As part of a demonstration study, 567 male patients presenting to a "walk-in" clinic with common genitourinary complaints were interviewed by health assistants guided by a protocol. Independent examination of 19 patients by a health assistant and a physician formally demonstrated that the health assistants could collect the clinical data accurately. Forty-four patients were then randomly chosen to be examined, diagnosed and treated either by a health assistant guided by the protocol and supported by an available physician, or only by a physician. Using medical records and a follow-up interview, we assessed the thoroughness of the medical record, adequacy of diagnosis and treatment, symptom relief, patient satisfaction and patient education: the health assistant-protocol system proved as safe and effective as the MD-only system, and the health assistants were able to manage 68% of patients without involving the physician. The study suggests that briefly-trained health assistants may help save physician and nurse time, and that the development of protocols can help set standards for the medical management of defined problems while providing a mechanism for rapidly creating a complete medical record which can be easily audited for conformance with standards.
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