Background: Diagnostic errors (DE), defined as missed opportunities to make a correct or timely diagnosis based on the available evidence, are a critical but understudied cause of patient harm. While previous efforts have focused on examining the incidence and factors contributing to DEs in ambulatory and emergency room settings, fewer studies have examined incidence of [...]

Background: Diagnostic errors have been cited as a potential contributor to hospital readmissions, particularly early readmissions (e.g. within 7 days), but little is known about their frequency and characteristics. We performed structured chart review of all medical patients readmitted within 7 days of discharge from a single academic medical center to describe the prevalence of [...]

Background: Diagnostic errors (DEs) represent ongoing threats to patient safety in the hospital. Little is known about the factors present on admission that can predict DE during the hospital encounter. Such knowledge is essential for prospective identification of hospitalized patients at risk for DE who can be targeted for early intervention. The purpose of this [...]

Background: Diagnostic errors (DEs), or the failure to accurately identify or provide timely explanations of a patient’s health problem, are a significant source of patient harm. DEs occur in up to 23% of adult inpatients who transfer to intensive care units (ICU) or die. Few studies have examined how clinician team composition impacts DE risk. [...]

Background: Diagnostic errors have been cited as a potential contributor to hospital readmissions, particularly early readmissions (e.g. within 7 days), but little is known about their frequency and characteristics. We performed structured chart review of all medical patients readmitted within 7 days of discharge from a single academic medical center to describe the prevalence of [...]

Background: In sepsis, every hour of delay in antibiotic administration after the onset of hypotension is associated with 4-7% increase in mortality, but little is known about the characteristics of patients with treatment delays. Our objective was to determine if septic adults presenting to the Emergency Department (ED) who receive antibiotics more than 60 minutes [...]

Background: Diagnostic errors (DEs) represent ongoing threats to patient safety in the hospital. Little is known about the factors present on admission that can predict DE during the hospital encounter. Such knowledge is essential for prospective identification of hospitalized patients at risk for DE who can be targeted for early intervention. The purpose of this [...]

Background: Our institution’s rate of hospital acquired Clostridioides difficile (C. diff) infection (CDI) is higher than expected based on documented severity of illness of our patients. The C. diff testing algorithm at our institution utilizes a multi-step approach. It begins with two tests (antigen EIA and toxin A/B EIA). If the results of these two [...]

Background: Point of Care Ultrasound (POCUS) is a goal-directed, bedside ultrasound examination performed by a healthcare provider to answer a specific diagnostic question or guide performance of an invasive procedure at the bedside. More hospitalists have begun to use POCUS, but little is known about current POCUS usage by hospitalists. We conducted a national survey [...]

Background: Urinary tract infection (UTI) and community acquired pneumonia (CAP) are the two most common infections treated in hospitalized patients and are often inappropriately diagnosed. Due to myriad factors—including diagnostic uncertainty—patients are commonly inappropriately diagnosed with UTI or CAP in the emergency department (ED). Antibiotics may be continued throughout the hospitalization even if new information [...]