Effect of a Brief Video Intervention on Incident Infection among Patients Attending Sexually Transmitted Disease Clinics

In a controlled trial at three urban STD clinics, Lee Warner and colleagues find that showing an educational video in waiting rooms reduced new infections by approximately 10%

In California, Primary Care Continuity Was Associated With Reduced Emergency Department Use And Fewer Hospitalizations

The expansion of health insurance coverage to millions of Americans through the Affordable Care Act has given rise to concerns over increased use of emergency department (ED) and hospital services by previously uninsured populations. Prior research has also demonstrated that continuity with a regular source of primary care is associated with lower utilization of ED and inpatient services and with better patient satisfaction. We assessed the impact of a policy to increase patient adherence with an individual primary care provider or clinic and subsequent use of ED and hospital services in a California coverage program for previously uninsured adults called the Health Care Coverage Initiative. We found that the policy was associated with increased probability of primary care provider adherence (change in probability = 42%). Furthermore, patients who were always adherent had a higher probability of having no ED visits (change in probability = 2.0%) and no hospitalizations (change in probability = 1.7%) compared to those who were never adherent. Primary care provider adherence can reduce utilization of costly care because it allows patients’ health care needs to be managed within the less-expensive primary care setting