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Meetings Archive For Hospital Medicine 2010, April 8-11, Washington, D.C...

Abstract Number: 20
Long‐Term Retention of Central Venous Catheter Insertion Skills after a Simulation‐Based Mastery Learning Intervention
Hospital Medicine 2010, April 8-11, Washington, D.C.
Background: Serious or fatal iatrogenic complications occur in 2.9% to 3.7% of hospitalized patients, and medical procedures are the second most common cause of these complications. In prior work we showed that a mastery learning intervention featuring a central venous catheter (CVC) simulator and ultrasound significantly reduces procedural complications and improves patient care. Whether skills […]
Abstract Number: 21
Coding for Hospitalized Patients with Acute Decompensated Heart Failure May Miss the Diagnosis
Hospital Medicine 2010, April 8-11, Washington, D.C.
Background: The Joint Commission core measures for hospitalized patients with acute decompensated heart failure (ADHF) include: use of ACE inhibitors for left ventricular systolic dysfunction, discharge instructions with specific information, left ventricle ejection fraction assessment, and tobacco cessation counseling, Evaluation of compliance is based on patients coded with ICD‐9 code 428 as the primary diagnosis. […]
Abstract Number: 22
Preparing for the Next Pandemic Flu: The Role of the Medical Student — A View from Within
Hospital Medicine 2010, April 8-11, Washington, D.C.
Background: The rising incidence of patients seeking hospital services with flulike illness and related complications has every health care system preparing for busy flu seasons. Based on lessons from previous pandemic flu events, there are concerns about shortages in supplies and health care staff. Hospitalists are likely to be called on to provide and lead […]
Abstract Number: 23
Can Hospitalists Identify Clinical Excellence in Their Peers?
Hospital Medicine 2010, April 8-11, Washington, D.C.
Background: Academic medical centers have tripartite missions focused on education, research, and clinical care. Promotion decisions are largely based on research accomplishments. Excellence in patient care in academia had not been well defined until recently, and it has been difficult to measure. Hospitalists work closely with each other and have opportunities to evaluate their peers' […]
Abstract Number: 24
Introduction of a Discharge Template to Improve Discharge Documentation for Patients with Heart Failure
Hospital Medicine 2010, April 8-11, Washington, D.C.
Background: The time of hospital discharge is a pivotal period in the care of hospitalized patients and one during which patients are at particular risk for adverse events. This is especially true for patients with heart failure who often have multiple comorbidities and are on multiple medications, the doses of which are dependent on the […]
Abstract Number: 25
True Critical Hyperkalemia among Hospitalized Patients
Hospital Medicine 2010, April 8-11, Washington, D.C.
Background: Crilical hyperkalemia is a serious life‐threalening situation. However, we often encounter fictitious laboratory hyperkalemia due to specimen contamination or hemolysis during phlebotomy. This study determined the frequency of true critical hyperkalemia (potassium > 6.5 mEq/L) among hospitalized patients in an urban tertiary‐care academic center. Methods: This was a retrospective analysis of an administrative database of adult […]
Abstract Number: 26
Cost‐Effective Treatment of Patients with Acute Cholecystitis and Possible Common Bile Duct Stones
Hospital Medicine 2010, April 8-11, Washington, D.C.
Background: The diagnosis of acute cholecyslitis is usually straightforward, but determining whether common bile duct (CBD) stones are present is usually not. Clinicians rely on clues such as a dilated CBD, intrahepatic ductal dilation, elevated bilirubin and/or alkaline phosphatase, and jaundice to estimate the likelihood of CBD stones in patients with acute cholecystitis, Clinicians must […]
Abstract Number: 27
Newly Cleaned Physician Uniforms Have Similar Rates of Bacterial Contamination at the End of the Workday as Infrequently Washed White Coats
Hospital Medicine 2010, April 8-11, Washington, D.C.
Background: In 2007, the British Department of Health developed guidelines for health care workers regarding uniforms and work wear that banned the traditional white coat, long sleeves, jewelry, and neckties in the United Kingdom. To date, no studies have assessed whether physician white coats are more heavily contaminated by bacteria than newly cleaned physician uniforms. […]
Abstract Number: 28
Impact of a Rapid Response Team on Intensive Care Unit Readmission Rate
Hospital Medicine 2010, April 8-11, Washington, D.C.
Background: Rapid response teams (RRTs) assist in the assessment, treatment, and triage of hospitalized patients with physiologic instability, but their effectiveness in reducing transfers to the intensive care unit (ICU), cardiopulmonary arrests, and in‐hospital mortality has been questioned. Rounding by an RRT on patients recently discharged from an ICU is uncommon in American academic medical […]
Abstract Number: 29
Evaluating Readmission Rates: How Can We Improve?
Hospital Medicine 2010, April 8-11, Washington, D.C.
Background: Readmission to the hospital is a burden not only to patients, families, and health care workers but also to the health care system. The U.S. government spends an estimated $12 billion a year on potentially preventable readmissions for Medicare patients. As readmission rates have been accepted as a quality measure, hospitals with high rates […]