Background: There is controversy over the use of D‐dimer to exclude pulmonary embolism (PE) in patients hospitalized for other reasons. Some authors have suggested that D‐dimer has limited clinical utility for inpatients because of its poor specificity. However, those authors tested D‐dimer in “unselected inpatients undergoing radiologic evaluation for possible venous thromboembolism.” In 2003, Kruip [...]

Background: The handoff of patient information and care is a vulnerable time during hospitalization. Inadequate communication during handoffs is associated with adverse events and near misses. Although recent guidelines from both the Institute of Medicine and the Joint Commission emphasize the need for standardized patient handoffs, there is limited data on the efficacy of standardized [...]

Background: Reducing hospital readmission rates will decrease medical costs and improve public health. Moreover, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) will no longer reimburse hospitals for certain “preventable readmissions.” The objective of this study was to determine the predictors of 30‐day readmissions in patients discharged from the hospital internal medicine service. Methods: This [...]

Background: Patients who are admitted to the hospital often get various diagnostic radiological studies. These tests reveal incidental radiological findings unrelated to their current illness. Purpose: This study was to evaluate the prevalence of these incidental radiological findings among hospitalized general medicine patients that would require further imaging to rule out malignancy. We also assessed [...]

Background: Inhalers are often used incorrectly by patients. Therefore, guidelines recommend evaluation of patient comprehension and education of respiratory inhaler use at all points of care, including hospitals. Determining ways to target use of instruction methods is important in resource‐limited environments, For instance, if patients are able to accurately self‐identify their need for instruction, this [...]

Background: Risk‐based testing for HIV has been shown to have a limited impact on the rates of screening, and the latest CDC guidelines were expanded to recommend routine, voluntary HIV testing in all health care settings for patients aged 1364 years old. A physician‐driven “opt‐out” policy for HIV screening is in place for hospitalized patients [...]

Background: The eighth National Patient Safety Goal, developed by the Joint Commission in 2009, emphasizes the importance of reconciliation of medications during the entire period of hospitalization. The medication reconciliation process starts with obtaining the medication history of a patient at the time of hospital admission. Inaccuracies in the home medication list may persist across [...]

Background: The Internal Medicine Preoperative Assessment Consultation and Treatment (IMPACT) Center is a referral‐based clinic providing standardized preoperative evaluation by staff hospitalists. Our aim was to determine whether referral to the IMPACT Center decreased the likelihood of postoperative cardiac events in patients undergoing elective noncardiac surgery (NCS). Methods: We performed a retrospective cohort study of [...]

Background: Several randomized and observational trials in the past decade and the more recent ACC/AHA guidelines support the use of preoperative beta‐blockers (PBBs) in selected patients undergoing noncardiac surgery (NCS). The Internal Medicine Preoperative Assessment Consultation and Treatment (IMPACT) Center is a referral‐based clinic providing standardized preoperalive evaluation by hospitalists. We sought to determine whether [...]

Background: Length of stay (LOS) is increasingly being recognized as an important quality measure. It reflects the total number of days a patient actually spends in the hospital until discharge and encompasses the cumulative time of the initial sickness, the treatment duration in the inpatient setting, time for testing and throughput issues, and any secondary [...]