Objective: The objective of this study was to quantify the wait times that patients may encounter for common clinical diagnoses when seeking otolaryngology care, while determining whether a wait time disparity exists based on geographic location within Illinois.
Methods: In November 2022, a list of Illinois otolaryngologists was obtained from www.entnet.org. Using a uniform script, each of the 291 otolaryngologists were contacted. The caller posed as a new patient with either sudden sensorineural hearing loss, a neck mass, or chronic sinusitis. Each clinic was called 3 times and wait times were recorded. One hundred fifty-eight otolaryngologists were included in the analysis.
Results: The average statewide wait time for a new patient presenting with sudden unilateral hearing loss, a neck mass, and chronic sinusitis was 18.0, 22.6, and 25.5 days, respectively. There was no statistically significant difference between urban and rural wait times.
Discussion: Although wait time differences were noted, the lack of urban versus rural value significance may be attributed to the small sample size ( = 11) of rural otolaryngologists in Illinois. However, the overall wait times in this study were longer compared to those reported in other studies, suggesting that the current number of otolaryngologists in Illinois is inadequate to meet the public need.
Implications For Practice: We have demonstrated that the current demand for otolaryngology care is outstripping the existing supply in Illinois. This suggests that an emphasis should be placed on training more otolaryngologists, or increasing the use of physician extenders, while incentivizing otolaryngologists to practice in rural areas.
Level Of Evidence: 5.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/oto2.63 | DOI Listing |
J Adv Nurs
January 2025
Faculty of Health, School of Nursing, Queensland University of Technology, Kelvin Grove, Queensland, Australia.
Aim: To evaluate the impact of a participatory, action-oriented implementation study, guided by the integrated Promoting Action on Research Implementation in Health Services framework, for optimising pain care processes in a tertiary paediatric emergency department.
Design: Hybrid type 3 implementation effectiveness.
Methods: A collaborative appraisal of the context and culture of pain care informed two interdependent action cycles: Enabling nurse-initiated analgesia and involving families in pain care.
Can Fam Physician
January 2025
Objective: To provide primary care physicians with a review of common oral white lesions and a practical management algorithm.
Sources Of Information: Between January and April 2024 relevant literature and clinical guidelines were searched for using the PubMed MEDLINE database with no date limitation.
Main Message: A broad differential diagnosis exists for white lesions of the oral cavity.
Can Fam Physician
January 2025
Family medicine and emergency medicine physician practising in the South Shore region of Nova Scotia.
Objective: To provide primary care providers (PCPs) with an approach for diagnosing and managing endocervical polyps, detailing a procedural technique for cervical polypectomy and outlining key information on when to refer to a gynecologist.
Sources Of Information: This review and approach are based on the second author's clinical practice and available literature from 1994 to 2023.
Main Message: Cervical polyps are commonly asymptomatic and benign, but can cause intermenstrual and postcoital bleeding.
MDM Policy Pract
January 2025
Centre for Health Economics, University of York, Heslington, York, UK.
Unlabelled: Reducing hospital waiting lists for elective procedures is a policy concern in the National Health Service (NHS) in England. Following growth in waiting lists after COVID-19, the NHS published an elective recovery plan that includes an aim to prioritize patients from deprived areas. We use a previously developed model to estimate the health and health inequality impact under hypothetical targeted versus universal policies to reduce waiting time.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFDev Psychol
January 2025
Department of Psychology, Stanford University.
Overcoming challenges to achieve success involves being able to spontaneously come up with effective strategies to address different task demands. Research has linked individual differences in such strategy generation and use to optimal development over time and greater success across many areas of life. Yet, there is surprisingly little experimental evidence that tests how we might help young children to spontaneously generate and apply effective strategies across different challenging tasks.
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