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OBJECTIVE: To assess physical and mental functional health status as associated with the severity of intimate partner violence (IPV) and perceived danger. METHODS: Prospective cross-sectional survey of all patients aged 18-55 in an urban emergency department during a convenience sample of shifts. Instruments included the George Washington Universal Violence Prevention Screening protocol, administered by computer during the initial visit, the Short-Form 12 Health Survey (SF-12), the Conflict Tactics Scale (CTS2), and the Revised Danger Assessment (DA), administered by interview at 1 week follow-up. RESULTS: In total, 548 (20%) participants screened disclosed IPV victimization. Of those, 216 (40%) completed the follow-up assessment 1 week later. This cohort was 91% African American, 70% single, and 63% female, with a mean age of 35 (SD 10.41). Both physical and mental health functioning scores were lower than normative levels (50) compared with national averages: Physical Component Summary (PCS) scale 43.64 (SD 10.86) and Mental Component Summary (MCS) scale 37.46 (SD 12.29). As physical assault, psychological aggression, and reported injury increased on the CTS2, mental health functioning diminished (p < 0.01). Increased physical assault and psychological aggression were also associated with diminished physical health functioning (p < 0.05). As victim-perceived danger increased on the DA, both physical and mental health functioning decreased (p < 0.01, p < 0.001, respectively). Greater self-advocacy activities were associated with lower mental (but not physical) health functioning as well. Females experienced worsening mental health functioning as both physical assault and psychological aggression increased, whereas male victims experienced worsening mental health functioning only as psychological aggression increased. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that IPV takes a greater mental than physical toll (for both sexes) and that as IPV severity increases, mental health functioning diminishes and self-advocacy behaviors increase. Additionally, as perceived danger increases, both physical and mental health status worsens. This has important implications for clinicians to assess and consider IPV victims' perceptions of their situations relative to danger, not just the levels of abuse they are experiencing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Women who are victims of domestic violence frequently seek care in an emergency department. However, it is challenging to hold sensitive conversations in this environment.Objective: To describe communication about domestic violence between emergency providers and female patients.Design: Analysis of audiotapes made during a randomized, controlled trial of computerized screening for domestic violence.Setting: 2 socioeconomically diverse emergency departments: one urban and academic, the other suburban and community-based.Participants: 1281 English-speaking women age 16 to 69 years and 80 providers (30 attending physicians, 46 residents, and 4 nurse practitioners).Results: 871 audiotapes, including 293 that included provider screening for domestic violence, were analyzed. Providers typically asked about domestic violence in a perfunctory manner during the social history. Provider communication behaviors associated with women disclosing abuse included probing (defined as asking > or =1 additional topically related question), providing open-ended opportunities to talk, and being generally responsive to patient clues (any mention of a psychosocial issue). Chart documentation of domestic violence was present in one third of cases.Limitations: Nonverbal communication was not examined. Providers were aware that they were being audiotaped and may have tried to perform their best.Conclusion: Although hectic clinical environments present many obstacles to meaningful discussions about domestic violence, several provider communication behaviors seemed to facilitate patient disclosure of experiences with abuse. Illustrative examples highlight common pitfalls and exemplary practices in screening for abuse and response to disclosures of abuse. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

STUDY OBJECTIVE: We determine frequency and manner in which emergency physicians address smoking with their patients. METHODS: This was a descriptive secondary analysis of 871 audiotapes of physician-patient interactions collected during a trial assessing the effect of computer-based health risk assessment on emergency physician-patient communication. Consenting nonemergency female patients, ages 18 to 65 years, were enrolled from 2 socioeconomically diverse academic emergency department (EDs) for audiotaping of the ED visit. All audio files with any mention of smoking were independently coded with an in-depth structured coding form to characterize the nature of smoking-related discussions. Logistic regression was used to determine factors associated with emergency physician screening and discussion of tobacco exposure with women patients. RESULTS: Overall, 484 of 871 (56%) participants were verbally screened for smoking, with 156 of 484 (32%) disclosing current smoking, with similar incidence at both sites. Tobacco screening was higher (odds ratio 2.2; 95% confidence interval 1.3 to 3.5), whereas rates of smoking-related discussions were lower (odds ratio 0.41; 95% confidence interval 0.17 to 0.98) at the urban site. At both sites, physicians tended to screen and discuss smoking when patients presented with a health condition that could be aggravated by smoking. Only 56% of discussions with current smokers contained advice to quit, 16% included assessment of readiness to quit, and a minority (13%) included a referral. Physician empathy/encouragement was associated with patients' detailing quit attempts. CONCLUSION: Emergency physicians were likely to gather information about smoking but not to counsel or advise patients to quit. These results raise the question of whether emergency medicine resident training should include additional emphasis on smoking cessation counseling and motivational interviewing techniques. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Narratives are effective tools for communicating with patients about opioid prescribing for acute pain and improving patient satisfaction with pain management. It remains unclear, however, whether specific narrative elements may be particularly effective at influencing patient perspectives., Methods: This study was a secondary analysis of data collected for Life STORRIED, a multicenter RCT. Participants included 433 patients between 18 and 70 years-old presenting to the emergency department (ED) with renal colic or musculoskeletal back pain. Participants were instructed to view one or more narrative videos during their ED visit in which a patient storyteller discussed their experiences with opioids. We examined associations between exposure to individual narrative features and patients' 1) preference for opioids, 2) recall of opioid-related risks and 3) perspectives about the care they received., Results: Participants were more likely to watch videos featuring storytellers who shared their race or gender. We found that participants who watched videos that contained specific narrative elements, for example mention of prescribed opioids, were more likely to recall having received information about pain treatment options on the day after discharge (86.3% versus 72.9%, p = 0.02). Participants who watched a video that discussed family history of addiction reported more participation in their treatment decision than those who did not (7.6 versus 6.8 on a ten-point scale, p = 0.04)., Conclusions: Participants preferentially view narratives featuring storytellers who share their race or gender. Narrative elements were not meaningfully associated with patient-centered outcomes. These findings have implications for the design of narrative communication tools., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest KR reported employment as chief implementation officer at the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality during the conduct of the study. LB reported receiving grants from BrainCool, Nihon Kohden, the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute, United Therapeutics, and ZOLL Medical and serving on the advisory boards of the National Institutes of Health and Philips outside the submitted work. ZM received support for his effort from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (r49CE00308) and the National Institute on Drug Abuse (P30DA040500). No other disclosures were reported., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: To determine the impact of personalized risk communication and opioid prescribing on nonprescribed opioid use, we conducted a secondary analysis of randomized controlled trial participants followed prospectively for 90 days after an emergency department (ED) visit for acute back or kidney stone pain., Methods: A total of 1301 individuals were randomized during an encounter at four academic EDs into a probabilistic risk tool (PRT) arm, a narrative-enhanced PRT arm, or a general risk information arm (control). In this secondary analysis, both risk tool arms were combined and compared with the control arm. We used logistic regressions to determine associations between receiving personalized risk information, receiving an opioid prescription in the ED, and nonprescribed opioid use in general and by race., Results: Complete follow-up data were available for 851 participants; 23.3% (n = 198) were prescribed opioids (34.2% of White vs. 11.6% of Black participants, p < 0.001). Fifty-six (6.6%) participants used nonprescribed opioids. Participants in the personalized risk communication arms had lower nonprescribed opioid use odds (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 0.58, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.4-0.83). Black versus White participants had greater nonprescribed opioid use odds (aOR 3.47, 95% CI 2.05-5.87, p < 0.001). Black participants who were prescribed opioids had a lower marginal probability of using nonprescribed opioids versus those who were not (0.06, 95% CI 0.04-0.08, p < 0.001 vs. 0.10, 95% CI 0.08-0.11, p < 0.001). The absolute risk difference in nonprescribed opioid use for Black and White participants, respectively, in the risk communication versus the control arm, was 9.7% and 0.1% (relative risk ratio 0.43 vs. 0.95)., Conclusions: Among Black but not White participants, personalized opioid risk communication and opioid prescribing were associated with lower odds of nonprescribed opioid use. Our findings suggest that racial disparities in opioid prescribing-which have been previously described within the context of this trial-may paradoxically increase nonprescribed opioid use. Personalized risk communication may effectively reduce nonprescribed opioid use, and future research should be designed specifically to explore this possibility in a larger cohort., (© 2023 Society for Academic Emergency Medicine.)

Objectives. To compare the effectiveness of 3 approaches for communicating opioid risk during an emergency department visit for a common painful condition. Methods. This parallel, multicenter randomized controlled trial was conducted at 6 geographically disparate emergency department sites in the United States. Participants included adult patients between 18 and 70 years of age presenting with kidney stone or musculoskeletal back pain. Participants were randomly assigned to 1 of 3 risk communication strategies: (1) a personalized probabilistic risk visual aid, (2) a visual aid and a video narrative, or 3) general risk information. The primary outcomes were accuracy of risk recall, reported opioid use, and treatment preference at time of discharge. Results. A total of 1301 participants were enrolled between June 2017 and August 2019. There was no difference in risk recall at 14 days between the narrative and probabilistic groups (43.7% vs 38.8%; absolute risk reduction = 4.9%; 95% confidence interval [CI] = -2.98, 12.75). The narrative group had lower rates of preference for opioids at discharge than the general risk information group (25.9% vs 33.0%; difference = 7.1%; 95% CI = 0.64, 0.97). There were no differences in reported opioid use at 14 days between the narrative, probabilistic, and general risk groups (10.5%, 10.3%, and 13.3%, respectively; P  = .44). Conclusions. An emergency medicine communication tool incorporating probabilistic risk and patient narratives was more effective than general information in mitigating preferences for opioids in the treatment of pain but was not more effective with respect to opioid use or risk recall. Trial Registration. Clinical Trials.gov identifier: NCT03134092. ( Am J Public Health . 2022;112(S1):S45-S55. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2021.306511).

Importance: Although racial disparities in acute pain control are well established, the role of patient analgesic preference and the factors associated with these disparities remain unclear., Objective: To characterize racial disparities in opioid prescribing for acute pain after accounting for patient preference and to test the hypothesis that racial disparities may be mitigated by giving clinicians additional information about their patients' treatment preferences and risk of opioid misuse., Design, Setting, and Participants: This study is a secondary analysis of data collected from Life STORRIED (Life Stories for Opioid Risk Reduction in the ED), a multicenter randomized clinical trial conducted between June 2017 and August 2019 in the emergency departments (EDs) of 4 academic medical centers. Participants included 1302 patients aged 18 to 70 years who presented to the ED with ureter colic or musculoskeletal back and/or neck pain., Interventions: The treatment arm was randomized to receive a patient-facing intervention (not examined in this secondary analysis) and a clinician-facing intervention that consisted of a form containing information about each patient's analgesic treatment preference and risk of opioid misuse., Main Outcomes and Measures: Concordance between patient preference for opioid-containing treatment (assessed before ED discharge) and receipt of an opioid prescription at ED discharge., Results: Among 1302 participants in the Life STORRIED clinical trial, 1012 patients had complete demographic and treatment preference data available and were included in this secondary analysis. Of those, 563 patients (55.6%) self-identified as female, with a mean (SD) age of 40.8 (14.1) years. A total of 455 patients (45.0%) identified as White, 384 patients (37.9%) identified as Black, and 173 patients (17.1%) identified as other races. After controlling for demographic characteristics and clinical features, Black patients had lower odds than White patients of receiving a prescription for opioid medication at ED discharge (odds ratio [OR], 0.42; 95% CI, 0.27-0.65). When patients who did and did not prefer opioids were considered separately, Black patients continued to have lower odds of being discharged with a prescription for opioids compared with White patients (among those who preferred opioids: OR, 0.43 [95% CI, 0.24-0.77]; among those who did not prefer opioids: OR, 0.45 [95% CI, 0.23-0.89]). These disparities were not eliminated in the treatment arm, in which clinicians were given additional data about their patients' treatment preferences and risk of opioid misuse., Conclusions and Relevance: In this secondary analysis of data from a randomized clinical trial, Black patients received different acute pain management than White patients after patient preference was accounted for. These disparities remained after clinicians were given additional patient-level data, suggesting that a lack of patient information may not be associated with opioid prescribing disparities., Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT03134092.

Background: Timely access to primary care is important, particularly among patients with acute conditions and patients seeking gateways to specialty care. Due to concerns that expanded Medicaid eligibility would compromise access to primary care among new Medicaid beneficiaries, an experimental study was conducted to test the ability to obtain timely appointments. Although access to primary care appointments for simulated Medicaid patients significantly increased, wait times also increased. This study explores the determinants of wait times and whether they pose greater barriers to Medicaid beneficiaries., Methods: We conducted linear regressions to determine the association between the number of days to scheduled appointments and the simulated patient's clinical scenario, practice-level characteristics, and county-level measures of primary care supply., Results: Simulated Medicaid patients faced 1.3 days longer wait times than commercially insured ones. Participation in accountable care organizations and integrated health systems was associated with longer wait times but did not seem to reduce wait time disparities across insurance types. Notably, the presence of Federally Qualified Health Centers in a given county was associated with lower wait times for simulated Medicaid patients., Conclusions: These findings highlight the complexity of access disparities for Medicaid patients and provide insight for future waves of health care reform., Competing Interests: Conflict of interest: None., (© Copyright 2021 by the American Board of Family Medicine.)

Study Objective: The objective of this study was to determine the effect of video versus telephonic communication between community paramedics and online medical control physicians on odds of patient transport to a hospital emergency department (ED)., Methods: This was a retrospective analysis of data from a telemedicine-capable community paramedicine program operating within an advanced illness management program that provides home-based primary care to approximately 2,000 housebound patients per year who have advanced medical illness, multiple chronic conditions, activities of daily living dependencies, and past-year hospitalizations. Primary outcome was difference in odds of ED transport between community paramedicine responses with video communication versus those with telephonic communication. Secondary outcomes were physicians' perception of whether video enhanced clinical evaluation and whether perceived enhancement affected ED transport., Results: Of 1,707 community paramedicine responses between 2015 and 2017, 899 (53%) successfully used video; 808 (47%) used telephonic communication. Overall, 290 patients (17%) were transported to a hospital ED. In the adjusted regression model, video availability was not associated with a significant difference in the odds of ED transport (odds ratio 0.80; 95% confidence interval 0.62 to 1.03). Online medical control physicians reported that video enhanced clinical evaluation 85% of the time, but this perception was not associated with odds of ED transport., Conclusion: We found support that video is considered an enhancement by physicians overseeing a community paramedicine response, but is not associated with a statistically significant difference in transport to the ED compared with telephonic communication in this nonrandom sample. These results have implications for new models of out-of-hospital care that allow patients to be evaluated and treated in the home., (Copyright © 2020 American College of Emergency Physicians. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: Prescription opioid misuse in the United States is a devastating public health crisis; many chronic opioid users were originally prescribed this class of medication for acute pain. Video narrative-enhanced risk communication may improve patient outcomes, such as knowledge of opioid risk and opioid use behaviors after an episode of acute pain., Objective: Our objective is to assess the effect of probabilistic and narrative-enhanced opioid risk communication on patient-reported outcomes, including knowledge, opioid use, and patient preferences, for patients who present to emergency departments with back pain and kidney stone pain., Methods: This is a multisite randomized controlled trial. Patients presenting to the acute care facilities of four geographically and ethnically diverse US hospital centers with acute renal colic pain or musculoskeletal back and/or neck pain are eligible for this randomized controlled trial. A control group of patients receiving general risk information is compared to two intervention groups: one receiving the risk information sheet plus an individualized, visual probabilistic Opioid Risk Tool (ORT) and another receiving the risk information sheet plus a video narrative-enhanced probabilistic ORT. We will study the effect of probabilistic and narrative-enhanced opioid risk communication on the following: risk awareness and recall at 14 days postenrollment, reduced use or preferences for opioids after the emergency department episode, and alignment with patient preference and provider prescription. To assess these outcomes, we administer baseline patient surveys during acute care admission and follow-up surveys at predetermined times during the 3 months after discharge., Results: A total of 1302 patients were enrolled over 24 months. The mean age of the participants was 40 years (SD 14), 692 out of 1302 (53.15%) were female, 556 out of 1302 (42.70%) were White, 498 out of 1302 (38.25%) were Black, 1002 out of 1302 (76.96%) had back pain, and 334 out of 1302 (25.65%) were at medium or high risk. Demographics and ORT scores were equally distributed across arms., Conclusions: This study seeks to assess the potential clinical role of narrative-enhanced, risk-informed communication for acute pain management in acute care settings. This paper outlines the protocol used to implement the study and highlights crucial methodological, statistical, and stakeholder involvement as well as dissemination considerations., Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT03134092; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03134092., International Registered Report Identifier (irrid): DERR1-10.2196/19496., (©Zachary F Meisel, Erica B Goldberg, Abby R Dolan, Esha Bansal, Karin V Rhodes, Erik P Hess, Carolyn C Cannuscio, Marilyn M Schapira, Jeanmarie Perrone, Melissa A Rodgers, Michael M Zyla, Jeffrey J Bell, Sharon McCollum, Frances S Shofer. Originally published in JMIR Research Protocols (http://www.researchprotocols.org), 24.09.2020.)

New York City has emerged as the global epicenter for the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. The city's public health system, New York City Health + Hospitals, has been key to the city's response because its vulnerable patient population is disproportionately affected by the disease. As the number of cases rose in the city, NYC Health + Hospitals carried out plans to greatly expand critical care capacity. Primary intensive care unit (ICU) spaces were identified and upgraded as needed, and new ICU spaces were created in emergency departments, procedural areas, and other inpatient units. Patients were transferred between hospitals to reduce strain. Critical care staffing was supplemented by temporary recruits, volunteers, and Department of Defense medical personnel. Supplies needed to deliver critical care were monitored closely and replenished to prevent interruptions. An emergency department action team was formed to ensure that the experience of front-line providers was informing network-level decisions. The steps taken by NYC Health + Hospitals greatly expanded its capacity to provide critical care during an unprecedented surge of COVID-19 cases in NYC. These steps, along with lessons learned, could inform preparations for other health systems during a primary or secondary surge of cases.

Retaining participants in longitudinal studies is a unique methodological challenge in many areas of investigation, and specifically for researchers aiming to identify effective interventions for women experiencing intimate partner violence (IPV). Individuals in abusive relationships are often transient and have logistical, confidentiality, and safety concerns that limit future contact. A natural experiment occurred during a large randomized clinical trial enrolling women in abusive relationships who were also heavy drinkers, which allowed for the comparison of two incentive methods to promote longitudinal retention: cash payment versus reloadable wireless bank cards. In all, 600 patients were enrolled in the overall trial, which aimed to incentivize participants using a reloadable bank card system to promote the completion of 11 weekly interactive voice response system (IVRS) phone surveys and 3-, 6-, and 12-month follow-up phone or in person interviews. The first 145 participants were paid with cash as a result of logistical delays in setting up the bank card system. At 12 weeks, participants receiving the bank card incentive completed significantly more IVRS phone surveys, odds ratio (OR) = 2.4, 95% confidence interval (CI) = [0.01, 1.69]. There were no significant differences between the two groups related to satisfaction or safety and/or privacy. The bank card system delivered lower administrative burden for tracking payments for study staff. Based on these and other results, our large medical research university is implementing reloadable bank card as the preferred method of participant incentive payments.

The study examines the similarities and differences between China and the United States with regard to rape myths. We assessed the individual level of rape myth acceptance among Chinese university students by adapting and translating a widely used measure of rape myth endorsement in the United States, the Illinois Rape Myth Acceptance (IRMA) scale. We assessed whether the IRMA scale would be an appropriate assessment of attitudes toward rape among young adults in China. The sample consisted of 975 Chinese university students enrolled in seven Chinese universities. We used explorative factor analysis to examine the factor structure of the Chinese translation of the IRMA scale. Results suggest that the IRMA scale requires some modification to be employed with young adults in China. Our analyses indicate that 20 items should be deleted, and a five-factor model is generated. We discuss relevant similarities and differences in the factor structure and item loadings between the Chinese Rape Myth Acceptance (CRMA) and the IRMA scales. A revised version of the IRMA, the CRMA, can be used as a resource in rape prevention services and rape victim support services. Future research in China that employs CRMA will allow researchers to examine whether individual's response to rape myth acceptance can predict rape potential and judgments of victim blaming and community members' acceptance of marital rape.

Objective: To compare access at community health centers (CHCs) vs private offices (non-CHCs) under the Affordable Care Act., Data Source: Ten state primary care audit conducted in 2012/2013 and 2016., Study Design: CHCs and non-CHCs were called. We calculated difference in differences comparing CHCs vs non-CHCs by caller insurance type., Principal Findings: In both rounds, Medicaid and uninsured callers had higher appointment rates at CHC than non-CHCs. CHC appointment rates significantly increased between 2012/2013 and 2016 for both employer-sponsored and Medicaid callers, with no significant wait time changes. Appointment rates increased (13.5% points, P < 0.001) and wait times decreased (-5.7 days, P = 0.017) at CHCs relative to non-CHCs for employer-sponsored insurance., Conclusion: Appointment availability at CHCs improved after ACA implementation, without increased wait times., (© Health Research and Educational Trust.)

Background: Home-based primary care (HBPC) provides team-based clinical care for homebound patients who have difficulty accessing typical outpatient care. Interdisciplinary team members also provide social and emotional support and serve as a resource for family caregivers, who often experience significant emotional stress., Objectives: This qualitative study explores the impact of HBPC on family caregivers to identify aspects of the program that caregivers find most helpful and meaningful as well as areas for improvement., Design: Semi structured recorded interviews were conducted with family caregivers of frail, elderly homebound patients. Interviews included the following topics: overall program satisfaction and suggestions for improvement., Setting: A HBPC program serving patients in Queens, Nassau and Suffolk counties in New York., Participants: Nineteen family caregivers: 13 women, 6 men; 10 were adult children; 6 were spouses, and 3 were other family members of patients in a HBPC program., Measurements: Thematic coding of all recorded transcribed interviews was prepared by 3 qualitative coders. Interrater reliability was conducted to ensure reliability across coders before themes were disseminated and discussed until consensus was achieved with the larger group of investigators., Results: Three main themes were identified: the importance of staff emotional support; the burden of caring for homebound patients; and the need for a broader range of home-based services. Multiple family members noted that the program not only had saved their loved one's life, but had also metaphorically saved their own., Conclusions: Family caregivers value the communication and accessibility of HBPC and report that the program has a positive impact on their stress and mental health. Results can inform key aspects that need to be retained or enhanced with the expansion in HBPC programs., Competing Interests: Eve Wool has nothing to disclose. Jillian Shotwell has nothing to disclose. Dr. Slaboda is employed at the Gary and Mary West Health Institute, this research was supported with funding from the Gary and Mary West Health Institute. The research was initiated as a collaborative research study conducted by Northwell Health and the West Health Institute. Dr. Kozikowski has nothing to disclose. Dr. Norman is employed at the Gary and Mary West Health Institute, this research was supported with funding from the Gary and Mary West Health Institute. The research was initiated as a collaborative research study conducted by Northwell Health and the West Health Institute. Dr. Smith has nothing to disclose. Dr. Abrashkin has nothing to disclose. Dr. Rhodes has nothing to disclose. Dr. Pekmezaris has nothing to disclose.

Coverage and access have improved under the Affordable Care Act, yet it is unclear whether recent gains have reached those regions within states that were most in need of improved access to care. We examined geographic variation in Medicaid acceptance among Michigan primary care practices before and after Medicaid expansion in the state, using data from a simulated patient study of primary care practices. We used logistic regression analysis with time indicators to assess regional changes in Medicaid acceptance over time. Geographic regions with lower baseline (<50%) Medicaid acceptance had significant increases in Medicaid acceptance at 4 and 8 months post-expansion, while regions with higher baseline (≥50%) Medicaid acceptance did not experience significant changes in Medicaid acceptance. As state Medicaid expansions continue to be implemented across the country, policy makers should consider the local dynamics of incentives for provider participation in Medicaid.

Purpose: Failures of care coordination among health care providers are known to lead to poorer health outcomes for patients with complex medical needs. However, there has been limited research into the perspectives of patients who receive care from a variety of health care providers. This qualitative study sought to characterize the factors leading to emergency department (ED) patient satisfaction and dissatisfaction with their care coordination., Methods: Semistructured telephone interviews were conducted with 25 adult patients following ED visits about their experiences with their care coordination. All patients interviewed had 2 or more ED visits and hospitalizations in the past year and/or health providers in more than one health system. Interview transcripts were coded and analyzed following a modified grounded theory approach., Results: Four broad categories of themes emerged from the patient interviews covering the following: (1) perceptions of care coordination between their providers, (2) the role of electronic health records, (3) challenges with information exchange between health systems, and (4) sources of support for care coordination activities, emphasizing the important role of the primary care provider., Conclusions: Patients with multiple health care providers identified significant barriers to communication among providers and inadequate support with care coordination activities. Expansion of team-based models of primary care and prioritizing interoperable technology for sharing patient health information between providers will be critical to improving the patient experience and the safety of transitions of care., Competing Interests: Conflict of interest: none declared., (© Copyright 2018 by the American Board of Family Medicine.)

Objective: The objective of this study was to better understand the experience of coercive control as a type of IPV by examining associations between coercive control and women's experiences of particular forms of violence, use of violence, and risk of future violence., Method: As part of a larger research study, data were collected from 553 women patients at two hospital emergency departments who had experienced recent IPV and unhealthy drinking. Baseline assessments, including measures of coercive control, danger, and experience and use of psychological, physical, and sexual forms of IPV in the prior three months were analyzed., Results: Women experiencing coercive control reported higher frequency of each form of IPV, and higher levels of danger, compared to women IPV survivors who were not experiencing coercive control. There was no statistically significant association between experience of coercive control and women's use of psychological or sexual IPV; women who experienced coercive control were more likely to report using physical IPV than women who were not experiencing coercive control., Conclusions: Findings contribute to knowledge on the relationship between coercive control and specific forms of violence against intimate partners. A primary contribution is the identification that women who experience coercive control may also use violence, indicating that a woman's use of violence does not necessarily mean that she is not also experiencing severe and dangerous violence as well as coercive control. In fact, experience of coercive control may increase victims' use of physical violence as a survival strategy.

Objectives: The Pennsylvania Chronic Care Initiative (CCI) was a statewide patient-centered medical home (PCMH) initiative implemented from 2008 to 2011. This study examined whether the CCI affected utilization and costs for HIV-positive Medicaid patients with both medical and behavioral health comorbidities., Study Design: Nonrandomized comparison of 302 HIV-positive Medicaid patients treated in 137 CCI practices and 2577 HIV-positive Medicaid patients treated elsewhere., Methods: All patients had chronic medical conditions (diabetes, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, asthma, or congestive heart failure) and a psychiatric and/or substance use disorder. Analyses used Medicaid claims data to examine changes in total per patient costs per month from 1 year prior to 1 year following an index episode. Propensity score weighting was used to adjust for potential sample differences. Secondary outcomes included costs and utilization of emergency department, inpatient, and outpatient/pharmacy services., Results: We identified an average total cost savings of $214.10 per patient per month (P = .002) for the CCI group relative to the non-CCI group. This was a function of decreased inpatient medical (-$415.69; P = .007) and outpatient substance abuse treatment (-$4.86; P = .001) costs, but increased non-HIV pharmacy costs ($158.43; P = .001). Utilization for the CCI group, relative to the non-CCI group, was correspondingly decreased for inpatient medical services (odds ratio [OR], 0.619; P = .002) and inpatient services overall (OR, 0.404; P = .001), but that group had greater numbers of outpatient medical service claims when they occurred (11.7%; P = .003) and increased non-HIV pharmacy claims (9.7%; P = .001)., Conclusions: There was increased outpatient service utilization, yet relative cost savings, for HIV-positive Medicaid patients with medical and behavioral health comorbidities who were treated in PCMHs.

Background: The purpose of this study was to determine national disparities in head and neck cancer treatment package time (the time interval from surgery through the completion of radiation) and the associated impact on survival., Methods: We conducted an observational cohort study using the National Cancer Database of 15 234 patients with resected head and neck cancer who underwent adjuvant radiotherapy from 2004-2012. Predictors of prolonged package time were identified by multivariable linear regression. Survival outcomes were assessed using a multivariable Cox model., Results: Mean package time was 100 days (SD 23). Package time was 7.52 days (95% confidence interval [CI] 6.23-8.81; P < .001) longer with Medicaid versus commercial insurance. Low income and African American race also predicted for longer package times. All-cause mortality increased an average of 4% with each 1 week increase in treatment package time (hazard ratio [HR] 1.04; 95% CI 1.03-1.05; P < .001)., Conclusion: Significant national socioeconomic disparities exist in treatment package time. Treatment delays in this setting may contribute to worse survival outcomes., (© 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.)

Objective: Up to 20% of patients seen in public emergency departments (EDs) have already been seen for the same complaint at another ED, but little is known about the origin or impact of these duplicate ED visits. The goals of this investigation were to explore 1) whether patients making a repeat ED visit are self-referred or indirectly referred from the other ED and 2) gather the perspective of affected patients on the health, social, and financial consequences of these duplicate ED visits., Methods: This mixed-methods study conducted over a 10-week period during 2016 in a large public hospital ED in Texas prospectively surveyed patients seen in another ED for the same chief complaint. Selected patients presenting with fractures were then enrolled for semistructured qualitative interviews, which were audiotaped, transcribed, and independently coded by two team members until thematic saturation was reached., Results: A total of 143 patients were identified as being recently seen at another local ED for the same chief complaint prior to presenting to the public hospital; 94% were uninsured and 61% presented with fractures. A total of 27% required admission at the public ED and 95% of those discharged required further outpatient follow-up. Fifty-one percent of patients completed a survey and qualitative interviews were conducted with 23 fracture patients. Fifty-three percent of patients reported that staff at the first hospital told them to go the public hospital ED, and 23% reported referral from a follow-up physician associated with the first hospital. Seventy-three percent reported receiving the same tests at both EDs. Interview themes identified multiple health care visits for the same injury, concern about complications, disrespectful treatment at the first ED, delayed care, problems accessing needed follow-up care without insurance, loss of work, and financial strain., Conclusions: The majority of patients presenting to a public hospital ED after treatment for the same complaint in another local ED were indirectly referred to the public ED without transferring paperwork or records, incurring duplicate testing and patient anxiety., (© 2017 by the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine.)

Study Objective: We characterize emergency department (ED) utilization among perinatal women and identify differences in risk factors and outcomes between women who use versus do not use the ED during the perinatal period., Methods: This is a retrospective cross-sectional study comparing patients who used the ED versus did not use the ED during the perinatal period. Patient data were collected from medical chart review and postpartum interviews., Results: Of the 678 participants, 218 (33%) had at least 1 perinatal ED visit. Women who used the ED were more likely than those who did not to be adolescent (relative risk [RR] 2.23; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.38 to 3.63), of minority race (RR 1.94; 95% CI 1.46 to 2.57), and Medicaid insured (RR 2.14; 95% CI 1.71 to 2.67). They were more likely to smoke prenatally (RR 3.42; 95% CI 2.34 to 4.99), to use recreational drugs prenatally (RR 3.53; 95% CI 1.78 to 7.03), and to have experienced domestic abuse (RR 1.78; 95% CI 1.12 to 2.83). They were more likely to have delayed entry to prenatal care (RR 2.01; 95% CI 1.46 to 2.77) and to experience postpartum depression (RR 2.97; 95% CI 1.90 to 4.64). Their infants were nearly twice as likely to be born prematurely (RR 1.92; 95% CI 1.07 to 3.47)., Conclusion: Results highlight that pregnant patients using the ED are a high-risk, vulnerable population. Routine ED screening and linkage of this vulnerable population to early prenatal care and psychosocial interventions should be considered as a public health strategy worth investigating., (Copyright © 2017 American College of Emergency Physicians. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

To determine whether emergency department patients want to share their medical records across health systems through Health Information Exchange and if so, whether they prefer to sign consent or share their records automatically, 982 adult patients presenting to an emergency department participated in a questionnaire-based interview. The majority (N = 906; 92.3%) were willing to share their data in a Health Information Exchange. Half (N = 490; 49.9%) reported routinely getting healthcare outside the system and 78.6 percent reported having records in other systems. Of those who were willing to share their data in a Health Information Exchange, 54.3 percent wanted to sign consent but 90 percent of those would waive consent in the case of an emergency. Privacy and security were primary concerns of patients not willing to participate in Health Information Exchange and preferring to sign consent. Improved privacy and security protections could increase participation, and findings support consideration of "break-the-glass" provider access to Health Information Exchange records in an emergent situation.

Background: Racial disparities in prostate cancer treatment and outcomes are widespread and poorly understood. In the current study, the authors sought to determine whether access to care, measured across multiple dimensions, contributed to racial differences in prostate cancer., Methods: The Philadelphia Area Prostate Cancer Access Study (P 2 Access) included 2374 men diagnosed with localized prostate cancer between 2012 and 2014. Men were surveyed to assess their experiences accessing care (response rate of 51.1%). The authors determined appointment availability at 151 urology practices using simulated patient telephone calls and calculated travel distances using geospatial techniques. Multivariable logistic regression models were used to determine the association between 5 different domains of access (availability, accessibility, accommodation, affordability, and acceptability) and receipt of treatment, perceived quality of care, and physician-patient communication., Results: There were 1907 non-Hispanic white and 394 black men in the study cohort. Overall, approximately 85% of the men received definitive treatment with no differences noted by race. Black men were less likely to report a high quality of care (69% vs 81%; P<.001) and good physician-patient communication (60% vs 71%; P<.001) compared with white men. In adjusted models, none of the 5 domains of access were found to be associated with definitive treatment overall or with radical prostatectomy. All access domains were associated with perceived quality of care and communication, although these domains did not mediate racial disparities., Conclusions: To the authors' knowledge, the current study presents the first comprehensive assessment of prostate cancer care access, treatment, and patient experience, demonstrating that although access was related to overall perceived quality of care and better physician-patient communication, it did not appear to explain observed racial differences. Cancer 2017;123:4449-57. © 2017 American Cancer Society., (© 2017 American Cancer Society.)

Background: Cost-sharing in health insurance plans creates incentives for patients to shop for lower prices, but it is unknown what price information patients can obtain when scheduling office visits., Objective: To determine whether new patients can obtain price information for a primary care visit and identify variation across insurance types, offices, and geographic areas., Design: Simulated patient methodology in which trained interviewers posed as non-elderly adults seeking new patient primary care appointments. Caller insurance type (employer-sponsored insurance [ESI], Marketplace, or uninsured) and plan were experimentally manipulated. Callers who were offered a visit asked for price information. Unadjusted means and regression-adjusted differences by insurance, office types, and geography were calculated., Participants: Calls to a representative sample of primary care offices in ten states in 2014: Arkansas, Georgia, Iowa, Illinois, Massachusetts, Montana, New Jersey, Oregon, Pennsylvania, and Texas (N = 7865)., Main Measures: Callers recorded whether they were able to obtain a price. If not, they recorded whether they were referred to other sources for price information., Key Results: Overall, 61.8% of callers with ESI were able to obtain a price, versus 89.2% of uninsured and 47.3% of Marketplace callers (P < 0.001 for differences). Price information was also more readily available in small offices and in counties with high uninsured rates. Among callers not receiving a price, 72.1% of callers with ESI were referred to other sources (billing office or insurance company), versus 25.8% of uninsured and 50.9% of Marketplace callers (P < 0.001). A small fraction of insured callers were told their visit would be free. If not free, mean visit prices ranged from $157 for uninsured to $165 for ESI (P < 0.05). Prices were significantly lower at federally qualified health centers (FQHCs), smaller offices, and in counties with high uninsured and low-income rates., Conclusions: Price information is often unavailable for privately insured patients seeking primary care visits at the time a visit is scheduled.

Background: Measuring outcomes of emergency care is of key importance, but current metrics, such as 72-hour return visit rates, are subject to ascertainment bias, incentivize overtesting and overtreatment at initial visit, and do not reflect the full burden of disease and morbidity experienced at home following ED care. There is increasing emphasis on including patient-reported outcomes, but the existing patient-reported measures have limited applicability to emergency care., Objective: The objective was to identify concepts for inclusion in a patient-reported outcome measure for ED care and assess differences in potential concepts by health literacy., Methods: A three-phase qualitative study was completed using freelisting and semistructured interviewing for concept identification, member checking for concept ranking, and cognitive interviewing for question development. Participants were drawn from three tertiary care EDs. Parents of patients (pediatric) or patients (adult) with asthma completed a demographic survey and an assessment of health literacy. Phase 1 participants also completed a freelisting exercise and qualitative interview regarding the definition of success following ED discharge. Phase 2 participants completed a member checking survey based on concepts identified in Phase 1. Phase 3 was a pilot of trial questions based on the highest-ranked concepts from Phase 2., Results: Phase 1 enrolled 22 adult patients and 37 parents of pediatric patients. Phase 2 enrolled 41 adult patients and 200 parents. Phase 3 involved 15 parents. Across all demographic/literacy groups, Phase 1 participants reported return to usual activity and lack of asthma symptoms as the most important markers of success. In Phase 2, symptom improvement, medication use and access, and asthma knowledge were identified as the most important components of the definition of post-ED discharge success. Phase 3 resulted in five questions for the proposed measure., Conclusions: A stepwise qualitative process can identify, rank, and formulate questions based on patient-identified concepts for inclusion in a patient-reported outcome measure for ED discharge. The four key concepts identified for inclusion: symptom improvement, medication access, correct medication use, and asthma knowledge are not measured by existing quality metrics., (© 2017 by the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine.)

Community health workers (CHWs) provide peer support in diverse health care settings, but few studies have evaluated CHW interventions for intimate partner violence (IPV). We assessed the feasibility, acceptability, and safety of CHW outreach in four urban community health clinics and characterized the experiences and barriers to providing safe and effective services for women experiencing IPV. CHWs successfully enrolled and engaged IPV victims, who indicated satisfaction and increased safety with program participation. However, complex psychosocial barriers prevented many from achieving safety and security. More work is needed to assess the impact of well-integrated IPV-trained CHWs in primary care medical homes.

Purpose: The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) expanded coverage to roughly 12 million individuals by mid-2014 and 20 million by 2016, raising concern about the capacity of the primary care system to absorb these individuals. We set out to determine how justified the concern was., Methods: We used an audit design in which simulated patients called primary care practices seeking new-patient appointments in 10 diverse states (Arkansas, Georgia, Iowa, Illinois, Massachusetts, Montana, New Jersey, Oregon, Pennsylvania, and Texas) from November 2012 through March 2013 and from May 2014 through July 2014, before and after the major ACA insurance expansions. Callers were randomly assigned to scripts specifying either private or Medicaid insurance and called only offices identified as "in network" for each plan., Results: We completed 5,385 private insurance and 4,352 Medicaid calls in 2012-2013 and 2,424 private insurance and 2,474 Medicaid calls in 2014. Overall appointment rates for private insurance remained stable from 2012 (84.7%) to 2014 (85.8%) with Massachusetts and Pennsylvania experiencing significant increases. Overall, Medicaid appointment rates increased 9.7 percentage points (57.9% to 67.6%) with substantial variation by state. Across all callers, median wait times for those obtaining an appointment were 7 days in 2012 and 5 days in 2014, but the difference was not statistically significant., Conclusions: Contrary to widespread concern, we find no evidence that the millions of individuals newly insured through the ACA decreased new-patient appointment availability across 10 states as shown by stable wait times and appointment rates for private insurance as of mid-2014., (© 2017 Annals of Family Medicine, Inc.)

Objectives: While the Affordable Care Act seeks to reduce emergency department (ED) visits for outpatient-treatable conditions, it remains unclear whether Medicaid patients or the uninsured have adequate access to follow-up care. The goal of this study was to determine the availability of follow-up orthopedic care by insurance status., Methods: Using simulated patient methodology, all 102 eligible general orthopedic practices in Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas, were contacted twice by a caller requesting follow-up for an ankle fracture diagnosed in a local ED using a standardized script that differed by insurance status. Practices were randomly assigned to paired private and uninsured or Medicaid and uninsured scenarios., Results: We completed 204 calls: 59 private, 43 Medicaid, and 102 uninsured. Appointment success rate was 83.1% for privately insured (95% confidence interval [CI] = 73.2% to 92.9%), 81.4% for uninsured (95% CI = 73.7% to 89.1%), and 14.0% for Medicaid callers (95% CI = 3.2% to 24.7%). Controlling for paired calls to the same practice, an uninsured caller had 5.7 times higher odds (95% CI = 2.74 to 11.71) of receiving an appointment than a Medicaid caller (p < 0.001), but the same odds as a privately insured caller (odds ratio = 1.0, 95% CI = 0.19 to 5.37, p = 1.0). Uninsured patients had to bring a median of $350 (interquartile range = $250 to $400) to their appointment to be seen, and only two uninsured patients were able to obtain an appointment for $100 or less up front. In comparison, typical total payments collected for privately insured patients were $236 and for Medicaid patients $128. When asked where else they could go, 49 (48%) uninsured callers and one Medicaid caller (2%) were directed to local public hospital EDs as alternative sources of care. Of the practices that appeared on Medicaid's published list of orthopedic providers accepting new patients, 15 told callers that they did not accept Medicaid, 11 did not treat ankles, nine listed nonworking phone numbers, and only three actually scheduled an appointment for the Medicaid caller., Conclusions: Less than one in seven Medicaid patients could obtain orthopedic follow-up after an ED visit for a fracture, and prices quoted to the uninsured were 30% higher than typical negotiated rates paid by the privately insured. High up-front costs for uninsured patients and low appointment availability for Medicaid patients may leave these patients with no other option than the ED for necessary care., (© 2016 by the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine.)

Objective: With 42% of all emergency department visits in the United States related to pain, physicians who work in this setting are tasked with providing adequate pain management to patients with varying primary complaints and medical histories. Complicating this, the United States is in the midst of an opioid overdose epidemic. State governments and national organizations have developed guidelines and legislation to curtail opioid prescriptions in acute care settings, while also incentivizing providers for patient satisfaction and completeness of pain control. In order to inform future policies that focus on provider pain medication prescribing, we sought to characterize the factors physicians weigh when considering treating pain with opioids in the emergency department. Methods: We conducted and transcribed open-ended, semistructured qualitative interviews with 52 physicians at a national emergency medicine conference. Results: Participants reported a wide range of factors contributing to their opioid prescribing patterns related to three domains: 1) provider assessment of pain characteristics, 2) patient-based considerations, and 3) practice environment. Pain characteristics include the characteristics of various acute and chronic pain syndromes, including physicians' empathy due to their own experiences with pain. Patient characteristics include "trustworthiness," race and ethnicity, and the concern for risk of misuse. Factors related to the practice environment include hospital policy, legislation/regulation, and guidelines. Conclusion: The decision to prescribe opioids to patients in the emergency department is complex and nuanced. Physicians are interested in guidance and are concerned about the competing pressures placed on their opioid prescribing due to incentives related to patient satisfaction scores on one hand and inflexible policies that do not allow for individualized, patient-centered decisions on the other.

Study Objective: Clinical guidelines are known to be underused by practitioners. In response to the challenges of treating pain amid a prescription opioid epidemic, the American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP) published an evidence-based clinical policy for opioid prescribing in 2012. Evidence-based narratives, an effective method of communicating health information in a variety of settings, offer a novel strategy for disseminating guidelines to physicians and engaging providers with clinical evidence. We compare whether narrative vignettes embedded in the ACEP daily e-newsletter improved dissemination of the clinical policy to ACEP members, and engagement of members with the clinical policy, compared with traditional summary text., Methods: A prospective randomized controlled study, titled Stories to Promote Information Using Narrative trial, was performed. Derived from qualitative interviews with 61 ACEP physicians, 4 narrative vignettes were selected and refined, using a consensus panel of clinical and implementation experts. All ACEP members were then block randomized by state of residence to receive alternative versions of a daily e-mailed newsletter for a total of 24 days during a 9-week period. Narrative newsletters contained a selection of vignettes that referenced opioid prescription dilemmas. Control newsletters contained a selection of descriptive text about the clinical policy, using length and appearance similar to that of the narrative vignettes. Embedded in the newsletters were Web links to the complete vignette or traditional summary text, as well as additional links to the full ACEP clinical policy and a Web site providing assistance with prescription drug monitoring program enrollment. The newsletters were otherwise identical. Outcomes measured were the percentage of subjects who visited any of the Web pages that contained additional guideline-related information and the odds of any unique physician visiting these Web pages during the study., Results: There were 27,592 physicians randomized, and 21,226 received the newsletter during the study period. When each physician was counted once during the study period, there were 509 unique visitors in the narrative group and 173 unique visitors in the control group (4.8% versus 1.6%; difference 3.2%; 95% confidence interval [CI] 2.7% to 3.7%). There were 744 gross visits from the e-newsletter to any of the 3 Web pages in the narrative group compared with 248 in the control group (7.0% versus 2.3%; odds ratio 3.2; 95% CI 2.7 to 3.6). During the study, the odds ratio of any physician in the narrative group visiting one of the 3 informational Web sites compared with the control group was 3.1 (95% CI 2.6 to 3.6)., Conclusion: Among a national sample of emergency physicians, narrative vignettes outperformed traditional guideline text in promoting engagement with an evidence-based clinical guideline related to opioid prescriptions., (Copyright © 2016 American College of Emergency Physicians. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: Individuals who abuse prescription opioids often use leftover pills that were prescribed for friends or family members. Dental surgery has been identified as a common source of opioid prescriptions. We measured rates of used and unused opioids after dental surgery for a pilot program to promote safe drug disposal., Methods: We conducted a randomized controlled trial of opioid use patterns among patients undergoing surgical tooth extraction at a university-affiliated oral surgery practice. The primary objective was to describe opioid prescribing and consumption patterns, with the number of unused opioid pills remaining on postoperative day 21 serving as the primary outcome. The secondary aim was to measure the effect of a behavioral intervention (informing patients of a pharmacy-based opioid disposal program) on the proportion of patients who disposed or reported intent to dispose of unused opioids. (NCT02814305) Results: We enrolled 79 patients, of whom 72 filled opioid prescriptions. On average, patients received 28 opioid pills and had 15 pills (54%) left over, for a total of 1010 unused pills among the cohort. The behavioral intervention was associated with a 22% absolute increase in the proportion of patients who disposed or reported intent to dispose of unused opioids (Fisher's exact p=0.11)., Conclusion: Fifty-four percent of opioids prescribed in this pilot study were not used. The pharmacy-based drug disposal intervention showed a robust effect size but did not achieve statistical significance. Dentists and oral surgeons could potentially reduce opioid diversion by moderately reducing the quantity of opioid analgesics prescribed after surgery., (Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd.)

Background: The Chronic Care Initiative (CCI) was a large state-wide patient-centered medical home (PCMH) initiative in Pennsylvania in place from 2008-2011., Objective: Determine whether the CCI impacted the utilization and costs for Medicaid patients with chronic medical conditions and comorbid psychiatric or substance use disorders., Design: Analysis of Medicaid claims using difference-in-difference regression analyses to compare changes in utilization and costs for patients treated at CCI practices to propensity score-matched patients treated at comparison non-CCI practices., Setting: Ninety-six CCI practices in Pennsylvania and 60 non-CCI practices during the same time period., Participants: A total of 11,105 comorbid Medicaid patients treated in CCI practices and an equal number of propensity-matched comparison patients treated in non-CCI practices., Measurements: Changes in total per-patient costs from 1 year prior to 1 year following an index episode period. Secondary outcomes included utilization and costs for emergency department (ED), inpatient, and outpatient services., Results: The CCI group experienced an average adjusted total cost savings of $4145.28 per patient per year (P = 0.023) for the CCI relative to the non-CCI group. This was largely driven by a $3521.15 savings (P = 0.046) in inpatient medical costs, in addition to relative savings in outpatient psychiatric ($21.54, P < 0.001) and substance abuse service costs ($16.42, P = 0.013), compared to the non-CCI group. The CCI group, related to the non-CCI group, had decreases in expected mean counts of ED visits (for those who had any) and psychiatric hospitalizations of 15.6 (95 % CI: -21, -9) and 40.7 (95 % CI: -57, -18) percentage points respectively., Limitations: We do not measure quality of care and cannot make conclusions about the overall cost-effectiveness or long-term effects of the CCI., Conclusions: The CCI was associated with substantial cost savings, attributable primarily to reduced inpatient costs, among a high-risk group of Medicaid patients, who may disproportionally benefit from care management in patient-centered medical homes., Competing Interests: Compliance with Ethical Standards Funding Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, State Health Access Reform Evaluation grant no. 70165 Conflict of interest The authors have no conflicts of interest to disclose.

Purpose: Prior work suggests that access to health care may influence the diagnosis and treatment of prostate cancer. Mystery-caller methods have been used previously to measure access to care for health services such as primary care, where patients' self-initiate requests for care. We used a mystery-caller survey for specialized prostate cancer care to assess dimensions of access to prostate cancer care., Materials and Methods: We created an inventory of urology and radiation oncology practices in southeastern Pennsylvania. Using a 'mystery caller' approach, a research assistant posing as a medical office scheduler in a primary care office, attempted to make a new patient appointment on behalf of a referred patient. Linear regression was used to determine the association between time to next available appointment with practice and census tract characteristics., Results: We successfully obtained information on new patient appointments from 198 practices out of the 223 in the region (88.8%). Radiation oncology practices were more likely to accept Medicaid compared to urology practices (91.3% vs 36.4%) and had shorter mean wait times for new patient appointments (9.0 vs 12.8 days). We did not observe significant differences in wait times according to census tract characteristics including neighborhood socioeconomic status and the proportion of male African American residents., Conclusions: Mystery-caller methods that reflect real-world referral processes from primary care offices can be used to measure access to specialized cancer care. We observed significant differences in wait times and insurance acceptance between radiation oncology and urology practices., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Background: Arkansas and Iowa received waivers from the federal government in 2014 to use federal Medicaid expansion funding to enroll beneficiaries in commercial insurance plans on the Marketplaces. One key hypothesis of these "private option" or "premium assistance" programs was that Medicaid beneficiaries would experience increased access to care. In this study, we compare new patient primary care appointment availability and wait-times for beneficiaries of traditional Medicaid and premium assistance Medicaid., Methods: Trained field staff posing as patients, randomized to traditional Medicaid or Marketplace plans, called primary care practices seeking new patient appointments in Arkansas and Iowa in May to July 2014. All calls were made to offices that previously indicated being in-network for the plan. Offices were drawn randomly, within insurance type, based on the county proportion of the population with each insurance type. We calculated appointment rates and wait-times for new patients for traditional Medicaid and Marketplace plans., Results: In Arkansas, Marketplace appointment rates were 27.2 percentage points higher than traditional Medicaid appointment rates (83.2% compared with 55.5%, P<0.001), while in Iowa, Marketplace appointment rates were 12.0 percentage points higher (86.3% compared with 74.3%, P<0.001). Conditional on receiving an appointment, median wait-times were roughly 1 week in each state without significant differences by insurance type., Conclusions: The experiences of Arkansas and Iowa suggest that enrolling Medicaid beneficiaries into Marketplace plans may lead to higher primary care appointment availability for new patients at participating providers. Further research is needed on whether premium assistance programs affect quality and continuity of care, and at what cost.

Objective: To compare physicians' self-reported willingness to provide new patient appointments with the experience of research assistants posing as either a Medicaid beneficiary or privately insured person seeking a new patient appointment., Data Sources/study Setting: Survey administered to California physicians and telephone calls placed to a subsample of respondents., Study Design: Cross-sectional comparison., Data Collection/extraction Methods: All physicians whose California licenses were due for renewal in June or July 2013 were mailed a survey, which included questions about acceptance of new Medicaid and new privately insured patients. Subsequently, research assistants using a script called the practices of a stratified random sample of 209 primary care physician respondents in an attempt to obtain a new patient appointment. By design, half of the physicians selected for the telephone validation reported on the survey that they accepted new Medicaid patients and half indicated that they did not., Principal Findings: The percentage of callers posing as Medicaid patients who could schedule new patient appointments was 18 percentage points lower than the percentage of physicians who self-reported on the survey that they accept new Medicaid patients. Callers were also less likely to obtain appointments when they posed as patients with private insurance., Conclusions: Physicians overestimate the extent to which their practices are accepting new patients, regardless of insurance status., (© Health Research and Educational Trust.)

Objectives: With insurance enrollment greater than expected under the Affordable Care Act, uncertainty about the availability and timeliness of healthcare services for newly insured individuals has increased. We examined primary care appointment availability and wait times for new Medicaid and privately insured patients before and after Medicaid expansion in Michigan., Study Design: Simulated patient ("secret shopper") study., Methods: Extended follow-up of a previously reported simulated patient ("secret shopper") study assessing accessibility of routine new patient appointments in a stratified proportionate random sample of Michigan primary care practices before versus 4, 8, and 12 months after Medicaid expansion., Results: During the study period, approximately 600,000 adults enrolled in Michigan's Medicaid expansion program, representing 57% of the previously uninsured nonelderly adult population. One year after expansion, we found that appointment availability remained increased by 6 percentage points for new Medicaid patients (95% CI, 1.6-11.1) and decreased by 2 percentage points for new privately insured patients (95% CI, -0.5 to -3.8). Over the same period, the proportion of appointments scheduled with nonphysician providers (nurse practitioners or physician assistants) increased from 8% to 21% of Medicaid appointments (95% CI, 5.6-20.2) and from 11% to 19% of private-insurance appointments (95% CI, 1.3-14.1). Median wait times remained stable for new Medicaid patients and increased slightly for new privately insured patients, both remaining within 2 weeks., Conclusions: During the first year following Medicaid expansion in Michigan, appointment availability for new Medicaid patients increased, a greater proportion of appointments could be obtained with nonphysician providers, and wait times remained within 2 weeks.