Background: Community acquired severity scores are well known and used routinely in predicting mortality and risk of inpatient and ICU admission in suspected bacterial pneumonia patients. However such scores have not been studied in patients with influenza infection and influenza pneumonia. We attempted to validate one such score, CURB65 and and identify other scores that [...]

Background: Traditional inpatient procedural fasting practices lead to excessive periods of patient fasting. Patients are unnecessarily ordered to be nil per os (NPO) at midnight, independent of current recommendations and evidence specific to the type of procedure being performed or expected time for the procedure to occur. This approach is based largely on the assumption [...]

Background: Community acquired severity scores are well known and used routinely in predicting mortality and risk of inpatient and ICU admission in suspected bacterial pneumonia patients. However such scores have not been studied in patients with influenza infection and influenza pneumonia. We attempted to validate one such score, CURB65 and and identify other scores that [...]

Background: Traditional inpatient procedural fasting practices lead to excessive periods of patient fasting. Patients are unnecessarily ordered to be nil per os (NPO) at midnight, independent of current recommendations and evidence specific to the type of procedure being performed or expected time for the procedure to occur. This approach is based largely on the assumption [...]

Background: On the 2016 ACGME survey, our Internal Medicine residents indicated that our service vs. education rating was at 47% compared to the national average of 69%. Purpose: To decrease resident physician workload to improve our education on inpatient wards, decrease the amount of non-physician level tasks to improve efficiency and to improve patient communication. [...]

Background: Electronic health applications that aim to share personalized medical information with patients are not frequently found in hospital settings. These inpatient applications can empower patients and caregivers to review and monitor their most updated medical information and improve communication between patients and their providers (such as clinicians, nurses, case managers etc.). However, these applications [...]

Background: Complex patients represent a challenge in the health care system, as they are frequently associated with high health care utilization, longer hospital stays, and higher costs. Nonetheless, the characteristics of the complex patients in the hospital setting are not well known, and tools to help hospitals to identify them early in the process of [...]

Background: Lack of mobility in the inpatient hospital setting hastens functional decline in elderly patients and is associated with increased risk of complications such as falls, delirium, venous thromboembolism (VTE), and skin breakdown. These adverse outcomes drive increased cost as patients spend additional time in both the acute and post-acute care settings. Physical activity is [...]

Background: Breast cancer is the most common malignancy and the second leading cause of cancer death among women in the United States. Disparities in screening mammography use persists among low income women, even those who are insured, despite the proven mortality benefit. More than a third of hospitalized women are both overdue for breast cancer [...]

Background: There is no consensus on the management of asymptomatic inpatient hypertension. This is alarming as the prevalence of inpatient hypertension may be as high as 72%. Hypertension treatment guidelines focus on chronic hypertension in the outpatient setting and evidence for inpatient management is lacking. Aggressive treatment of asymptomatic inpatient hypertension with intravenous antihypertensives is [...]