Electronic risk alerts to improve primary care management of chest pain: a randomized, controlled trial.

Background: The primary care evaluation of chest pain represents a significant diagnostic challenge.

Objective: To determine if electronic alerts to physicians can improve the quality and safety of chest pain evaluations.

Design And Participants: Randomized, controlled trial conducted between November 2008 and January 2010 among 292 primary care clinicians caring for 7,083 adult patients with chest pain and no history of cardiovascular disease.

Measuring the range of services clinicians are responsible for in ambulatory practice.

Rationale, Aims And Objectives: At present, the range of services delivered in a health system is not known. Currently there are no accepted methods for defining the scope of ambulatory care. Therefore we used data from the electronic medical record and billing system of a large non-profit multi-specialty group practice to measure the number of different diagnoses that clinicians managed as well as the number of different medications, laboratory tests, imaging studies, referrals and procedures ordered.

Cultural competency training and performance reports to improve diabetes care for black patients: a cluster randomized, controlled trial.

Background: Increasing clinician awareness of racial disparities and improving communication may enhance diabetes care among black patients.

Objective: To evaluate the effect of cultural competency training and performance feedback for primary care clinicians on diabetes care for black patients.

Design: Cluster randomized, controlled trial conducted between June 2007 and May 2008.