The Impact of Hospitalist Workload on Patient Care
The workload for hospitalists has increased significantly, thanks in part to increased residency...
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Patient Relations
Increasing Efficiency With Mobile Tablet Computers
The ever-growing use of electronic health records (EHRs) and information needs of patients have...
Read MoreWhat Rule Do We Comply With Least?
My vote goes to “translation.” The rule is that you must use a qualified medical interpreter for any interview or discussion with a patient who does not understand English. How is lack of understanding defined? It is...
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Medication Adherence
The National Report Card on Adherence is based on an average of answers to questions on nine...
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Top 10 Specialties Sued: 2013 Malpractice Report
Nearly 1,400 physicians who were sued for medical malpractice share their experience in Medscape’s...
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Wisconsin Informed Consent Law is Ill-Advised
I normally wouldn’t do this but you need to see excerpts from an article in the Wisconsin...
Read MoreDumbing it Down: Where to Draw the Line?
Dumbing down medical information for patients can come in different forms. Some docs only provide the basics as to not overwhelm patients. Others may use a patronizing “you’ll be okay” tone that may be misleading. And recently a...
Read MoreOne Step Closer to Third-World Medicine?
In a post 2 weeks ago, I discussed why elderly patients don’t get out of bed and walk when hospitalized. You can read it here. I wrote that a major reason that staff does not have time to walk patients is that they are too...
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A Different Approach to Delivering Smoking Cessation
Although the health benefits of smoking cessation are well documented, only about 6% of smokers...
Read MoreEven More Problems With Patient Satisfaction Surveys
A paper in April’s JAMA Surgery journal noted that patient satisfaction ratings have very little to do with the quality of care provided by a hospital. The study analyzed data from 31 hospitals that participated in patient...
Read MoreWhy Don’t Hospitalized Elderly Patients Walk?
Forty-three minutes—that’s the median length of time a hospitalized elderly patient spends standing or walking daily, reports a New York Times story. Not only that, the paper from which the 43 minutes number came also noted that...
Read MoreImproved Satisfaction After ED Visits
Patient satisfaction appears to be higher when emergency physicians contact them via email or phone briefly after a visit to the ED when compared with no contact. Researchers from Kaiser Permanente Medical Center found an...
Read MoreImpaired Mobility & Access to Subspecialty Care
Nearly one-quarter of subspecialists appear to be unable to accommodate patients with mobility impairments, according to American researchers. The authors suggest that better awareness is needed among providers of the...
Read MoreCleveland Clinic: “If We Could See Inside Others’ Hearts”
A profound look at life in a 4-minute video. The camera shows the inner lives of people in a hospital as they go about their daily lives. Produced by the Cleveland Clinic, we get a peek as to what their story entails—worry,...
Read MoreSay it Ain’t So, HIPAA!
Dear HIPAA: I’m sure you get a lot of hate mail, especially from folks in my profession, so when you got this letter from me you probably assumed it was more of the same. Let me reassure you: I am not one of those docs. I do...
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67% of Hospitals Face Readmission Penalties
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ new policy that penalizes hospitals for...
Read MoreWhen and How to Ask Your Doctor Questions
A patient wrote to me and asked when he should speak up and how to ask his doctor questions. I’m not sure I have all the answers. I hope some of my physician colleagues will comment. There is a fine and very fuzzy line between...
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The Impact of the Next Generation of Nursing
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act will mean the addition of as many as 35 million...
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The Black Dog: An Unwanted Side Effect in the ED
It is 3 am, and you are the only man breathing in the room. After 8 hours of listening, feeling,...
Read MoreCommunicating More Effectively at ED Discharge
Emergency physicians face unique challenges in providing high-quality care due to distractions and time limitations that are common throughout ED settings. In most cases, emergency physicians have little or no previous knowledge...
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