Clinical Inertia
Authors: Lawrence S. Phillips, Joyce P. Doyle, William T. Branch
Journal: Annals of Internal Medicine (2002)

Letters17 September 2002Clinical InertiaLawrence S. Phillips, MD, Joyce P. Doyle, MD, and William T. Branch Jr., MDLawrence S. Phillips, MDEmory University; Atlanta, GA 30322Search for more papers by this author, Joyce P. Doyle, MDEmory University; Atlanta, GA 30322Search for more papers by this author, and William T. Branch Jr., MDEmory University; Atlanta, GA 30322Search for more papers by this authorAuthor, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/0003-4819-137-6-200209170-00027 SectionsAboutFull TextPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail IN RESPONSE:Our paper was prompted by observations that although many patients have chronic disorders that confer increased morbidity and mortality (1), they are often not managed to achieve the maximum potential benefit of therapy, despite strong evidence that treatment is beneficial and cost-effective and carries little major risk. In this context, Dr. Steinberg properly emphasizes that submaximal intensity of management may reflect the explicit wish of the patient. However, since national standards for care can be met in some real-world practice settings (2, 3), failure to meet such targets in other settings must be attributed either to patient self-selection ...References1. Ford ES, Giles WH, Dietz WH. Prevalence of the metabolic syndrome among US adults: findings from the third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. JAMA. 2002;287:356-9. [PMID: 11790215] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar2. Miller CD, Phillips LS, Tate MK, Porwoll JM, Rossman SD, Cronmiller N, et al . Meeting American Diabetes Association guidelines in endocrinologist practice. Diabetes Care. 2000;23:444-8. [PMID: 10857932] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar3. Miller CD, Phillips LS, Ziemer DC, Gallina DL, Cook CB, El-Kebbi IM. Hypoglycemia in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. Arch Intern Med. 2001;161:1653-9. [PMID: 11434798] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar4. Cook CB, Ziemer DC, El-Kebbi IM, Gallina DL, Dunbar VG, Ernst KL, et al . Diabetes in urban African-Americans. XVI. Overcoming clinical inertia improves glycemic control in patients with type 2 diabetes. Diabetes Care. 1999;22:1494-500. [PMID: 10480515] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar5. Headrick LA, Speroff T, Pelecanos HI, Cebul RD. Efforts to improve compliance with the National Cholesterol Education Program guidelines. Results of a randomized, controlled trial. Arch Intern Med. 1992;152:2490-6. [PMID: 1456861] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar Author, Article, and Disclosure InformationAffiliations: Emory University; Atlanta, GA 30322 PreviousarticleNextarticle Advertisement FiguresReferencesRelatedDetailsSee AlsoClinical Inertia Lawrence S. Phillips , William T. Branch Jr. , Curtiss B. Cook , Joyce P. Doyle , Imad M. El-Kebbi , Daniel L. Gallina , Christopher D. Miller , David C. Ziemer , and Catherine S. Barnes Clinical Inertia Michael Steinberg Clinical Inertia James L. Wofford Clinical Inertia Daniel Reinharth Metrics Cited byStatine 17 September 2002Volume 137, Issue 6Page: 548KeywordsHeart failureHypertensionHypoglycemiaHypotensionMorbidityMortalityOrthostasisOsteoporosisPostural controlStroke ePublished: 17 September 2002 Issue Published: 17 September 2002 Copyright & PermissionsCopyright © 2002 by American College of Physicians. All Rights Reserved.PDF downloadLoading ...