorable ratings, they were least satisfied with the amount of explanations they received. Patients gave higher ratings to general surgeons and obstetrician-gynecologists and poorer ratings to orthopedists and anesthesiologists. Women and better-educated patients gave higher ratings on explanations and communication to physicians with fewer claims. Men and patients with less education, however, gave higher ratings on these dimensions to physicians with more claims. These findings suggest the need for physicians to tailor their communications to a patient's individual needs. Improved communication between physicians and patients may result in fewer nonmeritorious malpractice claims while leading to less costly resolution of meritorious claims.

Agreement among physician assessment methods. Searching for the truth among fallible methods.

To determine the convergent validity of four methods of physician assessment--physician interview, patient interview, chart audit, and videotaped observation--these methods were compared for their ability to detect medication regimens prescribed for patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Comparisons of data from the four methods revealed substantial discrepancies among them. In fact, the methods were in full accord only 36% of the time in detecting theophylline prescription, and even less often for the other COPD medications. According to physician interview, 78% of patients were on theophylline; chart audit revealed 62% of patients were on the medication; videotaped observation, 69%; and only 59% of patients reported themselves to be on theophylline. An iterative analysis, applied to determine which method most accurately captures data, revealed that reports from physician interviews were the most precise source of data. Although the order of merit was much the same for each of the drugs studied, there were some differences in levels of sensitivity across drugs. Specificities were consistently high for all drugs and all methods.

Behaviors of treated hypertensive patients and patient demographic characteristics.

The relationships between self-reported hypertension-related patient behaviors and patient demographic characteristics were examined in a sample of 2,044 patients being treated for hypertension in 111 primary care medical practices. The patient behaviors of sodium intake, weight, alcohol, exercise, relaxation and adherence to medication regimen could be predicted to some extent by patient demographic characteristics. Whether patients recalled receiving advice from their physicians about these behaviors could also be predicted by patient demographic characteristics. Patients demographically similar to physicians, i.e., male, younger, more educated and White, reported receiving more advice from their physicians. Patients with behavioral problems who received relatively less advice from their physicians included: less educated younger patients whose sodium intake was relatively high; younger and less educated over-weight women; overweight Black patients; and older women who exercised less than average.

Assessment of diabetes continuing medical education.

A diabetes professional education program was conducted and evaluated with 31 physicians from a rural/suburban community. Treatment guidelines were established by diabetes experts and community practitioners. To document effectiveness, medical record and survey data on 397 patients of the physicians were collected before and after the program. Each participant received a profile of their baseline performance as compared with peers as part of the educational program. A syllabus was designed to complement both the treatment guidelines and the findings from the baseline data. A telephone conference call with a diabetes consultant also occurred. A comparison between data collected before and after the program showed no significant differences in blood glucose levels or hospitalization rates. Physicians were more likely to recommend self-monitoring of blood glucose (SMBG) (7% versus 20%, P less than 0.05) and to examine their patients' feet (47% versus 73%, P less than 0.05) after the program. More patient education was available in the office (53% versus 73%). Patients using insulin were more likely to test urine for ketones (48% versus 61%, P less than 0.05) and know that decreased sensation in the feet could lead to injury (42% versus 53%, P less than 0.05). However, no improvements were noted in monitoring other complications, regulating diet, or in most aspects of patient education after the program. The results indicated the need for increased emphasis on the value of brief appropriate examinations for monitoring complications of diabetes and the need for physicians to learn techniques for counseling patients in self-management as well as to refer their patients to educational resources.

Measuring adequacy of physician performance. A preliminary comparison of four methods in ambulatory care of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Issues that arise in the development of methods for measuring adequacy of physician performance (MAPP) are discussed. The comparative content validity, scorability, cost, and acceptability of four MAPP strategies are assessed using a sample of clinic-based physicians treating 30 patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Criteria for adequate care are contained in a "criteria map." No one of the four methods (physician interview, patient interview, videotaped observation, and chart audit) was best at capturing all aspects of the management of COPD. The relative content validity of a method depended on the aspect of care evaluated. The interviews provided the broadest range of information and the chart audit the most limited. The patient interview yielded the largest proportion of encounters upon which physician performance could be scored, although specific criteria map subscales were differentially scorable depending on the method used. Relative cost and acceptability are also discussed.

The effect of an individualized practice-based CME program on physician performance and patient outcomes.

The Professional Competence Assurance Program (PROCAP) is an individualized educational program that examines physicians' performance in ambulatory practice. It uses medical record review to identify deficiencies in the care process that guides development of the educational intervention. Medical care is reassessed one year later. This program was used with 51 private practitioners to assess the care of 1,229 hypertensive patients. The educational program included a computer printout comparing one physician's performance with that of peers, readings targeted to management problems, and a conference call or group seminar with an expert stressing issues relevant to each physician's performance. Postintervention assessment showed that physicians prescribed beta-blockers (P<.01) and vasodilators (P<.01) more often. Improvement (P<.05) occurred in the control of diastolic blood pressure (

Small group teaching via telephone in continuing medical education.

Small (three to five members) group teleconferences led by consultants were used as one part of educational follow-up to individual medical audit studies in hypertension. The original studies were carried out in the offices of 51 private practice physicians. A number of techniques were used to improve physician acceptance of the teleconference method. Before the teleconference, participants received biographical information about the consultant as well as an outline describing how the call was to be structured. In practice, a varied format was used, beginning with questions from the physicians, followed by the consultant's discussion of study results, and ending with a period during which the physicians had an opportunity to raise additional questions. Evaluation of the calls showed that most physicians thought their study results had been kept anonymous by the consultant. Most thought the length of time (usually one hour) was satisfactory, and most agreed that they learned both from the consultant and other group members. Of all the educational components in the audit study (record review results, articles, or patient education materials), the telephone conference by far received the highest acceptance score.