Background: Children with medical complexity (CMC) are a growing pediatric population with disproportionately high health needs and costs often insured by Medicaid. Identification of CMC using complexity classification systems applied to population-level data and establishment of baseline patterns of population-level health care utilization are essential to target patients who may benefit most from complex care [...]

Background: Patient safety assistants (PSAs), or “sitters,” observe patients at bedside considered at “high risk” for in-hospital events [1] such as falls or elopements. While studies suggest PSAs do not impact safety outcomes,[2-4] they are widely utilized without formal guidelines.[2, 5, 6] With increasing healthcare costs and limited resources, efficient care models are sought.[1, 2, [...]

Background: Inappropriate utilization of daily labs—complete blood counts (CBC) and serum electrolyte panels (SEP)—is an important cause of increased costs in the hospital setting. The Minnesota Lab Appropriateness (MLAB) criteria were previously developed to facilitate assessment of CBC and SEP appropriateness (1). A combination of clinical judgment and common healthcare data, including recent vital signs [...]