The treatment of urinary tract infections is discussed. Specific issues considered include the definition of asymptomatic bacteriuria, the prevalence of asymptomatic bacteriuria, the controversies of who should be treated, and antimicrobial treatment of asymptomatic bacteriuria. (MLW)

Factor analytic development of various measures of consumer perceptions regarding characteristics of doctors and health care services is described. Findings are discussed in relation to program planning and evaluation in medical education, and suggestions for future research are noted. (Editor/JT)

A study to test whether or not a computer network can be used to ease the isolation of housebound AIDS patients and help them get advice and make decisions about their health care is described. The research is supported by the National Institutes of Health. (MLW)

Physicians are in positions to make decisions on which lives depend. The question of who should be making decisions concerning medical research and practice is a moral issue. The problems of medical ethics concern such concepts as autonomy, burden of proof, coercion, informed consent, paternalism, and diminished capacity. (SW)

Recent discussion of the ethical problems of biomedical human experimentation has drawn attention to the responsibility of the medical schools for training new clinical investigators and for safeguarding the rights and welfare of the subjects of clinical research conducted in the medical schools and their affiliated hospitals. (Author)

The valuable role that predoctoral dental and dental hygiene student involvement in specialized hospital programs can play in the educational process is described. The University of Maryland Dental School program emphasizes the involvement of students in major clinical research related to cancer patients. (Author/MLW)

The doctrine of informed consent has been enumerated to protect the rights of human subjects involved in biomedical research. The elements of informed consent are summarized along with the changes of emphasis that have evolved. The issue of liability and means for minimizing its impact are discussed. (Author/MLW)

Five years of experience using the services of a clinical medical librarian at the Hospital of the Medical College of Pennsylvania are reviewed. There were increases in the use of the librarian for patient-related queries, research, and oral presentations. (Author/MLW)

Some problems in the changing pattern of relationships between bedside teaching, clinical research, and provision of medical services in academic hospitals are examined, including patient types, sophistication of medical intervention, and specialization. Four elements of government policy that might favor desirable development in these areas are…

A system of data recording and retrieval which defines a family practice population of patients is described. The costs of this recording process in nonteaching practices, the use of such data as an educational resource for the training of primary care physicians, and the evaluations of health care delivered are discussed. (Editor/JT)

Reports studies of the validity of medical data recorded and computerized at University of Western Ontario family medical centers. In the 59 encounters observed residents recorded an average of 1.51 problems and observers 2.45. Implications for medical education, audit, research, computer systems, and quality of care are discussed. (JT)

The purposes of this conference were: (1) to present research representing a variety of topics and study designs; (2) to disseminate findings of nursing research; and (3) to stimulate the use of research and theory as a basis for clinical, educational, and administrative practice. The keynote address and two invited presentations are presented in…