Building Research Capacity (BRC): Purposes, Components, and Activities to Date.

The Building Research Capacity (BRC) initiative was founded in 2015 as a collaboration between the Association of Departments of Family Medicine (ADFM) and the North American Primary Care Research Group (NAPCRG). It aims to enhance family medicine research engagement by helping develop researchers, research educators, and research leaders. Through consultations, a fellowship, tailored presentations at national conferences, and ongoing assessment, BRC addresses the dynamic needs of various stakeholders in family medicine research.

Building a Culture of Curiosity in Family Medicine to Increase Research Capacity.

Family medicine as a discipline is the foundation of health care systems. In addition to clinical practice and education, research is a professional duty for family physicians. Unfortunately, the culture of family medicine has historically de-emphasized research.

Family Medicine Must Prepare for Artificial Intelligence.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is poised to revolutionize family medicine, offering a transformative approach to achieving the Quintuple Aim. This article examines the imperative for family medicine to adapt to the rapidly evolving field of AI, with an emphasis on its integration in clinical practice. AI's recent advancements have the potential to significantly transform health care.

Shared Language for Shared Work in Population Health.

People working on behalf of population health, community health, or public health often experience confusion or ambiguity in the meaning of these and other common terms-the similarities and differences and how they bear on the tasks and division of labor for care delivery and public health. Shared language must be clear enough to help, not hinder people working together as they ultimately come to mutual understanding of roles, responsibilities, and actions in their joint work. Based on an iterative lexicon development process, the authors developed and propose a definitional framework as an aid to navigating among related population and community health terms.

Evolution and Evaluation of a Quality and Patient Safety Fellowship for Practicing Health Professionals.

Developing clinical quality champions is an important strategy for improving health care quality. The NorthShore Quality and Patient Safety Fellowship was a yearlong program for practicing physicians devoting 4 hours/wk to a didactic curriculum and quality practicum. Thirty-seven clinicians completed the Fellowship from 2011 to 2018.

Attitudes and Perceptions of Research Among US Family Medicine Department Chairs.

Background And Objectives: The capacity for research within family medicine has historically been low despite its importance. The aim of this study was to learn more about the perceptions of family medicine department chairs regarding research and its role in their departments and institutions.

Methods: We analyzed a 2016 cross-sectional survey with responses from 109/142 (77% response) US chairs of allopathic departments of family medicine (DFMs) regarding departmental research capacity, research experience, and perceptions of research in the department and institution.

Advancing bibliometric assessment of research productivity: an analysis of US Departments of Family Medicine.

INTRODUCTION Measurement of family medicine research productivity has lacked the replicable methodology needed to document progress. AIM In this study, we compared three methods: (1) faculty-to-publications; (2) publications-to-faculty; and (3) department-reported publications. METHODS In this cross-sectional analysis, publications in peer-reviewed, indexed journals for faculty in 13 US family medicine departments in 2015 were assessed.

The Current State of Research Capacity in US Family Medicine Departments.

Background And Objectives: Capacity for conducting family medicine research has grown significantly since the specialty was founded. Many calls to increase this capacity have been published, but there has been no consistent, systematic, and longitudinal assessment. This survey was designed to gather baseline data with an easily replicable set of measures associated with research productivity that can guide and monitor the impact of efforts to build research capacity in US departments of family medicine (DFMs).

The Scholarly Output of Faculty in Family Medicine Departments.

Background And Objectives: While prior efforts have assessed the scope of family medicine research, the methods have differed, and the efforts have not been routinely repeated. The purpose of this analysis was to quantify publications, journals, citations, and funding of US family medicine faculty and identify factors associated with these outcomes.

Methods: We identified faculty in US departments of family medicine through website searches and performed a cross-sectional study.

Barriers to Achieving Optimal Success with Medical Cannabis: Opportunities for Quality Improvement.

This commentary describes the clinician experience of certifying patients for medical cannabis (MC) in a north suburban Chicago integrative family medicine practice. The physician and research assistant performed a comprehensive chart review of the first 166 MC patients certified in the practice. Based on this review, barriers and opportunities were elucidated to improve delivery of MC therapy in Illinois within the existing framework of regulation, licensing, certification, and distribution.

Perspectives of Health-Care Providers Toward Advance Care Planning in Patients With Advanced Cancer and Congestive Heart Failure.

Background: Advance care planning (ACP) discussions afford patients and physicians a chance to better understand patients' values and wishes regarding end-of-life care; however, these conversations typically take place late in the course of a disease. The goal of this study was to clarify attitudes of oncologists, cardiologists, and primary care physicians (PCPs) toward ACP and to identify persistent barriers to timely ACP discussion following a quality improvement initiative at our health system geared at improvement in ACP implementation.

Methods: A 20-question, cross-sectional online survey was created and distributed to cardiologists, oncologists, PCPs, and cardiology and oncology support staff at the NorthShore University HealthSystem (NorthShore) from February to March 2015.

A Plan for Useful and Timely Family Medicine and Primary Care Research.

Our nation's health care system is changing. Nowhere is this more evident than in primary care, where fundamental improvements are necessary if we are to achieve the Triple Aim. Such improvements are possible if we can put useful and timely information into the hands of stakeholders to enable practical decision-making.

A technology-based quality innovation to identify undiagnosed hypertension among active primary care patients.

Purpose: The goal of this study was to develop a technology-based strategy to identify patients with undiagnosed hypertension in 23 primary care practices and integrate this innovation into a continuous quality improvement initiative in a large, integrated health system.

Methods: In phase 1, we reviewed electronic health records (EHRs) using algorithms designed to identify patients at risk for undiagnosed hypertension. We then invited each at-risk patient to complete an automated office blood pressure (AOBP) protocol.

The association of English ability and glycemic control among Latinos with diabetes.

Objective: Language barriers may be significant contributors to diabetes disparities. We sought to assess the association of English speaking ability with glycemic control among Latinos with diabetes.

Methods: We analyzed 167 Latinos from a cross-sectional survey of adults with type 2 diabetes.

The status of adult inpatient care by family physicians at US academic medical centers and affiliated teaching hospitals 2003 to 2012: the impact of the hospitalist movement.

Background And Objectives: Over the past 10--15 years, the number of hospitalists has grown from a few hundred to over 30,000, and hospitalists have assumed a greater proportion of the care of hospitalized patients. No existing studies report on the impact this movement has had on the characteristics of the hospital practice of family physicians in teaching hospitals. To explore this impact we examined the volume and scope of discharges by family physicians at teaching hospitals in 2003 and 2012, the most recent decade of hospitalist growth.

Increasing burden of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus hospitalizations at US academic medical centers, 2003-2008.

Objective: The incidence of invasive methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infections in the United States decreased during 2005-2008, but noninvasive community-associated MRSA (CA-MRSA) infections also frequently lead to hospitalization. We estimated the incidence of all MRSA infections among inpatients at US academic medical centers (AMCs) per 1,000 admissions during 2003-2008.

Design: Retrospective cohort study.

PURLs: Help for recurrent bacterial vaginosis.

Suggest that women who are plagued by recurrent episodes of BV try vaginal probiotic capsules.

Use physical therapy to head off this deformity in infants. Consider early PT to prevent severe deformational plagiocephaly.

Identify infants with positional preference early and consider referral to pediatric physical therapy at 7 or 8 weeks to prevent severe deformational plagiocephaly.