Publications by authors named "Benjamin Kass"
Background: Patients with atopic dermatitis (AD) frequently use acupuncture (ACU) and osteopathic medicine (OM), although their therapeutic benefits are unclear.
Aim: To investigate the effectiveness of ACU and OM in patients with AD.
Methods: In a three-armed, single-centre, randomized controlled open explorative clinical trial, adult patients with AD received ACU, OM or no study intervention (control group; CG) plus routine care.
Objective: Stroke remains a leading cause of premature death, impairment and reduced quality of life. Its aftercare is performed by numerous different health care service providers, resulting in a high need for coordination. Personally delivered patient navigation (PN) is a promising approach for managing pathways through health care systems and for improving patient outcomes.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Using patient audio recordings of medical visits to provide clinicians with feedback on their attention to patient life context in care planning can improve health care delivery and outcomes, and reduce costs. However, such an initiative can raise concerns across stakeholders about surveillance, intrusiveness and merit. This study examined the perspectives of patients, physicians and other clinical staff, and facility leaders over 3 years at six sites during the implementation of a patient-collected audio quality improvement program designed to improve patient-centered care in a non-threatening manner and with minimal effort required of patients and clinicians.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: The United States Department of Veterans Affairs established a program in which actors incognito portray veterans experiencing homelessness with pre-determined needs to identify barriers to access and services at community-based organizations.
Methods: From 2017 to 2019, actors who varied in gender, skin color and age portrayed one of three scripts at all VA Community-Based Resource and Referral Centers (CRRCs) serving veterans experiencing homelessness in 30 cities and completed an evaluative survey. They carried authentic VA identification and were registered in a VA patient database for each identity.
Background: Nonspecific chronic neck pain (cNP) is common in adult violinists and violists and is often treated with osteopathic medicine (OM), although the effectiveness of this treatment has not been determined to date. This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of OM in adult violinists and violists with cNP.
Methods: In a two-armed randomized controlled single-center open trial, adult violinists and violists, including music students, with cNP (⩾12 weeks) were randomized to either five individualized OM sessions (OM group) or to no intervention (control group, CG) in the outpatient clinic for integrative medicine, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Germany.
An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via the original article.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: A number of German statutory health insurance companies are offering integrated care contracts for homeopathy (ICCHs) that cover the reimbursement of homeopathic treatment. The effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of these contracts are highly debated.
Methods: To evaluate the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of treatment after an additional enrollment in an ICCH, a comparative, prospective, observational study was conducted in which participants in the ICCH (HOM group) were compared with matched (on diagnosis, sex and age) insured individuals (CON group) who received usual care alone.
Article Synopsis
- Evidence-based care plans often fail when they overlook important patient life circumstances, known as contextual factors, like social support loss or financial difficulties, which can hinder effective care.
- A quality improvement program was initiated to help clinicians become more aware of these contextual factors by giving them ongoing feedback based on audio recordings of patient visits, analyzed using a specific method called 4C.
- Results showed a significant increase in the clinician's attention to contextual factors, improving from 67% to 72% after feedback, indicating that addressing these factors can enhance patient outcomes.