OnSiteClinics.Org

New Links, New Resources

We found two new resources for on-site clinic physicians and managers that we wanted to bring to your attention.  New links for them are now on our opening page.

The first is a link to the Cochrane Library.  This is a huge resource of abstracts, reviews, podcasts, etc. on medical research by topic.  Their goal is to provide “Independent high-quality evidence for health care decision making.”  They have done just that, check it out.

The second is Informed Medical Decisions.  The Foundation develops and offers “decision aids” (which can be pamphlets, videos, etc.) for use by patients and their family members which provide “unbiased, evidence-based information about the available options and possible outcomes so the patient is better equipped to make an informed decision that is aligned with their preferences.”  These aids may be valuable for incorporation into your own patient-centered medical home patient interactions.  We’ve added the link in our resource bar.

Last, but not least, we wanted to tie the above together with an article published in the January, 2013 issue of Hospitals & Healthcare Networks (Lola Butcher, p 17).  The article references a study completed by the Group Health Cooperative (“GHC”) showing that the cost of treating patients who were candidates for knee replacement surgery fell between 12 and 21% depending upon the location of the GHC site where the patient received their care.  This decline in costs was directly attributed to the use of patient decision making aids which they introduced.  The program started in 2009 and spanned six medical specialty areas.  By the end of 2012 GHC had distributed more than 30,000 aids to patients – “more than any other health care organization in the world.”   (The article led us to the discovery of the above two resources.  They are both referenced in it.)