Background: Over the last few decades, roles and specialties in medicine have proliferated, complicating inpatient care. Care teams can include multiple types of clinicians, whose roles and responsibilities may be unclear. This can impact how patients understand who is in charge and various aspects of their care. We sought to examine these questions:1. How well [...]

Background: Distrust of the healthcare system is longstanding in Black communities. This may especially threaten the health of the population when a highly contagious infection strikes. Perceptions, knowledge, and personal safety practices related to COVID-19 are unknown among hospitalized Black patients who distrust the healthcare system. Methods: Black patients hospitalized patients were surveyed between November [...]

Background: Compassion, considered a cornerstone of quality healthcare by patients, families, clinicians, and policymakers, is believed to have wide-ranging benefits, including improving clinical outcomes, increasing patient satisfaction with services, and enhancing the quality of information gathered from patients. Compassion-filled interactions may also promote clinician wellbeing, decrease burnout, and improve mental health. Compassion is thought to [...]

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 [...]