Background: Healthcare disparities have existed for decades, yet it took a global pandemic to put this emergency into the spotlight. The Joint Commission states “health related social needs” (HRSN) are the root cause of many disparities. HRSN encompasses a wide spectrum including inability to pay bills, poor access to transportation, and lack of housing. At [...]

Background: Healthcare disparities have existed for decades, yet it took a global pandemic to put this emergency into the spotlight. The Joint Commission states “health related social needs” (HRSN) are the root cause of many disparities. HRSN encompasses a wide spectrum including inability to pay bills, poor access to transportation, and lack of housing. At [...]

Background: Recognizing the significant effect that social factors have on health outcomes, national stakeholders have developed policies requiring healthcare organizations to identify and address health-related social needs (HRSN). However, the effectiveness of HRSN screening strategies remains unclear. Notably, policymakers provide minimal guidance on how screening should be conducted and allow hospitals to use self-selected screening [...]

Background: Point of care ultrasound (POCUS) significantly augments physical exam and improves medical management, and many medical schools across the United States are implementing undergraduate POCUS curricula. As a result, internal medicine (IM) residency programs have incoming interns with varying levels of POCUS knowledge and skill. We administered a needs assessment questionnaire to incoming interns [...]

Background: Patients with limited English proficiency (LEP) comprise 19% of the adult population of California (1). Communication barriers between providers and patients with LEP contribute to health disparities and associate with increased adverse events (2,3). Working with professional interpreters associates with decreased hospital length-of-stay and readmission rates (4). However, few providers receive formal training on [...]

Background: The social determinants of health (SDOH) are variable factors, including living conditions, employment environments, and social circumstances that influence peoples’ health and can cause health disparities in communities (WHO, 2019). Physicians recognize the importance of SDOH and understand that social factors impact the health outcomes of their patients; however, they may be hesitant to [...]

Background: Lack of stable housing adversely affects health outcomes, increases healthcare utilization, and increases mortality. Few studies have assessed the prevalence of homelessness and housing insecurity in hospitalized patients. To address this gap, we conducted a hospital point-in-time study to determine the prevalence of housing insecurity and homelessness among hospitalized patients at two academic medical [...]

Background: Professional Advancement Models (PAM) have been researched and implemented at large academic institutions as a solution to provide structure and support for career advancement for Advancement Practice Providers (APPs).1,2 Many of these programs fail to appreciate the nuances of inpatient vs outpatient providers. Given the inherent differences of these practice settings, we aim to investigate [...]

Background: Advances in complex congenital cardiac care have promoted the survival of greater than 90% of pediatric patients. As adults with congenital heart disease (ACHD) have lifespans approaching that of the general population, there is a growing call to understand the experience of living with this childhood-onset chronic condition. Hospitalists are often the primary inpatient [...]

Background: Health-related social needs (HRSN) are social and economic conditions that adversely affect health. Housing instability, food insecurity, and unreliable transportation may influence decisions during hospitalization, including care transitions. Numerous screening tools have been implemented in ambulatory and emergency care settings to capture HRSN and guide coordination of care. However, disability, which has profound implications [...]