WEDNESDAY, May 25 (HealthDay News) -- A panel of physicians from the National Physicians Alliance (NPA) have identified common clinical activities, which could improve quality of care and use of clinical resources, according to a study published online May 23 in the Archives of Internal Medicine.
Stephen R. Smith, M.D., from the NPA in Washington, D.C., and colleagues from the Good Stewardship Working Group identified five activities in family medicine, internal medicine, and pediatrics to improve quality of care, as part of the project, "Promoting Good Stewardship in Clinical Practice." Working groups identified ideal, evidence-based activities, which were common in practice, and which would lead to considerable health benefits and reduced risks, harms, and costs. Field testing of the list of activities was first implemented by 83 physicians and then by an additional 172 physicians.
The investigators found that, after the first round of testing, one activity from the family medicine list needed deleting. During the second round of testing, there was strong support for all the activities. Three activities, independently chosen by the family medicine and internal medicine groups, were identical, with the final list reflecting 12 distinct activities that could improve clinical care.
"Physician panels in the primary care specialties of family medicine, internal medicine, and pediatrics identified common clinical activities that could lead to higher quality care and better use of finite clinical resources," the authors write.
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