Association between Undergraduate Education for Community-Based Medicine and General Practice Majors: A Longitudinal Study in Japan.

BACKGROUND: There is a shortage of general practitioners in Japan. With the revision of educational guidelines, general practice (GP) education has improved. However, the amount of education on GP in medical schools remains inconsistent. This study examined the relationship between medical students' amount of GP-related education and their subsequent choice of GP majors. METHODS: A retrospective cohort study was conducted in a teaching hospital in Japan. Participants were residents in the hospital. The exposure comprised compulsory lectures and training time for community-based medicine in medical schools. The outcome included participants choosing GP majors after their initial 2-year junior residency. RESULTS: Fifty-one participants were included in the final analysis. Of these, 14 majored in GP and 37 in non-GP after their initial 2-year junior residency. Of the participants who took GP lectures for 18 hours or more, 11 chose GP majors, and 18 chose non-GP majors (risk ratio, 2.78; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.88-8.79). Of the participants who underwent training for 12 days or more, 10 chose GP majors, and 16 chose non-GP majors (risk ratio, 2.40; 95% CI, 0.87-6.68). CONCLUSION: The results do not support the association between the amount of compulsory undergraduate education for community-based medicine and the subsequent increase in the number of residents choosing GP majors in Japan. Educators would do well to explore different approaches, such as improving the quality of education to increase the number of GP residents. Further research is needed to reach more definitive conclusions.

Admissions for ambulatory care sensitive conditions on rural islands and their association with patient experience: a multicentred prospective cohort study.

OBJECTIVES: The rate of admissions for ambulatory care sensitive conditions (ACSCs) is a key outcome indicator for primary care, and patient experience (PX) is a crucial process indicator. Studies have reported higher rates of admission for ACSCs in rural areas than in urban areas. Whether there is an association between admissions for ACSCs and PX in rural areas has not been examined. This study aimed to document admissions for ACSCs on Japanese rural islands, and assess whether there was an association between the rate of admissions for ACSCs and PX. DESIGN: Multicentred, prospective, cohort study SETTING: This study was conducted on five rural islands in Okinawa, Japan. PARTICIPANTS: The study participants were all island inhabitants aged 65 years or older. PRIMARY OUTCOME MEASURES: This study examined the association between ACSCs and PX assessed by a questionnaire, the Japanese Version of Primary Care Assessment Tool. ACSCs were classified using the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision, and the rate of admissions for ACSCs in 1 year. RESULTS: Of 1258 residents, 740 completed the questionnaire. This study documented 38 admissions for ACSCs (29 patients, males/females: 15/14, median age 81.9) that included congestive heart failure (11), pneumonia (7) and influenza (5). After adjusting for covariates and geographical clustering, admissions for ACSCs had a significant positive association with each patient's PX scores (OR per 1 SD increase=1.62, 95% CI 1.02-2.61). CONCLUSIONS: Physicians serving rural areas need to stress the importance of preventive interventions for heart failure, pneumonia and influenza to reduce the number of admissions for ACSCs. Contrary to previous studies, our findings might be explained by close patient-doctor relationships on the rural islands.

Gatekeeping function of primary care physicians under Japan's free-access system: a prospective open cohort study involving 14 isolated islands.

BACKGROUND: Gatekeeping is important for strong primary care and cost containment. Under Japan's free-access system, patients can access any medical institution without referral, which makes it difficult to evaluate the gatekeeping function of primary care physicians (PCPs). OBJECTIVES: To examine the gatekeeping function of PCPs in Japan, we compared the frequencies of visits to primary care clinics, referrals to advanced care and hospitalizations between 14 remote islands and a nationwide survey. METHODS: This study was a prospective, open cohort study involving 14 isolated islands (12 238 inhabitants) in Okinawa, Japan. Participants were all patients who visited the clinics on these islands in 1 year. Main outcome measures were the incidence of on-island clinic visits and referrals to off-island advanced care. RESULTS: There were 54 741 visits to the islands' clinics with 2045 referrals to off-island medical facilities, including 549 visits to emergency departments and 705 hospitalizations. The age- and sex-standardized incidences of healthcare use per 1000 inhabitants per month were: 360.0 (95% confidence interval: 359.9 to 360.1) visits to primary care clinics, 11.6 (11.0 to 12.2) referrals to off-island hospital-based outpatient clinics, 3.3 (2.8 to 5.2) visits to emergency departments and 4.2 (3.1 to 5.2) hospitalizations. Comparison with the nationwide survey revealed a lower incidence of visits to hospital-based outpatient clinics in this study, while more patients had visited PCPs. CONCLUSIONS: The lower incidence of visits to secondary care facilities in this study might suggest that introduction of a gatekeeping system to Japan would reduce the incidence of referral to advanced care.

Associations of Patient Experience in Primary Care With Hospitalizations and Emergency Department Visits on Isolated Islands: A Prospective Cohort Study.

PURPOSE: In rural areas, the management of hospitalizations and emergency department (ED) visits is an important issue, and it is compounded by factors such as the long distance to secondary care facilities, funding difficulties in many rural medical institutions, and shortage of medical staff. While better patient experience (PX) has been shown to reduce hospitalizations and ED visits, previous studies have not considered the differences between urban and rural areas. In addressing this gap, this study examines the association between PX and hospitalizations/ED visits on isolated islands. METHODS: This prospective cohort study was conducted on 5 isolated islands in Okinawa, Japan. We assessed the PX of primary care using the Japanese version of the Primary Care Assessment Tool (JPCAT), which comprises 6 domains: first contact, longitudinality, coordination, comprehensiveness (services available), comprehensiveness (services provided), and community orientation. The primary outcome was hospitalizations and ED visits in a year. We used a mixed effect model to adjust clustering within islands and individual covariates. FINDINGS: Of 1,258 residents, 740 responded to a questionnaire for PX measurement. There were 73 hospitalizations and 62 ED visits. Adjusting for confounding and geographical clustering, hospitalizations had significant positive association with the PX score of each patient. ED visits were not associated with the total score of the JPCAT. CONCLUSION: On the isolated islands, PX in primary care had positive correlation with hospitalizations. The contrast of our findings to those of previous studies may be due to the close patient-doctor relationship on isolated islands.

The influence of medical jargon mixed with foreign terminology in the Japanese clinical environment.

OBJECTIVES: To identify patient reports about their difficulties with medical jargon, to classify the most problematic types, and to examine the socio-demographic factors associated with them. METHODS: A cross-sectional nationwide survey (October 6 and November 4, 2004) was conducted. Out of 4,500 Japanese people (aged 15 years and older) who had seen physicians, 3,090 agreed to participate (response rate: 69%). Participants were asked the following: "Do you find physicians that use medical jargon difficult to understand?" and "What type of words did your physician use that required further explanation or clarification?" RESULTS: Of 3,090 respondents, 1,117 participants (36.1%; 95% confidence interval, 34.5-37.8%) reported difficulties understanding medical jargon. Those between the ages of 30 and 49 years, self-employed workers, homemakers, and unemployed individuals experienced the most difficulties. Difficult jargon included: 1) technical Japanese words, such as Kakutan Saibo-shin (sputum cytology) (57% of participants); 2) English medical terminology, such as clinical path (57%); and 3) English medical abbreviations, such as EBM (47%). CONCLUSIONS: In addition to avoiding technical words when communicating with their patients, Japanese physicians should consider the unique medical situation in which foreign terminology and abbreviations are used in Japan. Translation of foreign terminology into Japanese can be helpful for patients. Physicians should take the initiative to educate patients and familiarize them with foreign terminology and abbreviations.

Pulmonary strongyloidiasis in a patient receiving prednisolone therapy.

Strongyloidiasis is widely distributed in tropical and subtropical areas. Disseminated strongyloidiasis may develop in patients with immunodeficiencies. In the absence of early diagnosis and treatment, the prognosis of disseminated strongyloidiasis is extremely poor. We report a case of pulmonary strongyloidiasis that was successfully treated. The patient was an 83-year-old woman who had been receiving long-term oral prednisolone therapy for uveitis. The patient visited our emergency department complaining of breathing difficulties and diarrhea. A chest X-ray revealed a diffuse enhancement of interstitial shadows. A bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) was performed, and both Gram staining and Grocott's staining revealed the presence of multiple filariform larvae of Strongyloides stercoralis in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF). A stool examination performed at the same time also yielded S. stercoralis. The patient was diagnosed as having pulmonary strongyloidiasis and was treated with thiabendazole and ivermectin, in addition to antimicrobial agents; her respiratory symptoms and diarrhea improved, and S. stercoralis was not detected in subsequent follow-up examinations thereafter. In endemic areas of S. stercoralis, pulmonary strongyloidiasis should be considered as part of a differential diagnosis if chest imaging findings like alveolar and interstitial shadow patterns or lobar pneumonia are seen in patients with immunodeficiencies.

[Systemic lupus erythematosus manifesting as subarachnoid hemorrhage induced by cortical venous thrombosis and followed by medial medullary infarction].

A 43-year-old female, who had been treated for systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), presented with a subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) induced by rupture of cortical venous thrombosis, and be followed by medial medullary infarction during the acute stage of the SAH. The patient initially manifested a SAH. Angiography demonstrated no evidence of any aneurysms or arteriovenous malformations, but revealed cortical venous thrombosis. She suddenly developed left hemiplegia caused by medial medullary infarction on the 6th day. An active anticoagulant therapy was thought to be inappropriate because of initial symptoms as a hemorrhage. Since she had been accompanied by the medullary infarction, then, initially started by antiplatelet therapy. After the confirmation of no saccular or dissecting aneurysms with 2nd angiography, her treatment could be changed to anticoagulant therapy. Because of the sustained negative reactions of anti-cardiolipin beta 2 glycoprotein I antibody and lupus anticoagulant during the course of SLE, the definite diagnosis of antiphospholipid syndrome (APS) could not be made. However, this case is pathogenically thought to be cerebrovascular disease based upon APS, considering that this syndrome may be related to various antigen/antibody systems.