The Journal of the American Board of Family Practice, Vol 12, Issue 2 128-132, Copyright © 1999 by American Board of Family Practice

ARTICLES

Pediatric admissions by family physicians and pediatricians in a semirural environment: implications for residency training

J. G. Bertolino and T. P. Gessner
Family Practice Residency, Latrobe, PA 15650, USA.

BACKGROUND: The 3-year family practice residency curriculum includes longitudinal care of children in the family health center and a 4-month experience dedicated to the care of children. This study was designed to compare the diseases of hospitalized children cared for by family physicians and pediatricians and to examine the use of pediatricians as consultants by family physicians. METHODS: The study included all patients younger than 18 years who were discharged by a family physician or a pediatrician from this semirural hospital during a 3-year period. The primary discharge diagnosis, physician, consultations, and transfer status were recorded. RESULTS: Family physicians cared for 37 percent of the 4169 pediatric patients discharged during the study. Infectious diseases and their complications were the most common conditions for patients who were discharged beyond the newborn period. The 15 most frequent discharge diagnoses were identical for family physicians and pediatricians, accounting for about 86 percent of all discharge diagnoses. Pediatricians, however, cared for 86 percent of the newborns with major complications and were responsible for 80 percent of the infants and children who were transferred. The overall inpatient consultation rate of pediatricians by family physicians was 8 percent, whereas the consultation rate for nonneonatal-related discharges was 20 percent. CONCLUSION: In this semirural environment, family physicians and pediatricians care for a very similar mix of hospitalized pediatric patients. Pediatricians, however, care for a greater proportion of newborns with major complications.
CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    What's this?

This article has been cited by other articles:

				A. K. Boulis and J. Long Variation in the Treatment of Children by Primary Care Physician Specialty Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med, December 1, 2002; 156(12): 1210 - 1215. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]