Background: One key factor cited in physician burnout discussion is the rigid block scheduling that has become ubiquitous for Hospital Medicine. For years, nursing has allowed self-scheduling to improve work life balance and abate burnout with good success per the literature. Recent commentary by leaders in Hospital Medicine has piqued the interest in further evaluation [...]

Background: Many pediatric hospitalist programs in community hospitals around the country function with a 24-hour shift model for 24/7 coverage. This creates significant discontinuity and daily inefficiencies in patient care. Furthermore, there is a robust amount of adult literature that points to the benefits of both inpatient and outpatient continuity of care. When our community [...]

Background: Timeliness in transitional care improves clinical outcomes by delivering medical care at the most vulnerable post-hospitalization time. Primary care access to in-network and out-of-network patients’ post-hospitalization has been a challenge, especially to sicker patients with high risk of readmissions. Our institution Post-Discharge Clinic bridges this need by developing processes that will improve timely transitional [...]

Background: The field of hospital medicine has grown significantly, warranting investigation of staffing models to maximize outcomes and promote patient safety. Handoffs are a source of increased risk for patients and result in longer lengths of stay, increases in error, and missed items for follow up. Our current hospital medicine model uses specialized care teams [...]

Background: Patients who complete a primary care provider (PCP) follow-up visit within 7 days of hospital discharge have lower odds of 14-day readmission (p=0.002) OR= 0.45 (95% CI: 0.27 – 0.73) compared to patients who do not at our academic institution. However, only 44% of patients complete this visit. Patients who were scheduled with their [...]

Background: Unplanned readmissions in the U.S. healthcare system cost over $15 billion annually, a burden that increasingly impacts health systems as more patients transition to fully capitated models [1-2]. Despite evidence supporting the protective effect of post-hospitalization visits with primary care providers (PCPs), patient completion rates of these visits remain low [3-5]. Barriers include provider [...]