Office laboratory procedures, office economics, patient and parent education, and urinary tract infection

This section updates the reader on four important areas of office practice: office laboratory procedures, office economics, patient and parent education, and urinary tract infections. Dr. Michael Aldous reviews the recent literature about office laboratory procedures, including the continued impact of the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Ammendments, what is new in the diagnosis of streptococcal pharyngitis, urinalysis improvements, the diagnosis of anemia, and which patients should undergo cholesterol screening. Dr. Rickey Williams discusses the literature on office economics, including new technology for billing and charting, whether pediatricians should bill for telephone calls, and the latest information on health care policy and the changes offices are facing with the growing managed care market. Dr. Burris Duncan reviews patient and parent education, including new apporaches to infant colic, sleep positioning for the prevention of sudden infant death, the need for the hepatitis B vaccine (which has been slowly implemented), and finally ways that pediatricians can help with parenting. Dr. John Ey discusses the recent literature on urinary tract infections in children, including better ways of making the diagnosis, whether there are any new treatment approaches for urinary tract infections, useful investigational studies for evaluating the urinary system, and how best to follow up children with infected urinary tracts. We hope that this review will help the practicing pediatrician to better care for patients and provide each of you with a greater satisfaction in delivering health care in an office setting.