Background: Serious Illness Conversations (SICs) lead to a better understanding of patient values and preferences, improved patient and family satisfaction, and other benefits. Prognostic awareness and early identification of patients who may benefit from an SIC remains a challenge. Epic’s Risk of Unplanned Readmission (Readmission Risk Score), a composite score (0-100) that includes clinical factors [...]

Background: The Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS) survey distributed by The Center for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) services measures patient perceptions of hospital experience and impacts annual CMS reimbursement. This study focuses on the “Quiet at Night” variable, to identify the top box institutions and identify the key characteristics that enable [...]

Background: An estimated 1 in 5 patients are at risk for being readmitted to the hospital within 30 days of discharge. Readmissions put a large financial strain on the United States healthcare system and increase risk for poor patient care outcomes. The Centers for Medicare/Medicaid Services publicly report readmission data and have financial penalties for [...]

Background: Pain is ubiquitous; the 2019 National Health Survey indicated that 20.4% of adults had chronic pain and that for 7.4% of adults, pain limited work or life activities. Earlier research found racial disparities in the management of pain and opioid prescriptions in emergency department and surgical settings, but research has been more limited in [...]