Background: Pharmacist-led peri-discharge interventions reduce adverse drug events. However, evidence is lacking as to whether there is a business case to fund these non-billable interventions. To test whether such interventions could drive reductions in post-discharge health care utilization to help build a business case, we conducted a pragmatic randomized controlled trial (RCT). Methods: The PHARMacist [...]

Background: Pharmacist-led peri-discharge interventions reduce adverse drug events. However, evidence is lacking as to whether there is a business case to fund these non-billable interventions. To test whether such interventions could drive reductions in post-discharge health care utilization to help build a business case, we conducted a pragmatic randomized controlled trial (RCT). Methods: The PHARMacist [...]

Background: An estimated 20-30% of inpatient standing labs are medically unnecessary1, contributing to iatrogenic anemia2, sleep disruption3, and increased healthcare costs. The Society of Hospital Medicine identified routine repetitive complete blood count (CBC) and chemistry (BMP) as a common wasteful inpatient practice4. At our institution, repetitive inpatient CBC, BMP, magnesium, and phosphorus account for 500,000 [...]

Background: Sleep in hospitalized adults is impaired due to several reasons. Non-pharmacological approaches should be attempted first before considering medications to treat insomnia. Environmental noise levels in the hospital are also a major culprit that might result in disturbed sleep. While limiting any disturbance or sound during sleeping hours is crucial, it might not be [...]

Background: The Surviving Sepsis Campaign strongly recommends that all hospitals screen for sepsis as part of performance improvement. The effect of screening for sepsis on mortality, length of stay, and time to antibiotics is uncertain. Methods: A systematic literature search was conducted using Cochrane Library, Google Scholar, Ovid Embase, Ovid Medline, Scopus, and Web of [...]

Background: Individuals with diabetes have a 2–3 fold higher hospitalization rate compared to those without diabetes. During hospitalization, individuals with diabetes frequently experience elevated blood glucose levels (or, hyperglycemia) (1), which can increase monitoring by nurses and hospitalists, length of stay, and healthcare cost. Therefore, we sought to develop a machine learning model to predict [...]

Background: In-hospital cardiac arrest (IHCA) remains a leading cause of mortality in the United States, with an estimated 290,000 cases annually and survival to discharge rates ranging from 15% to 40% as of 2024. For those patients who achieve return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC), predicting their neurological outcome and survival in the intensive care unit [...]

Background: Hypoglycemia occurs frequently in hospitalized adults with diabetes, and is associated with adverse clinical events, increased use of rapid response teams, prolonged hospital length of stay, and higher healthcare costs (1). Identifying risk of hypoglycemia in hospitalized adults is vital to preventing adverse events and maximizing patient safety. However, there are no tools/models to [...]

Background: Preoperative diastolic dysfunction has been proposed as an independent predictor of major adverse cardiac events (MACE) and death after non-cardiac surgery. However, most studies supporting this association have included non-emergent procedures and utilized E/e’ ratio as the predominant echocardiographic variable evaluating diastolic function. Compared to patients undergoing elective surgeries, hip fracture surgery patients are [...]

Background: Discharge planning plays a critical role in managing hospital length of stay (1). We report on the implementation of a program in a large hospital system where health care providers were requested to estimate and record the Medically Ready for Discharge Date (MRDD) in the electronic health record (EHR) for hospitalized patients to facilitate [...]