Background: Rich sources of data are available in hospitals, but are often housed in different systems. These include electronic health records (EHRs), physician scheduling software, and existing tools that can be used to electronically contact clinicians. Developing a streamlined way to integrate and connect disparate data has enormous potential for clinical care, operations, and research. [...]

Background: Hospital-acquired C. difficile colitis is associated with increased length of stay (LOS) and significant morbidity and mortality. During hospitalization, patients visit many procedural, diagnostic, and treatment areas throughout the hospital, presenting opportunities for spore contamination of surfaces and nosocomial disease transmission. We developed a novel methodology using electronic health record (EHR) data to map [...]

Background: Frailty is linked to poor outcomes in older patients, especially those with multiple conditions. The electronic frailty index (eFI) is a validated tool based on the cumulative deficit model used to screen hospitalized patients at risk for poor outcomes1. The eFI relies on 35 ICD-10 codes associated with encounters across four domains (morbidity, sensory, [...]

Background: Rich sources of data are available in hospitals, but are often housed in different systems. These include electronic health records (EHRs), physician scheduling software, and existing tools that can be used to electronically contact clinicians. Developing a streamlined way to integrate and connect disparate data has enormous potential for clinical care, operations, and research. [...]

Background: Hospital-acquired C. difficile colitis is associated with increased length of stay (LOS) and significant morbidity and mortality. During hospitalization, patients visit many procedural, diagnostic, and treatment areas throughout the hospital, presenting opportunities for spore contamination of surfaces and nosocomial disease transmission. We developed a novel methodology using electronic health record (EHR) data to map [...]

Background: Half of US hospitalists have contracts with pay-for-performance incentives based on quality outcomes such as length of stay (LOS) and readmission according to the 2023 State of Hospital Medicine Report. Traditionally, these measures have been linked to the discharging provider. However, as the length of a patient’s stay increases, the influence of the discharging [...]

Background: Delirium is a common and costly occurrence in hospitalized patients, particularly elderly patients. Diagnosing delirium can be challenging, particularly given the fluctuating nature of presentation and subtle hypoactive motor subtypes. The Brief Confusion Assessment Method (bCAM) is a delirium screening tool that has been validated for use in the med-surg clinical area. As part [...]

Background: Reduced payments from Medicare related to high rates of hospital-acquired pressure injuries has prompted hospitals to invest in new technologies and strategies to improve wound care and prevention. While many hospitals have increased the purchase of skin care products such as prophylactic dressings, little is known about the association between these products and reductions [...]

Background: Reduced payments from Medicare related to high rates of hospital-acquired pressure injuries has prompted hospitals to invest in new technologies and strategies to improve wound care and prevention. While many hospitals have increased the purchase of skin care products such as prophylactic dressings, little is known about the association between these products and reductions [...]

Background: Imaging exams performed on hospitalized patients commonly reveal findings representing possible cancer and requiring follow-up. Our objective was to quantify how often indeterminate or suspicious masses are detected on inpatient abdominal and pelvic imaging exams by exam type and organ. Methods: Our health system uses a standardized coding scheme, similar to the Breast Imaging [...]