Background: Discharging patients is a complicated process that requires planning, coordination and communication between multiple care team members. Ideally this process begins at admission and is updated in real time as the patient care plan evolves and discharge needs become known. Discharge plans are often made using some form of static communication, such as in-person [...]

Background: Delirium prevention by multicomponent interventions is proven, with strong evidence confirming its effectiveness in both medical and surgical populations. Identifying high risk patients is very important for resource allocation and utilization. Risk factors for delirium are broadly classified into predisposing and precipitating factors. Combinations of these risk factors precipitate delirium and hence a prediction [...]

Background: Treating alcohol withdrawal in the inpatient medical setting requires timely identification of the severity of alcohol withdrawal so appropriate treatment can be administered. Delayed or missed diagnosis can lead to increased morbidity and mortality, increased cost and length of stay, and ICU admissions. CIWA-Ar is the most commonly used scale, but it is lengthy [...]

Background: As the concept of a rapid response team continues to evolve nationwide, it is becoming increasingly apparent that the proactive monitoring of patients through surveillance tools is important to prevent adverse events. However, it is notable that the interpretation these surveillance tools require a higher level of clinical expertise and it is more and [...]

Background: Inpatient bedside whiteboards enhance patient-provider communication and satisfaction with care, but little is known about patients’ perspectives on the whiteboards. Our objectives were to understand patients’ views on the usability and design/content of these boards; and assess nursing views on current practice of whiteboard utilization, including barriers and suggestions to optimal use. Methods: We [...]

Background: After a patient death, experienced physicians have reported feelings of sadness, guilt, and self-doubt. Residents and interns experience a strong emotional impact to these deaths as well, and previous studies have shown that they only feel adequately supported 50% of the time. Residents feel more supported by their attendings and are better able to [...]

Background: The Children’s Hospital Association (CHA) Sepsis Collaborative recognizes pediatric sepsis as a significant cause of mortality and nationwide efforts are being developed to improve sepsis recognition. A critical component to decreasing sepsis mortality is early identification of sepsis so that interventions are initiated quickly. At Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital, there is a significant [...]

Background: Typical solutions to incorporating provider input into discharge planning often rely on one-way communication mechanisms and data entry that is not dynamic (i.e. providers estimate day of discharge in advance). We are designing a discharge readiness tool to be integrated into our current electronic health record (EHR), Epic Systems-Verona Wisconsin, that allows providers to [...]