Purpose: This commentary is written in response to a companion paper by Nan Bernstein Ratner ("Evidence-Based Practice: An Examination of its Ramifications for the Practice of Speech-Language Pathology"). Method: The comments reflect my experience as Vice President for Research and Technology of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association…

This Congressional oversight hearing was convened to examine evidence that many of the nation's nursing homes restrict or deny access to the elderly poor and disabled, leaving the 18 million Americans dependent on Medicaid especially vulnerable to neglect and exploitation. Evidence was heard on discriminatory admissions, on the practice of…

An evaluation was conducted of the diagnostic accuracy and treatment appropriateness of emergency medical technicians (EMTs) in caring for 4,455 consecutive patients during a four-and-one-half month period. Data on EMT diagnosis and treatment and physician diagnosis were collected, and EMT data validated by observers. There were fifty-eight…

The differences between what health professionals and the elderly perceive concerning the need for home health care were studied. Elderly persons were interviewed to ascertain their perceived needs while health professionals responded to a questionnaire. Preliminary analysis of the resulting data revealed that the most frequently perceived…

Information regarding critical factors in drug therapy is presented with the hope that it will enable individuals to better monitor the effects of prescribed medication. (MM)

The acute management of suicidal patients requires that the helper (1) be aware of feelings of anger and fear toward these patients and (2) try to understand the nature of the patients' depression and helpless feelings. (MM)

Evidence of biasing in judgments made by physicians was examined via individual interviews and written questionnaires from 38 university surgeons. Each surgeon estimated six quantities: his own number of major procedures during the past year, that of his specialty, and that of the entire service, as well as similar estimates for in-hospital…

Methods for assessing and monitoring the quality of care for research and for quality assurance programs are discussed. (Author/BB)

Established public and medical policies continue to focus on and support the health needs and diseases of the rich, while for Americans on the lower socioeconomic rungs, prevention is a myth, or at best something one does for oneself that doctors sanction. (MJB)

The author states that assessing a client's network and the support it provides expands the database available to the nurse for making decisions about care. She examines also the relationship between networks and stress, the use of networks to alert the nurse to patients at risk, and network building. (CT)

Notes that the rapid rise in private practice of an economic model known as "contract medicine" (such as the HMO) has introduced powerful new organizational constraints on interaction between member physicians and their patients. Examines the negotiation of specialty referral in two practices participating in contract plans. (MM)

In this review of the literature evaluating the effectiveness of continuing medical education (CME), 238 studies from 1935 to 1982 were reviewed and annotated using previously established and tested assessment criteria. CME interventions were found to have an impact on physician competence and, less consistently, on physician performance and…

The four most common techniques for assessing continuing education needs in the health professions are quality assessment, critical incident techniques, surveys, and literature searches. Each method tends to reflect different needs, real or felt. (SK)

The merits of systematic planning and the implementation and evaluation of a staff health education program are discussd. Health education programs for such target populations as the university staff are advocated. (JN)

Practical and heuristic reasons for evaluating the quality of mental health care on a college campus are given, an example of such an evaluation is presented, and difficulties in arriving at a valid assessment are discussed. (JD)