Background: Ten to twenty percent of U.S. hospitalizations are avoidable, driven by clinical uncertainty, social factors, or lack of access to ambulatory care [1-3]. These unnecessary admissions result in significant human and financial costs, including in-hospital errors, wasteful spending, and medical debt [4-7]. With hospital occupancy reaching critical levels, we designed and launched the Olive [...]

Background: Outcomes among hospitalized patients with severe vision impairment or blindness have not been extensively explored. The purpose of this study was to determine clinical and resource utilization outcomes in patients with severe vision impairment/blindness. Methods: This was a retrospective cohort study. Using the Nationwide Inpatient Sample for year 2017, hospitalized adults with and without [...]

Background: It is not known whether hospital outcomes are different among patients with deafness/mutism compared to those without this disability. The purpose of this study was to assess clinical outcomes and utilization data among patients with deafness/mutism compared to all other patients. Methods: This was a retrospective cohort study. Nationwide Inpatient Sample year 2017, hospitalized [...]

Background: Malnutrition, defined as deficiencies or excesses in nutrient intake, is associated with worse short and long-term outcomes compared to similar people without the diagnosis. The ASPEN or GLIM criteria are used to diagnose malnutrition, but these criteria are somewhat vague and measurement standards are typically not objective. The Inpatient Prospective Payment System considers severe [...]

Background: A primary characteristic of Herpes Simplex Virus (HSV) infections is its ability to remain latent in sensory neurons and reactivate later in life. Symptoms of HSV typically present at or near the point of entry. Each of the HSV subtypes is distinguishable from one another via their mode of transmission in addition to symptoms. [...]

Background: End Stage Renal Disease carries a poor prognosis. Only half of dialysis patients are still alive three years after the initiation of renal replacement therapy. Furthermore, dialysis patients are hospitalized more often compared to the general population, averaging two admissions per year. We hypothesized that outcomes in dialysis patients are worse when they require [...]

Background: Patients with diabetic foot ulcers (DFUs) experience large burdens of morbidity, mortality, and hospital costs. Over a third of patients with diabetes will develop DFUs in their lifetime; and almost half of these patients subsequently develop diabetic foot infections (DFIs). Although it has been reported that obese patients with diabetes do not have higher [...]

Background: Increased asthma and obesity prevalence are independently associated with health disparities.  This study sought to examine the relationship between these two conditions, particularly within the pediatric population at a major inner city teaching hospital. Methods: Patients aged 3 to 18 with a diagnosis of bronchial asthma and at least one hospital encounter for an [...]

Background: Cost-related medication non-adherence (CRN) is a persistent and serious challenge among the elderly population in the US. For elderly patients with limited economic means at increased risk of hospitalization, CRN may elevate the risk of repeated hospitalizations and emergency department visits, and lead patients into a downward spiral of worse heath and higher non-adherence. [...]

Background: Palliative care in seriously ill patients has been shown in some studies to improve satisfaction, symptoms, inpatient mortality rates, healthcare utilization and cost. While inpatient palliative care has been shown to improve symptoms and quality of life measures, the literature on its association with 30-day readmissions have been mixed for heart failure hospitalizations. We [...]