Background: Interhospital transfer (IHT) processes vary across institutions. The fragmented and complex nature of IHTs pose patient safety risks. The implementation of a standardized IHT process with a templated note for hospital medicine patients at our institution demonstrated promising patient safety outcomes and a significant increase in physician satisfaction. A second, iterative intervention expanded this [...]

Background: The Reducing REVISITS study enrolled and randomized diverse hospitals to identify scalable solutions for reducing preventable acute care for patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) utilizing Society of Hospital Medicine’s (SHM’s) award-winning mentored implementation model (MIM). MIM provides one year of expert advice and tools through virtual site visits and monthly meetings to [...]

Background: Patients’ names are pronounced incorrectly during medical encounters, but there is limited literature on the impact name pronunciation has on patient experience. At our quaternary care center, there is no system to communicate the pronunciation of a patient’s name. Our clinical experience on the cardiology service highlighted the negative effects of name mispronunciation on [...]

Background: Acute heart failure exacerbations are a leading cause of morbidity and mortality and are associated with high rates of hospital admissions and healthcare expenditure. As part of a broader effort to improve heart failure care at our hospital, this project aims to characterize heart failure type prevalence, mortality, and readmission rates to benchmark against [...]

Background: Length of stay is an important marker for quality of care in the hospital. Increased length of stay can affect patient flow through the hospital and can lead to overcrowding, increased boarding in the emergency department, delays in inter-hospital transfer, and cancellation of elective procedures due to bed availability (1). In addition, longer hospitalizations [...]

Background: Central line-associated blood stream infections (CLABSIs) are a substantial source of morbidity and mortality. A previous meta-analysis of 1,976 CLABSI cases showed an odds ratio for in-hospital death of 2.75 (CI 1.86-4.07).[1] CLABSIs have also been associated with higher hospital costs and longer length of stay (LOS).[2] Methods: Data was collected from all CLABSI [...]

Background: Effective discharge instructions are critical for safe patient transitions to outpatient care. However, patients may misunderstand the information they receive, particularly those with complex plans and limited English proficiency. The Institute for Healthcare Improvement and Solutions for Patient Safety recommend discharge instructions that outline the patient’s primary issue, care steps, signs of worsening, where [...]

Background: Professional billing is crucial for both division revenue and sustainable healthcare. However, provider knowledge on optimal billing for varied clinical scenarios is often lacking. Critical Care Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) Evaluation and Management (E/M) codes are often appropriate for Hospital Medicine (HM) providers to use when providing critical care services to patients during a [...]

Background: Acute heart failure exacerbations are a leading cause of morbidity and mortality, with high rates of hospitalization and healthcare expenditure. Guideline-directed medical therapy (GDMT) has improved outcomes in heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF), improved ejection fraction (HFimpEF), preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF), and moderately reduced ejection fraction (HFmrEF). Recent studies highlight the benefits [...]

Background: Medication reconciliation is a complex process intended to identify and resolve discrepancies by maintaining the most accurate medication list for a patient to provide ultimate care. The Joint Commission National Patient Safety Goals emphasize completion of medication reconciliation on admission within an organization to reduce the likelihood of harm to patients.1 Our medical center [...]