Background: The discharge process is complex and high-risk. Clear and accurate communication between the physician or Advanced Practice Provider (providers), nurse, and patient are essential to ensure a safe and effective transition of care. Upon literature review, there have not been studies looking at interprofessional communication during the discharge process. Also, our institution (a large […]

Background: With the advancement of technology and the provision of critical care, more critically ill patients are surviving the medical intensive care unit (ICU). Upon transfer to the general wards patients continue to face complex and ongoing medical issues that increase their risk of morbidity and mortality. This study aimed to determine patient characteristics as […]

Background: After discharge from an acute care hospitalization, cancer patients may choose to pursue rehabilitative care in a skilled nursing facility (SNF). Our objective was to examine receipt of anti-cancer therapy, death, readmission, and hospice use of cancer patients who discharge to a SNF compared to those who discharge home or home with home health […]

Background: With the advancement of technology and medical care, more critically ill patients are surviving the medical intensive care unit (ICU) and are transferred to the general wards, where they spend the majority of their hospitalization. While there are guidelines that address common complications in the ICU (delirium and functional decline), once patients are transferred […]

Background: Our 165-bed community hospital is in a phase of rapid growth due to demographic changes and expansion of services offered within the hospital. While offering unprecedented level of healthcare access to the community, improvement with emergency department (ED) throughput has emerged as one of our challenges from a patient safety perspective. Unnecessarily prolonged ED […]

Background: Patients with complex medical problems are at high risk of readmission when transitioning from the hospital to home, especially when they reside in rural areas (as is the case within our VA Health Care System (HCS)). Innovative solutions are needed to improve access to post hospitalization follow up within our facility. We hypothesized that […]

Background: Length of stay (LOS) is an important quality indicator and has significant financial implications and impact on hospital throughput. Geriatric Fracture Center (GFC) is a co-management program between Hospital Medicine and Orthopedic for patients who are age 60 and above with fragility fracture. Delays in skilled nursing facility (SNF) rehabilitation placement are a major […]

Background: Despite significant efforts, sepsis remains a common cause of hospital readmissions nationwide, and patients are often readmitted within two weeks after their index admission. Not only are patients who develop sepsis often chronically debilitated, sepsis can lead to systemic sequelae that includes functional deconditioning, cognitive impairment, sepsis-induced immunosuppression and inflammation, and cardiovascular risks. This […]

Background: Discharge planning and transition of care (TOC) is a crucial process for inpatient teams hoping to optimize patient experience and outcomes. Feedback from patients prior to leaving the hospital identifies several areas for improvement, as there are often misunderstandings about hospital courses and treatment plans. Such confusion leads to poor TOC. The Hospital Consumer […]