Evidence map›Paper›PMID 37147090›Full record

ArticleBMJ open2023

How does work environment relate to diagnostic quality? A prospective, mixed methods study in primary care.

Maram Khazen, Erin E Sullivan, Sophia Arabadjis, Jason Ramos, Maria Mirica, Andrew Olson, Mark Linzer, Gordon D Schiff

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in BMJ open, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors.

Maram KhazenHarvard Medical School, Center for Primary Care, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.ORCID 0000-0003-3165-3496
Erin E SullivanSuffolk University Sawyer Business School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
Sophia ArabadjisUniversity of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California, USA.
Jason RamosEmory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia, USA.
Maria MiricaBrigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
Andrew OlsonUniversity of Minnesota Medical School Twin Cities, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA.
Mark LinzerHennepin Healthcare System Inc, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA.
Gordon D SchiffHarvard Medical School, Center for Primary Care, Boston, Massachusetts, USA gschiff@bwh.harvard.edu.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectivesThe quest to measure and improve diagnosis has proven challenging; new approaches are needed to better understand and measure key elements of the diagnostic process in clinical encounters. The aim of this study was to develop a tool assessing key elements of the diagnostic assessment process and apply it to a series of diagnostic encounters examining clinical notes and encounters' recorded transcripts. Additionally, we aimed to correlate and contextualise these findings with measures of encounter time and physician burnout.

designWe audio-recorded encounters, reviewed their transcripts and associated them with their clinical notes and findings were correlated with concurrent Mini Z Worklife measures and physician burnout.

settingThree primary urgent-care settings.

participantsWe conducted in-depth evaluations of 28 clinical encounters delivered by seven physicians.

resultsComparing encounter transcripts with clinical notes, in 24 of 28 (86%) there was high note/transcript concordance for the diagnostic elements on our tool. Reliably included elements were red flags (92% of notes/encounters), aetiologies (88%), likelihood/uncertainties (71%) and follow-up contingencies (71%), whereas psychosocial/contextual information (35%) and mentioning common pitfalls (7%) were often missing. In 22% of encounters, follow-up contingencies were in the note, but absent from the recorded encounter. There was a trend for higher burnout scores being associated with physicians less likely to address key diagnosis items, such as psychosocial history/context.

conclusionsA new tool shows promise as a means of assessing key elements of diagnostic quality in clinical encounters. Work conditions and physician reactions appear to correlate with diagnostic behaviours. Future research should continue to assess relationships between time pressure and diagnostic quality.

Indexed as

PhysiciansWorking ConditionsForecastingHumansPrimary Health CareProspective StudiesPRIMARY CAREQUALITATIVE RESEARCHQuality in health care

Identifiers

PMID37147090
PMCPMC10163453

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.