Background: Hospitalizations related to opioid use disorder (OUD) are rising, creating opportunities to initiate medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD) and connect patients with outpatient resources.1,2 Despite evidence that MOUD reduces morbidity and mortality, most patients fail to receive evidence-based treatment during hospitalization.3-6 Addiction consultation services are becoming the standard of care to address this [...]

Background: Preventive care is a crucial but underutilized component of optimal population health management. Of eligible patients, 69.0% have received pneumococcal vaccine, 24.1% zoster vaccine, and 30.0% hepatitis B vaccine. Cancer screening rates are similarly low, with 12.5% screened for lung cancer and 71.6% for colorectal cancer. Gaps in preventive care are even larger in [...]

Background: Medication reconciliation (MR) is critical for patient safety during hospital admissions and transitions, though MR completion may be complicated by factors such as lack of familiarity with the electronic medical record (EHR) or missing information at admission. Over the past three years, our urban academic quaternary care hospital has led a successful MR improvement [...]

Background: Hospitalizations related to opioid use disorder (OUD) are rising, creating opportunities to initiate medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD) and connect patients with outpatient resources.1,2 Despite evidence that MOUD reduces morbidity and mortality, most patients fail to receive evidence-based treatment during hospitalization.3-6 Addiction consultation services are becoming the standard of care to address this [...]

Background: Preventive care is a crucial but underutilized component of optimal population health management. Of eligible patients, 69.0% have received pneumococcal vaccine, 24.1% zoster vaccine, and 30.0% hepatitis B vaccine. Cancer screening rates are similarly low, with 12.5% screened for lung cancer and 71.6% for colorectal cancer. Gaps in preventive care are even larger in [...]

Background: Medication reconciliation (MR) is critical for patient safety during hospital admissions and transitions, though MR completion may be complicated by factors such as lack of familiarity with the electronic medical record (EHR) or missing information at admission. Over the past three years, our urban academic quaternary care hospital has led a successful MR improvement [...]

Background: Community acquired pneumonia (CAP) is commonly treated in hospitals and frequently results in antibiotic overuse. Important areas of overuse for CAP include excess treatment duration and unnecessary fluoroquinolone use. Smaller hospitals, including critical access hospitals (CAHs), often have limited resources for antibiotic stewardship compared to larger institutions which impedes stewardship efforts. After 2 years [...]

Background: Over 32 million patients in the United States have a penicillin (PCN) allergy label in their medical chart.1 Studies have demonstrated that 15-20% of hospitalized patients are labeled PCN allergic. However, IgE-mediated PCN allergy wanes over time and up to 80% of patients with a listed PCN allergy can tolerate PCN after 10 years. [...]

Background: Hospital scheduling and structure has the potential to smooth the flow and impact quality outcomes. The most predominant hospitalist schedule follows the seven-on/seven-off scheduling where hospitalists would switch off service after the 7th day, also known as switch day, to the next incoming provider. However, there is limited data on which hospitalist switch day [...]

Background: Increased Emergency Department (ED) boarding times have been associated with delays in care, longer length of stay, lower patient satisfaction, increased adverse events, and increased mortality. Kobayashi et. al., coined the term “dead time” to describe the time spent awaiting admission during which meaningful contribution to the advancement of care is limited. In the [...]