Does teaching medical students in the office affect the way physicians complete patient-encounter forms?
OBJECTIVE
To determine whether teaching medical students has concurrent economic effects on physicians and their practices.


METHODS
The authors reviewed 869 patient-encounter forms completed in April 1994 and July 1995 by four family medicine physicians who were clinical faculty at the State University of New York Health Science Center at Syracuse. The authors compared those forms that were completed when a third-year medical student was present for the patient encounter with those completed when a student was not present. The authors looked for differences in the distributions of billing codes and in the frequencies of in-office procedures performed and diagnostic tests ordered.


RESULTS
The presence or absence of a third-year medical student had no significant effect on the variables studied.


CONCLUSIONS
In the clinical settings studied, concurrent medical student teaching did not appear to affect the distribution of billing codes or the frequency of in-office procedures performed or diagnostic tests ordered.
Heath
J M
JM
University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, New Brunswick, USA. heathjm@rwja.umdnj.edu
Beatty
P G
PG
D000066:Accounting; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D002982:Clinical Clerkship; D019411:Clinical Laboratory Techniques; D003952:Diagnostic Imaging; D005194:Family Practice / Q000191:economics / Q000458:organization & administration; D005251:Fees, Medical; D005568:Forms and Records Control; D006801:Humans; D008499:Medical Records; D009518:New York; D005791:Patient Care; D010824:Physicians' Offices; D011216:Practice Management, Medical / Q000191:economics / Q000458:organization & administration; D013337:Students, Medical; D013663:Teaching / Q000379:methods*