Background: Approximately 1.6 million patients are transferred between hospitals yearly, with disproportionately high cost and mortality. Despite the risk associated with inter-hospital transition of care, there is no established best practice in coordinating and triaging transfers. This gap in knowledge is partly driven by a dearth of studies which integrate clinical data before and after […]

Background: In many teaching hospitals, internal medicine residents participate in a majority of patient interactions. However, the impact of trainees on patient satisfaction and the care experience is unknown. We sought to determine how resident providers impact inpatient ratings of doctor communication and global satisfaction via the Healthcare Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems […]

Background: Handoffs are critical to safe and efficient transfer of patient care between hospitalists. While patient handoffs are essential to hospitalist practice, there is great variability in handoff content, preparation, and delivery. Our study aimed to characterize handoff practices at a large academic hospitalist group, which primarily utilizes a written handoff platform. Methods: We conducted […]

Case Presentation: A 77‐year‐old white woman with a history of pulmonary embolisms on chronic Coumadin therapy and an elective left hip arthroplasty 3.5 weeks prior to admission presented with progressive numbness on the anterior aspect of her left thigh and severe groin pain radiating to her back. Patient was sent from a local rehabilitation center […]

Case Presentation: A 3‐year‐old Hispanic male was hospitalized for fever and cervical lymphadenopathy. He was treated with antibiotics for suspected lymphadenitis but showed minimal improvement. He was eventually diagnosed with Kawasaki disease based on physical and laboratory findings, treated with intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) and discharged on aspirin therapy. His echocardiogram was normal prior to discharge. […]

Background: Given the shift-based nature of modern hospital medicine, block schedules where physicians are on clinical service for a defined period of time are common place. As such, end-of-service handoffs are a routine element of hospital medicine practice. Like handoffs to an overnight cross-covering physician, end-of-service handoffs pose a risk to patients if critical information […]