Background: Frequently hospitalized patients face unique challenges in navigating health care systems. Although practice-, hospital-, and accountable care organization-level programs to address the needs of these patients exist, interventions have had mixed results, with only some demonstrating reduction in hospitalizations or costs. To best serve frequently hospitalized patients and improve future interventions, clinicians, leaders, and [...]

Background: Obesity increases the risk of severe illness, hospitalizations, and death from most acute illnesses – particularly infectious diseases. (1,2) African American communities have been greatly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and are disproportionately impacted by the obesity epidemic in this country. (3, 4) However, little is known of their knowledge and attitudes related to [...]

Background: To evaluate prevalence of non-adherence to breast cancer screening guidelines after bedside educational intervention and informed individualized risk assessment score during an inpatient stay. Methods: A prospective intervention study was conducted among 507 cancer-free (except skin cancer) women aged 50-75 years hospitalized to a general medicine service. Study intervention included one-on-one bedside education via [...]

Background: Despite the proven mortality benefit of screening colonoscopy, approximately 27% of hospitalized women are non-adherent with colorectal cancer screening guidelines. Colonoscopy is the most frequently used test for colorectal cancer screening in US. Although Medicare and most insurance plans would cover screening colonoscopy, colorectal cancer screening has not been part of usual hospital care. [...]

Background: Hospital admissions at a tertiary care hospital occurs mostly by two routes: 1) through the Emergency Department (ED), and 2) through Transfer center. Several perceptions exist about transfer patients being more complex, and association with worse outcomes, or similar outcomes as compared to ED admits, and hence need for optimization of transfer decision and [...]