Hospital rankings matter. Specifically, those published in U.S. News & World Report carry additional weight. Hospitals use these numbers in advertising campaigns, and patients often choose hospitals based on these rankings.
But does a high place really mean you’re getting better care? Not necessarily. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at KevinMD.com*
The following post is by Jamie Newman, FACP, editorial advisor of ACP Hospitalist:
I read the April 6 Annals of Internal Medicine with great interest. In it, many readers responded to Howard Beckman’s previously published essay on the relationship between hospitalists and primary care physicians. Many physicians bemoan their loss of inpatient control of patients, and perceived lack of communication.
I think back to my own private/university hybrid practice. When my patients were admitted to the resident services, I never heard a word. There was absolutely no communication. I would say that most hospitalists do a much better job of communicating with the outpatient physician then any resident team. It’s a double standard. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at ACP Internist*
It’s the fastest growing “specialty” service in medicine: hospitalist medicine. These are the doctors who limit their practice to the care and management of patients admitted to the hospital. It has been wildly popular because it adds a shift-like work schedule to medical care for physicians while supposedly preserving their personal life. It also moves patients through the hospital faster, shortening length of stays. As one of our more esteemed hospitalist bloggers likes to boast: it’s a “WIN-WIN!”
At least until the hospitalist service gets too busy. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Dr. Wes*
I remember very clearly as a medical student hearing my attending hammer home the importance of the history and physical examination. Everyday I heard the same thing
The history and physical examination is the most important part of patient care
After seven long years of hospitalist medicine, I gotta say my attendings were right. If you listen to what the patient is telling you, the answer is often staring you in the face. Unfortunately, in this volume driven world of fee for service we live in, time is not on the physician’s side. Most elderly patients are incapable of separating important medical information from irrelevant medical information, which can make history taking a very painful part of being a doctor. So they just talk and talk and talk. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at The Happy Hospitalist Blog*
Over at the WSJ Health Blog, some academic docs, such as hospitalist Dr. Wachter are suggesting just that.
Punishments such as revoking privileges for a chunk of time tend to be used for administrative infractions that cost the hospital money – things like failing to sign the discharge summaries that insurance companies require to pay the hospital bill. By contrast, hospital administrators may just shrug their shoulders when it comes to doctors who fail or refuse to follow rules like a “time out” before surgery to avoid operating on the wrong body part.
Docs and nurses who fail to follow rules about hand hygiene or patient handoffs should lose their privileges for a week, Pronovost and Wachter suggest. They recommend loss of privileges for two weeks for surgeons who who fail to perform a “time-out” before surgery or don’t mark the surgical site to prevent wrong-site surgery.
This couldn’t have come at a better time. At Happy’s hospital there is a massive witch hunt to crack down on not signing off verbal orders within 48 hours. This has nothing to do with patient safety. It has everything to do with meeting the requirements of CMS so the hospital does not lose their funding. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at A Happy Hospitalist*
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