Background: Medication reconciliation (MR) is critical for patient safety during hospital admissions and transitions, though MR completion may be complicated by factors such as lack of familiarity with the electronic medical record (EHR) or missing information at admission. Over the past three years, our urban academic quaternary care hospital has led a successful MR improvement [...]

Background: Medication reconciliation (MR) is critical for patient safety during hospital admissions and transitions, though MR completion may be complicated by factors such as lack of familiarity with the electronic medical record (EHR) or missing information at admission. Over the past three years, our urban academic quaternary care hospital has led a successful MR improvement [...]

Background: Sepsis is a life-threatening condition involving organ dysfunction caused by a dysregulated response to infection [1]. Sepsis is the leading cause of 30-day unplanned readmissions nationwide [2]. At UF Health Shands Hospital, the 30-day readmission rate for sepsis patients is 17% compared to 13% for all adult patients. Of those readmitted for sepsis, 38% [...]

Background: The proportion of young adults with complex medical needs and chronic illnesses cared for at pediatric hospitals is substantially increasing. ACGME requires both pediatric and Internal Medicine (IM) residents to manage patients with complex or chronic conditions and coordinate care across the healthcare continuum, including transitioning to adult care. However, barriers to transitioning these [...]

Background: The Reducing REVISITS study enrolled and randomized diverse hospitals to identify scalable solutions for reducing preventable acute care for patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) utilizing Society of Hospital Medicine’s (SHM’s) award-winning mentored implementation model (MIM). MIM provides one year of expert advice and tools through virtual site visits and monthly meetings to [...]

Background: There is no standardized, consistent method for providing and receiving personalized feedback on patient care amongst hospitalists at our institution. The result is that physicians are not aware of areas they could improve in clinical care until either a sentinel event occurs or at the time of their annual review with division leadership. Additionally, [...]

Background: Delirium is a reversible condition that is common in hospitalized patients. Antipsychotics are often used to manage acute behavioral disturbances associated with hyperactive delirium. During transitions of care, plans to taper or discontinue these newly initiated antipsychotics can be unclear. As a result, these medications may be continued long-term, even as the acute episode [...]

Background: Effective discharge instructions are critical for safe patient transitions to outpatient care. However, patients may misunderstand the information they receive, particularly those with complex plans and limited English proficiency. The Institute for Healthcare Improvement and Solutions for Patient Safety recommend discharge instructions that outline the patient’s primary issue, care steps, signs of worsening, where [...]

Background: Automated bidirectional text messaging has emerged as a compelling strategy to facilitate communication between patients and the health system after hospital discharge. Understanding the unique ways in which patients interact with these messaging programs can inform future efforts to tailor their design to individual patient styles and needs. The aim of this study was [...]

Background: Discharge planning is an important component of safe and efficient hospital care. While standardization of these practices can be useful, adopting general approaches may overlook important nuance for unique patient populations. In particular, we are interested in how patients who live in a baseline unsafe situation conceptualize a “safe” discharge plan. Thus, our study [...]