Suchergebnisse

The number of disciplinary actions against physicians has increased recently. An important contributor to the call for administrative sanction has been the careless prescribing of controlled drugs. The literature characterizing prescribing behavior indicates that prescribers learn to employ medicinals by comparing their actions to their peers and teachers. They follow customary rules and cannot adequately assess the outcome of prescribing. We believe that non-customary prescribers are isolated socially, professionally and organizationally from other physicians and practice with a greater patient orientation than colleague orientation. Because they receive little or no negative outcome information from patients, they may not modify their actions to fit the newer cautionary customs of the profession stated by a distant leadership.

ABSTRACTThe purpose of this study was to evaluate how dental outcomes changed over time among subjects with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) who were under treatment.This retrospective study included 107 subjects who were treated at a Tufts Dental Facilities clinic. Data from each subject were collected at three time points: initial visit, midpoint visit, and most recent visit. Generalized estimating equations were used to assess the relationship between time in treatment and several outcome variables (cooperation level, hygiene rating, presence of caries, periodontitis, dental pain, and infection).Statistically significant decreases in caries (p < .001) and increases in periodontitis (p = .002) were found over time. Associations between time and other outcome variables were not statistically significant.The prevalence of caries decreased and the prevalence of periodontitis increased over time among patients with IDDs receiving regular comprehensive dental care. Even among patients under routine maintenance, significant oral health problems remain.