Balancing clinical experience in outpatient residency training. 2014

James E Stahl, and Hari Jagannathan Balasubramanian, and Xiaoling Gao, and Steven Overko, and Blair Fosburgh
MGH Institute for Technology Assessment, Boston, MA (JES)

To receive adequate training experience, resident panels in teaching clinics must have a sufficiently diverse patient case-mix. However, case-mix can differ from one resident panel to another, resulting in inconsistent training. Encounter data from primary care residency clinics at Massachusetts General Hospital from July 2008 to May 2010 (64 residents and ~3800 patients) were used to characterize patients by gender, age, major disease category (both acute and chronic, e.g., Cardio Acute, Cardio Chronic, etc., for a total of 44 disease categories), and number of disease categories. Imbalance across resident panels was characterized by the standard deviation for disease category, patient panel size, and annual visit frequency. To balance case-mix in resident panels, patient reassignment algorithms were proposed. First, patients were sorted by complexity; then patients were allocated sequentially to the panel with the least overall complexity. Patient reassignment across resident panels was considered under 3 scenarios: 1) within preceptor, 2) within a group of preceptors, and 3) across the entire practice annually. were compared with case-mix (pre-July 2012) and post-July 2012. Results. All 3 reassignment algorithms produced significant reductions in standard deviation of either number of disease categories or diagnoses across residents when compared with baseline (pre-July 2012) and actual July 2012 reassignment. Reassignment across the clinic and group provided the best and second best scenarios, respectively, although both came at the cost of initially reduced patient-preceptor continuity. Systematically reallocating patient panels in teaching clinics potentially can improve the consistency and breadth of the educational experience. The method in principle can be extended to any target of health care system reform where there is patient or clinician turnover.

UI MeSH Term Description Entries
D007396 Internship and Residency Programs of EDUCATION, MEDICAL, GRADUATE training to meet the requirements established by accrediting authorities. House Staff,Internship, Dental,Residency, Dental,Residency, Medical,Dental Internship,Dental Internships,Dental Residencies,Dental Residency,Internship,Internship, Medical,Internships, Dental,Medical Residencies,Medical Residency,Residencies, Dental,Residencies, Medical,Residency,Residency and Internship,Internships, Medical,Medical Internship,Medical Internships,Residencies,Staff, House
D010044 Outpatient Clinics, Hospital Organized services in a hospital which provide medical care on an outpatient basis. Ambulatory Care Facilities, Hospital,Hospital Outpatient Clinics,Clinic, Hospital Outpatient,Clinics, Hospital Outpatient,Hospital Outpatient Clinic,Outpatient Clinic, Hospital
D011320 Primary Health Care Care which provides integrated, accessible health care services by clinicians who are accountable for addressing a large majority of personal health care needs, developing a sustained partnership with patients, and practicing in the context of family and community. (JAMA 1995;273(3):192) Primary Care,Primary Healthcare,Care, Primary,Care, Primary Health,Health Care, Primary,Healthcare, Primary
D006801 Humans Members of the species Homo sapiens. Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D000465 Algorithms A procedure consisting of a sequence of algebraic formulas and/or logical steps to calculate or determine a given task. Algorithm

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