Background: Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, racial and ethnic minorities have experienced disparities in infection rates, hospitalization, and death. Monoclonal antibodies (Mab) decrease hospitalization when given to ambulatory non-severe high-risk patients within 10 day of symptom onset. Disparities in care related to Mabs are not well understood. We describe experience from Mab infusion [...]

Background: COVID-19 has placed an unprecedented strain on healthcare systems worldwide, increasing demand for critical care beds1. To address shortage of critical care beds, innovative methods to increase capacity are needed. At our large, urban academic safety-net hospital, patients with diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) are admitted to critical care units for intravenous (IV) insulin administration and [...]

Background: Inappropriate laboratory utilization in hospitalized patients is a significant contributing factor to health care expenditures, iatrogenic anemia, downstream testing, and poor patient satisfaction. For these reasons, the Society of Hospital Medicine has recommended through the Choosing Wisely Campaign to avoid repetitive complete blood counts (CBC) and chemistry testing in the face of clinical stability. [...]

Background: Frequent blood draws are implicated in hospital-acquired anemia as well as rising costs. Critically ill patients undergo frequent venous and arterial blood sampling, both providing electrolyte concentrations. In this study, we sought to examine electrolyte values obtained by arterial blood gas testing (ABG) and central laboratory testing (VCL) and determine the extent of essentially [...]

Background: Up to 50% of the American healthcare spending is estimated to be wasteful. The largest type of wasteful spending is on overuse of tests and treatments. Among the diagnostic tests that are overused, excessive phlebotomy stands out due to its multifaceted implications, including hospital-acquired anemia, patient discomfort, provider burden, and avoidable downstream testing. The [...]

Background: Cost associated with diagnostic testing contributes greatly to the rising cost of health care in the United States (Bindraban et al, 2018). There is evidence to suggest that up to 20% of lab testing is unnecessary (Bindraban et al, 2018).Main Line Health (MLH) is a health system in suburban Philadelphia made up of four [...]