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Increasing Primary Care and Immunizations in Children Paul M. Darden, MD |
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A primary health care provider is the first person contacted when someone is ill. Primary care is comprehensive, coordinating any needed special care, and it continues over time. Two substantial parts of primary care are immunizations ("shots" or medicine given by mouth that prevents serious illnesses such as polio or measles) and treatments for chronic (long-term) conditions (such as diabetes or hypertension) that can be treated outside a hospital. In order to get the most benefit from these types of care, they must be timely, so schedules have been created to let patients know when they should see their primary care provider. These schedules can be complex, so this project will study what happens if families get postcards reminding them that it is time to make appointments for immunizations and care for chronic diseases of children. If the appointments are not made or if the patients do not go to them, they will be called. Other projects have shown that these efforts pay off and more children get immunizations and health maintenance treatments when reminders are sent. The first step will be to create a database so physicians will know who has had immunizations. This project also will compare the effectiveness of reminders and phone calls in two sites: a public institution (MUSC's Department of Pediatrics) and in a private pediatrician's office. |
