JAMDA
Volume 12, Issue 1 , Pages 68-73 , January 2011

The Importance of Physician Presence in Nursing Homes for Residents with Dementia and Pneumonia

  • Margaret R. Helton, MD

      Affiliations

    • The Department of Family Medicine, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC
    • Corresponding Author InformationAddress correspondence to Margaret R. Helton, MD, The Department of Family Medicine, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 590 Manning Drive, Chapel Hill, NC 27599.
    • ,
  • Lauren W. Cohen, MA

      Affiliations

    • The Cecil G. Sheps Center for Health Services Research, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC
    • ,
  • Sheryl Zimmerman, PhD

      Affiliations

    • The Cecil G. Sheps Center for Health Services Research, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC
    • The School of Social Work, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC
    • ,
  • Jenny T. van der Steen, PhD

      Affiliations

    • The Department of Nursing Home Medicine and EMGO Institute for Health and Care Research, VU University Medical Center, Amsterdam, the Netherlands

References 

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  2. Hanson LC, Danis M, Garrett J. What is wrong with end-of-life care? Opinions of bereaved family members. J Am Geriatr Soc. 1997;45:1339–1344
  3. Wennberg J, Barnes B, Zubkoff M. Professional uncertainty and the problem of supplier-induced demand. Soc Sci Med. 1982;16:811–824
  4. Carter MV. Variations in hospitalization rates among nursing home residents: The role of discretionary hospitalizations. Health Serv Res. 2003;38:1177–1206
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  6. Hoek JR, Ribbe MW, Hertogh CM, van der Vleuten CP. The specialist training program for nursing home physicians: A new professional challenge. J Am Med Dir Assoc. 2001;2:326–330
  7. Osler W. Lobar pneumonia. In: Principles and Practice of Medicine Designed for the Use of Practitioners and Students of Medicine. 3rd ed.. Edinburgh: Young J. Pentland; 1898;p. 108–137
  8. van der Steen JT, Ooms ME, van der Wal G, Ribbe M. Pneumonia: The demented patient's best friend? Discomfort after starting or withholding antibiotic treatment. J Am Geriatr Soc. 2002;50:1681–1688
  9. Volicer L. Hospice care for dementia patients. J Am Geriatr Soc. 1997;45:1147–1149
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  11. Gerrity MS, DeVellis RF, Earp JA. Physicians' reactions to uncertainty in patient care: A new measure and new insights. Med Care. 1990;28:724–736
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  14. Bellelli B, Frisoni GB, Bianchetti A, Trabucchi M. The Bedford Alzheimer Nursing Severity Scale for the demented: Validation study. Alzheimer Dis Assoc Disord. 1997;11:71–77
  15. van der Steen JT, Ooms ME, Ader HJ, et al. Withholding antibiotic treatment in pneumonia patients with dementia. Arch Intern Med. 2002;162:1753–1760
  16. Mehr DR, van der Steen JT, Kruse RL, et al. Lower respiratory infections in nursing home residents with dementia: a tale of two countries. Gerontologist. 2003;43:85–93
  17. Kruse RL, Mehr DR, Boles KE, et al. Does hospitalization impact survival after lower respiratory infection in nursing home residents?. Med Care. 2004;42:860–870
  18. Naughton BJ, Mylotte JM. Treatment guideline for nursing home-acquired pneumonia based on community practice. J Am Geriatr Soc. 2000;48:82–88
  19. Committee on Improving Quality in Long-Term Care . Institute of Medicine. Improving the Quality of Long-Term Care. Washington, DC: National Academy Press; 2001;
  20. Saliba D, Kington RS, Buchanan J, et al. Appropriateness of the decision to transfer nursing facility residents to the hospital. J Am Geriatr Soc. 2000;48:154–168
  21. Kayser-Jones JS, Wiener CL, Barbaccia JC. Factors contributing to the hospitalization of nursing home residents. Gerontologist. 1989;29:502–510
  22. Brooks S, Warshaw G, Hasse L, Kues JR. The physician decision-making process in transferring nursing home patients to the hospital. Arch Intern Med. 1994;154:902–908
  23. Port CL, Zimmerman S, Williams CS, et al. Families filling the gap: Comparing family involvement for assisted living and nursing home residents with dementia. Gerontologist. 2005;45:87–95
  24. Cohen-Mansfield J, Lipson S. To hospitalize or not to hospitalize? That is the question: An analysis of decision making in the nursing home. Behav Med. 2006;32:64–70
  25. Enthoven AC, van de Ven WP. Going Dutch—Managed-competition health insurance in the Netherlands. N Eng J Med. 2007;357:2421–2423
  26. Edwards M. As good as it gets. AARP Magazine. 2004;47:42–4990
  27. Helton MR, Pathman DE. Caring for older patients: Current attitudes and future plans for family medicine residents. Fam Med. 2008;40:707–714
  28. Jepson C, Asch DA, Hershey JC, Ubel PA. In a mailed physician survey, questionnaire length had a threshold effect on response rate. J Clin Epidemiol. 2005;58:103–105
  29. Robertson J, Walkom EJ, McGettigan P. Response rates and representativeness: A lottery incentive improves physician survey return rates. Pharmacoepidemiol Drug Saf. 2005;14:571–577

 Support was provided by the University Research Council and the Department of Family Medicine at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

PII: S1525-8610(10)00021-6

doi: 10.1016/j.jamda.2010.01.005

JAMDA
Volume 12, Issue 1 , Pages 68-73 , January 2011

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