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Benefits Of Resident-Researched Resource Manual In An Outpatient Resident Clinic- A
Survey Based Quality Improvement Project
Jasolosky, E, D.O., Johnson, M, D.O., Manyan, J, D.O.
Kent Hospital, Warwick, RI
Introduction: One of the great challenges for a resident entering a family medicine residency
program in a new area is quickly developing familiarity with local resources and ancillary services
available to deliver the best care possible to their patient panel. Being a relatively new residency
program our continuity clinic has limited resources and no personnel with training in resource
counseling. As family practice interns entering a suburban program practice in Rhode Island with
no dedicated on site social services or coordinated care support, our research focused on
improving access to those resources. Historically, residency practices tend to have more chronic
illnesses and less health insurance than the larger population. We hope to be communityresponsive
primary care providers with the ability to see the socio-cultural needs of the patient
and connect them with community health resources as this is a method of training recognized to
help create physicians capable of serving underserved populations. Providing patients with more
health education material and greater access to care also improves their quality of care.
Methods: Our initial investigation involved our local health department to determine if there was
a consolidated resource available; there was no single resource to be found. We set out to
create a resource manual to be used in the family and internal medicine residency practice to aid
residents and attendings in connecting patients with appropriate resources as well as decreasing
time to find these materials. A pre and post development survey was conducted of the family
medicine and internal medicine residents, attendings, and staff members of our outpatient office.
Results: Of those questioned, it was felt that patients would be happier if their physician was
more resourceful and that more than half surveyed felt their current knowledge was inadequate to
guide their patients with resources. Most people felt they did not know enough about resources
for the elderly, pediatrics, uninsured, pain management, victims of abuse, or other free services.
The majority of people surveyed felt that a consolidated resource manual would help them be
better providers. The post survey was performed 6 weeks after the pre survey and all
participants felt that a trained personnel would be of most benefit to the practice compared to a
written manual.
Conclusion: Our desire to improve what we saw as a gap in care for our patients was driven by
a need for improved access to resource identification and utilization. The identification of
healthcare support services and disease management as crucial to improving the health of the
general population has spurred federal and local investment in these services in several
communities and pilot studies. However, many primary care providers still do not have the
financial ability to access resource experts. A manual that is easy to access has proven helpful,
though not ideal, in our office setting. Moving forward other point of care resources that we see
as helpful to develop and investigate would be a mobile smartphone application that would
provide a similar service on a very local level. The need for health care and human resources is
an international one, with studies showing that the more resources for health, the lower the
morbidity and mortality for patients. We hope that in creating this resource manual we will
improve our care of, and the health and wellness of our patients.