October 9, 2024
Rating the ratings
A comparison of four U.S. hospital rating systems found discordant scores. Two of the study authors discuss what that means for hospitalists and patients.
Expediting ED-to-hospice transitions
A program doubled the percentage of appropriate patients who transitioned to hospice within 96 hours of presenting to the ED, improving alignment with goals for end-of-life care.
CMS reports demographics, quality, cost from hospital-at-home initiative
Length of stay was longer in patients treated under CMS's Acute Hospital Care at Home initiative than among similar patients in participating hospitals, but complications and postdischarge costs trended lower and patients and clinicians were highly satisfied with care under the waiver.
Electronic feedback on patients whose care was escalated helpful for hospitalists
Most hospitalists at an academic medical center who received electronic feedback about their care for patients who underwent ICU transfers and rapid responses reported being highly or moderately satisfied with the experience, a survey study found.
Overdose risk doubled after patient discharge before medically advised
A Canadian study of whether discharge before medically advised was associated with drug overdose risk found that the overdose rate went up significantly after hospitalization whether the discharge was advised or not, compared to earlier no-overdose periods in the patients' lives.
U.S. heart failure hospitalizations on the rise again after pandemic drop
Admissions with a primary diagnosis of heart failure decreased from 2010 through 2014 but increased from 2014 to 2021, and associated mortality went up from 2012 onward.
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