Q&A


Restoring trust after rough times in residency

The pandemic made many medical trainees less trustful and engaged. A program director talks about how to win them back.

Hospitalists tackle trauma

A geriatric trauma service staffed by hospitalists filled a gap in care for older patients who had been injured.

Have a seat to improve patient care

Eye-level conversations with patients can improve their satisfaction with an encounter and potentially yours, too, a researcher explains.

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.

Be an antiracist hospitalist

A researcher provides insight into some of the problems faced by Black patients in the hospital.

The rewards of being friendly

CMS is going to start measuring how age-friendly hospitals are. An expert explains the plan, including hospitalists' role.

Retrenching against resistance

An infectious diseases expert weighs in on CDC statistics showing a worrisome trend in hospital-associated drug-resistant infections.

Why are there so many patients?

A researcher discusses recent study results indicating that hospital capacity challenges might have more to do with postacute care than the ED.

A countywide cleanup

Reducing drug-resistant infections among high-risk patients took some lessons in bathing.

Service animals in the hospital

Service animals play a crucial role in the lives of many people with a disability, but uncertainties abound when they're brought into hospitals.

Bye-bye, CLABSI. Hello, HOB.

Experts explain the CDC's new quality metric, hospital-onset bacteremia and fungemia (HOB), which will look more broadly at health care-associated infections.

Getting worse at heart failure

Despite advances in drugs and guidelines, heart failure mortality is on the rise. An expert researcher offers some solutions.

Digging into the gender quality divide

There are lessons for all in a recent study that found female patients had lower mortality with female hospitalists, says one of the authors.

Avoiding the antibiogram

Hospitalists don't use antibiograms, a study found. One of the authors discusses why he thinks they're probably right not to.

The limited evidence for IV albumin

An expert explains recent guidelines on IV albumin that recommended against the blood product in the settings where it is most commonly used.

A peek at your peers

A peer observation program offers lessons for both early-career and more experienced hospitalists.

Knowing when AI is wrong

Physicians need to learn the explanations behind artificial intelligence (AI) answers, say the authors of a study in which hospitalists had lower diagnostic accuracy when working with biased AI.

Lots to learn about long-term care

A new curriculum helped hospitalists moving into postacute care fill gaps in their knowledge base.

Get with the latest ARDS guideline

Recent changes to acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) guidance, including some controversy over neuromuscular blockers, are explained by an expert.

Could less be more in care transitions?

Interventions to improve the quality of care transitions may work better when they are less complex, say researchers who offer some ideas for future efforts.

Beyond the ‘golf course conversation’

Hospitalists need to think harder about sponsorship to promote diversity and equity, said the authors of a recent study.

January 3, 2024 | FREE
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How to write a good discharge summary

Primary care physicians highlighted what they really need to know about their patients' recent hospitalizations in a recent study.

A better team, with the same outcomes

Why did only nurses see an improvement from a teamwork intervention at four hospitals? A hospitalist researcher offers his thoughts.

Measuring hospitalist busyness

Busy hospitalists list fewer differential diagnoses. A researcher ponders the implications for diagnostic error.

November 15, 2023 | FREE
Most ACP Hospitalist content is available exclusively to ACP Members. This article is free to the public.

Finding a better way to handle inpatient substance use

Many addiction medicine clinicians don't know whether their institutions have policies for responding to suspected substance use during a hospitalization, and those that do often disagree with them.

Life as a health equity officer

A recent survey of hospitals' health equity officers highlighted challenges they face, including how to get clinicians on board.

October 18, 2023 | FREE
Most ACP Hospitalist content is available exclusively to ACP Members. This article is free to the public.

User-friendly EHRs also more safety-friendly

Why might easy-to-use electronic health records (EHRs) provide better medication safety? The coauthor of a recent study explains.

October 4, 2023 | FREE
Most ACP Hospitalist content is available exclusively to ACP Members. This article is free to the public.

Drug shortages drag on

Almost all hospital pharmacists reported facing drug shortages in a recent survey, but there are some available solutions, one expert says.

September 20, 2023 | FREE
Most ACP Hospitalist content is available exclusively to ACP Members. This article is free to the public.

Negotiation skills needed more than ever

Financial dealings with hospitals have gotten tougher, but classic strategies can help hospitalists make it through.

September 6, 2023 | FREE
Most ACP Hospitalist content is available exclusively to ACP Members. This article is free to the public.

Guidelines on resistant gram-negatives

Hospitalists are some of the best antibiotic stewards, according to the lead author of recent guidance that aims to help them manage tricky infections.

See your hedges

Hedging, or using words in conversation that make meaning fuzzier, is unavoidable, but the resulting misunderstandings with patients and families can be reduced, experts say.

Look over your hedges

Hedging, or using words in conversation that make meaning fuzzier, is unavoidable, but the resulting misunderstandings with patients and families can be reduced, experts say.

Clusters of deterioration

When one patient goes from the ward to the ICU, others are more likely to follow, and researchers are trying to figure out why.

Pushing back on physical restraints

Pause before ordering restraints and definitely don't forget that a patient has been placed in them, says a researcher who has found disparities in use among medical inpatients.

A closer look at HAP

Hospital-acquired pneumonia (HAP) is both more dangerous and more complex than previously thought, says the author of a recent study.

June 28, 2023 | FREE
Most ACP Hospitalist content is available exclusively to ACP Members. This article is free to the public.

Intervening on interruptions

Hospitalists should take steps to mitigate the effects of interruptions on their work, researchers say.

Heart failure care at home

The hospital at home model appears particularly suited to patients who require hospitalization for heart failure, a recent cardiology commentary said.

Treating addiction behind bars

Incarcerated patients have a right to medication for opioid use disorder, and hospitalists can help them access it.

March 29, 2023 | FREE
Most ACP Hospitalist content is available exclusively to ACP Members. This article is free to the public.

Putting discharge first

Asking hospitalists to prioritize discharging patients first didn't speed throughput and caused other issues, a study found. The authors discussed what their findings mean for clinicians, administrators, and researchers.

From hospital to overdose

Patients on long-term opioid therapy face increased risk of overdose after discharge. What can hospitalists do to help?

March 1, 2023 | FREE
Most ACP Hospitalist content is available exclusively to ACP Members. This article is free to the public.

Muslim physicians report significant discrimination

Diversity, equity, and inclusion programs should address religious identity, too, a researcher says.

A bit of good news on drug costs

Recent Medicare changes may help more patients access guideline-directed heart failure therapies, a study found.

February 1, 2023 | FREE
Most ACP Hospitalist content is available exclusively to ACP Members. This article is free to the public.

Slashing superfluous labs

Experts offer their advice on getting over your love of daily labs to help patients and reduce costs.

Physicians working fewer hours

Physicians, especially dads, are working less per week, while hours worked by advanced practice practitioners are rising steeply, a study found.

January 4, 2023 | FREE
Most ACP Hospitalist content is available exclusively to ACP Members. This article is free to the public.

Talking about trainee treatment

A system that allowed medical students and trainees to anonymously or confidentially report mistreatment or unprofessional behavior was revealing for one institution.

December 21, 2022 | FREE
Most ACP Hospitalist content is available exclusively to ACP Members. This article is free to the public.

Honest talk about SNFs

Discharge to a skilled nursing facility is a moment for serious discussion of prognosis, a geriatrician says.

The carbon footprint of care

Health care organizations' emissions are working against their efforts to improve health, and it's time for change, an expert says.

‘Hospitalist’ and other mysterious jargon

Since less than a third of laypeople understand the word “hospitalist,” consider using some other words in introductions, a researcher advises.

Researching rapid response

Rapid response teams didn't affect inpatient mortality in a new study. An expert explains what that could mean for their future.

Moving on from readmissions

Some experts are saying it's time for hospitals and payers to shift their focus from preventing readmissions to pursuing other quality objectives.

October 12, 2022 | FREE
Most ACP Hospitalist content is available exclusively to ACP Members. This article is free to the public.

Making sense of monkeypox

Two experts offered advice to hospitalists on their role in dealing with this latest infectious disease outbreak.

A step back from advance directives

Advance care planning needs to be more than a form in a file, says an intensivist and researcher.

August 17, 2022 | FREE
Most ACP Hospitalist content is available exclusively to ACP Members. This article is free to the public.

Please, no more ‘pimping’ in med ed

For decades, medical trainees who've been grilled in a traditional manner have felt the burn of shame and humiliation. A hospitalist and educator calls for change.

Fragmentation breeds frequency in COPD care

An expert discusses how the locations patients receive chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) care are tied to their risk of hospitalization.

How to hire millennials

A hospital's culture was a bigger factor in taking or keeping a job than pay or potential for advancement, according to a recent study of hospitalists born after 1982.

July 6, 2022 | FREE
Most ACP Hospitalist content is available exclusively to ACP Members. This article is free to the public.

Adding contraception to the conversation

A hospitalist explains a recent call for her peers to consider their patients' family planning needs.

The cost of hospitalists

The lead author of a recent study finding that hospitalists bill higher than primary care physicians when seeing Medicare inpatients says that productivity bonus pay is problematic for the health care system.

March 30, 2022 | FREE
Most ACP Hospitalist content is available exclusively to ACP Members. This article is free to the public.

Isolation intensifies ICU impacts

The senior author of a recent study discusses the potential link between social isolation and increased disability and mortality after hospitalization for a critical illness, and what this might mean in the era of COVID-19.

March 16, 2022 | FREE
Most ACP Hospitalist content is available exclusively to ACP Members. This article is free to the public.

A deeper look at inpatients with blindness

Hospitalists should be aware that their patients with severe vision impairment or blindness have significantly higher risk of in-hospital mortality and lower odds of being discharged home, says the coauthor of a recent study.

A different kind of hospital ranking

Two physicians explain why their health care think tank has started ranking U.S. hospitals by social responsibility, including whether facilities avoid low-value care and pay their employees equitably.

February 16, 2022 | FREE
Most ACP Hospitalist content is available exclusively to ACP Members. This article is free to the public.

Racism in the record?

Two authors discuss their recent study finding that Black patients were twice as likely as White patients to be described with negative words in their history and physical notes, particularly in inpatient records.

Struggling with strategies for strain

Hospitalist leaders and hospital administrators were interviewed before the pandemic for a study about hospital capacity strain. The study authors explain some lessons that everyone working in hospitals can now take from their responses.

Sepsis guidelines review old questions, tackle new ones

The lead author of the Surviving Sepsis Campaign's latest guideline update highlighted the most important changes for hospitalists to know, including recommendations on the use of fluid and vasopressors.

Part-time hospitalists tied to patient mortality?

Two experts offer their thoughts on the implications of a recent study.

Learning to accept uncertainty in medicine

Physicians with low tolerance of uncertainty were more likely to burn out, a study found.

COVID-19 and the burden of precautions fatigue

An expert suggests revisions in hospital policies to improve adherence to precautions.

Physicians face personal attacks, threats on social media

Online harassment of clinicians is a common problem, a study found.

Residents reimagine anti-racism curriculum

A new Race, Bias, and Advocacy in Medicine pathway gave trainees an opening to focus on these issues.

The challenge of caring for incarcerated patients

A recent survey found gaps in clinicians' understanding about care under incarceration.

Why to watch your language

Two attendings take aim at jargon, neologisms, and more.

How the pandemic hit hospitals' bottom lines

Experts predict many hospitals will not have the reserves needed to cover their losses.

Study finds high burnout among ACP members

Well-Being Champions are analyzing burnout and working on solutions.

Study finds burnout even before the pandemic

Slightly over half of internists and trainees participating in a wellness program reported symptoms of burnout, while almost three-quarters reported career satisfaction.

Bundling consent in the ICU

Residents frequently use these bundles but report doubts about their validity.

Daylight saving time and medical errors

‘Springing forward’ and ‘falling back’ both pose risks to patients, a study found.

Does a patient's race affect the odds of hospital transfer?

A study found differences by race, region, and diagnosis.

Nocturnists and residents

Internal medicine residents were surveyed about overnight supervision.

What happens when an academic hospital closes?

The program director of Hahnemann University Hospital's IM residency tells the story.

Pandemic pressures on journal publishing

COVID-19 has changed work on Annals of Internal Medicine.

Prior training varies by residency program

U.S.-trained MDs, DOs, and international grads often train separately.

Palliative care for a pandemic

COVID-19 increased the need for expertise in communication and palliation of symptoms.

Testing cognition in older physicians

A neuropsychological test found cognitive limitations among practicing doctors.

4 concepts can help bolster age-friendly care

Learn the four principles: Medication, Mentation, Mobility, and What Matters.

4 concepts can help bolster age-friendly care

Apply the four principles: Medication, Mentation, Mobility, and What Matters.

4 concepts can help bolster age-friendly care

Learn the four principles: Medication, Mentation, Mobility, and What Matters.

When algorithms are biased

A care management algorithm underestimated the needs of black patients.

A new kind of stewardship

Patients taking antiretroviral therapy are at risk for medication errors during hospitalization and care transitions.

A new kind of stewardship

Patients taking antiretroviral therapy are at risk for medication errors during hospitalization and care transitions.

Experts share stewardship successes, priorities

An executive vice president from The Joint Commission offers an update.

Not all caregivers are interpreters

Limited English proficiency is much more widespread than interpreter access.

From internist to whistleblower

An FACP alerted the Senate to conditions at migrant detention centers.

Seeing the full picture of a patient

A palliative care physician finds benefit in asking for photos of patients.

Patient and physician hygiene go hand in hand

A recent study investigated the bugs on patients' hands.

A collective approach to diagnosis

The diagnostic accuracy of groups of clinicians beat individuals, even subspecialists.

When hospitalization makes patients sicker

High trauma of hospitalization has been associated with readmission risk.

Are bedside rounds evidence based?

A review found little proven benefit to clinicians gathering at patients' beds.

Productivity bonuses not so productive for high-value care

California hospitalists were surveyed about their institutions' culture of high-value care.

A systemwide approach to end-of-life care

One health system developed an advance directive toolkit for patients and communication training for clinicians.

A ‘common sense’ tool to identify inpatient stroke

The 2CAN score is based on four elements that independently predict inpatient stroke.

How to recognize respiratory compromise

A nonprofit alliance of medical societies is raising awareness of respiratory compromise.

A code for improving transitions of care

New Medicare code for transitional care management has seen low uptake but good patient outcomes.

Physician burnout linked to major errors

The findings suggest that burnout should be a consideration in efforts to reduce errors, according to a study author.

Diagnosing diagnosis difficulties

Researchers identified themes of diagnosis by observing medical residents on rounds.

Short-coat tradition ends for Johns Hopkins interns

After some pushback from trainees, the newest class of interns at Johns Hopkins received long white coats.

Physicians identify many of their own admissions as preventable

Differences in risk assessment and training between ED and medicine were reported to be factors.

More Medicaid money, fewer problems

The expansion of Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act reduced hospital closures, a study found.

Consult an ID doc, save a life?

Study finds that patients with certain resistant infections, those who were seen by an infectious diseases physician had about half the mortality rate of those who were not.

Consult an ID doc, save a life?

A study found that patients with certain resistant infections who were seen by an infectious diseases physician had about half the mortality rate of those who were not.

Hospitals try to stabilize generic market

Pharmacoeconomics researcher Kevin A. Schulman, MD, FACP, explains health systems' plan to buy drugs directly from the manufacturers.

Strange but true, a DNR tattoo

A critical care physician describes an unusual unconscious patient his team recently treated.

The challenges of pregnancy during residency

A recent study found female residents who became pregnant during residency had significantly lower peer evaluation scores.

The case for a chief primary care medical officer

Two physicians propose a new administrative/clinical role to reduce discontinuity between inpatient and outpatient care.

Report from Puerto Rico

José Lozada, MD, FACP, ACP Governor for the Puerto Rico chapter, described medical practice after Hurricane Maria.

Hospitalists and hospice referrals

A study author discusses why hospice rates, and referrals by hospitalists, may be increasing.

A new understanding of UTIs

Urinary tract infection (UTI) is an overused diagnosis that can lead to the myriad harms of antibiotic overtreatment, says Thomas E. Finucane, MD, FACP.

Coping with copy-paste

A hospitalist looks at how much of the typical electronic health record has been copied and pasted.

An order not to hospitalize

A researcher discusses a study on this type of advance directive.

Do you know your core competencies?

Satyen Nichani, MD, ACP Member, explains the Society of Hospital Medicine's recently updated Core Competencies in Hospital Medicine.

What happens when patients call their own rapid response?

A hospital finds surprising results from safety initiative.

Physician-rating websites lack star power

Reviews aren't numerous enough to provide meaningful information.

Critical illness events on wards may be ‘contagious'

Does focusing on one patient who's very, very sick have an impact on other patients on the same ward?

Teaching high-value care

An assistant dean for health care value discusses a new track in care transformation for residents.

Textbook reflects evolution of hospitalists

More robust coverage of consultation medicine, rehabilitation medicine, oncology, palliative care, and transitions of care is included

The future is now

Revisiting 2007 predictions for hospital medicine with Robert Wachter, MD, FACP.

Dispelling the ‘hot-spotter’ myth

Not all patients who accrue high costs are frequent utilizers of services.

A shift in hospital-physician affiliations

Many more physicians now work directly for hospitals. What does this mean for them?

A shift in hospital-physician affiliations

Many more physicians now work directly for hospitals. What does this mean for them?.

Assess stroke rehab needs sooner, better

New guidelines focus on rehabilitation and recovery.

Explaining Sepsis-3

A physician involved in developing the Third International Consensus Definitions for Sepsis and Septic Shock outlines the reasoning behind the new changes in sepsis criteria.

Focusing on acute MI in women

An expert offers insight on the American Heart Association's first scientific statement on the topic.

Bullies in the hospital

The problem of bullies in school extends all the way through medical training, according to a recent study.

A new cause to consider in falls: Infection

Coexisting systemic infections may need to be routinely considered in patients who present with a fall.

How hospitalists can avoid diagnostic errors

A patient safety expert offers advice on improving diagnosis.

Will ICUs become hospitalists' turf?

Expert considers new intensive care staffing models.

‘The pause’ allows for moment of silence after a patient death

The RN who developed it sees it as “a means of honoring a patient after they pass away”.

Mobile apps enter the hospital

An expert discusses which apps hospitalists should know about and how they can begin to prescribe them.

Clinical reasoning now a ‘foundational basic science’ in medical education

Perhaps the most important aspect of medical training is developing the ability to come to the correct diagnosis.

Panel picks appropriate uses for PICCs

An expert discusses new collaborative recommendations.

What do PCPs wish hospitalists would do?

A survey looks at what PCPs want from their professional relationships with hospitalists.

Quality over cost: New book focuses on physicians' role in improving value

The book's authors discuss the importance of high-value health care.

Give them choice or give them guidance?

Study looks at patients' autonomy versus their best interest.

One hospital finds better communication with patients thanks to EHRs

Patient satisfaction rates went up after EHR implementation.

A card and a couple of minutes convey condolences

A study finds that clinicians express condolences to patients' families at inconsistent rates.

Add a second question to the smoking conversation

Secondhand smoke exposure common among cardiac inpatients.

Experts agree on principles of diabetes care

Broad topics, specific advice are included.

You can keep your pants on

Most patients would like to wear pants during hospital stay.

Hospitalists can help IOM fix dying process

A new report calls for improvements in end-of-life care

A hospital compares outcomes of teaching and hospitalist teams

Dr. Chin's study looked at length of stay, readmissions, and costs among 3 types of inpatient medicine teams.

Q&A: What future hospitalists are thinking now

Young docs talk about training experiences, expectations for their careers.

Q&A: The next step in sepsis care

Patients with severe sepsis and septic shock get the best care that hospitals have to offer: rapid, intensive, protocol-based treatment.

Search out the surrogates

Alexia M. Torke, MD, discusses her study on sharing decision making with elderly inpatients.

An unusual state of hospital finances

An independent commission sets hospital charges, with the same prices for all payers.

Signing up isn't enough

Only half of hospitals reported monitoring whether they gave discharge summaries to primary care physicians, study found.

Failing to prevent heart failure readmissions

Hospitalist use was associated with greater adherence to heart failure performance measures,.

Lab oversight important even for waived testing

Physicians should take steps to improve the testing done in their hospitals and offices.

The question patients won't ask but want answered

Research indicates sexual problems and concerns are common after hospital discharge.

The emotional life of doctors

When physicians get a handle on work-related emotions, it helps improve patient care as well as self-care.

Advice on the most difficult conversation

Hospitalists often find reasons to avoid asking patients about goals of care.

Concerns, not ignorance, inhibit stroke med adherence

Physicians should work with patients to develop solutions to medication concerns.

Where does the day go?

Time with patients is sacrificed for time spent documenting care and talking with other clinicians.

How does your handoff rate?

Learning how to receive a handoff is as important as learning to how to send one.

CRE rates creeping up

Here's what hospitalists can do to protect patients from carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae.

Little conversations about big decisions

Understanding where colleagues are coming from could help improve communication.

Time to teach

Everybody believes somebody should do it, but nobody has the time to figure out whose job it is. Such is the problematic status of patient discharge education.

The dark side of doctoring

Physicians who commit suicide appear to differ from nonphysicians in several ways.

Time to curb the curbside?

They are quick, convenient and help out colleagues and patients. What could be wrong with curbside consults? Quite a lot.

Be smart about smartphone use

A study suggests that hospitals develop a policy about when and how to use smartphones at work.

A patient-centered home on the range

A three-year patient-centered medical home pilot reduced ED visits and hospital admissions.

Septic sadness

A recent study found a substantial prevalence of depression among spouses of sepsis survivors.

Optimizing Tx of med students

Medical student mistreatment appears to be more common than one might think.

You are a role model

When academic hospitalists observe their peers behaving unprofessionally, chances are residents and students are seeing the same thing.

What's your malpractice risk?

A research letter uncovers how often physicians face malpractice claims, and which are more likely to do so.

Writing and wishing

Understanding patients' and families' perspectives plays a big part in successful end-of-life care.

Losing a patient—and the family, too?

People were more likely to have an MI shortly after a significant death than in the six months prior.

A vision of the future

The chairman and CEO of IPC discusses current trends and future possibilities.

HAI but POA

A study indicates that public reporting of hospital infection rates should note which were present on admission.

Can't always get what you want, but hospitalists come close

A recent survey aimed to gain some perspective on job satisfaction for hospitalists.

Projecting the future of inpatient dementia

A recent analysis concluded that by 2050, the annual number of dementia-associated hospitalizations of patients older than 85 could surpass seven million.

Embracing the spiritual

Most patients don't want their physicians to play God, but discussing God is another matter.

How to volunteer overseas

An experienced volunteer discusses what's required to get involved.

Lost in transit

Even when errors didn't occur, communication patterns appeared less than ideal.

The challenge of predicting readmissions

It would be convenient if, along with their white coats, hospitalists were issued crystal balls.

Assess before anticoagulating

Three new evidence-based recommendations from ACP point out that VTE prophylaxis is not as simple as some might think.Three new evidence-based recommendations from ACP point out that VTE prophylaxis is not as simple as some might think.

Fall prevention falls short on evidence base

A review of existing fall prevention methods found little conclusive medical evidence to support them.

Not just another satisfaction survey

A survey asks patients what they didn't like about their hospital stays, and gets some interesting answers.

Learning from the best

Interviewing personnel at "best" and "worst" hospitals yielded some interesting findings.

ICU patients suffer symptoms silently

By the time a patient gets to the ICU, his symptoms aren't usually the focus of diagnostics or treatment. But that doesn't mean they aren't still bothering him.

Stay alert to patients' suicide risk

A recent Sentinel Event Alert aims to reduce suicide risk in hospitalized patients.

Hospitals with leverage get more from insurers

A new study shows that payment rates vary widely from private insurers to hospitals. The president of the Center for Studying Health System Change talks to ACP Hospitalist about possible causes and solutions.

ACP issues guideline on glucose management for hospitalized patients

ACP's director of clinical policy discusses a new guideline for intensive insulin therapy.

D2B: Saving time, but not lives?

Reducing delays for percutaneous coronary intervention didn't lower mortality, a study found.

Diaries share, and help resolve, secrets of the ICU

Daily logs may help lower incidence of post-traumatic stress disorder.

When hospitalists stay longer, patients leave sooner

A study indicates that fragmentation of care negatively affects length of stay. The lead author talks about his findings.

Evidence that's not what it seems

The determination of whether a treatment would be futile is one of the toughest decisions a hospitalist can face.

Patient safety vs. physician frustration: Finding a balance for medication alerts

Warnings in a computerized provider order entry system help alert prescribers to risky drugs for the elderly.

Guidelines getting tougher on industry, but physicians are not

A survey found that physicians were comfortable accepting industry-sponsored gifts despite prohibitions against them.

Six letters that can help with difficult decisions

Two physicians describe their mnemonic for determine patients' decision-making capacity.

Core competencies peripheral in practice

The Society of Hospital Medicine considers nine procedures to be "core competencies" for hospitalists, yet many perform them so rarely it would be difficult to maintain competency.

ICU patients need to be seen as well as heard

Determining the floor plan of a hospital is usually the responsibility of an architect, but a recent study shows doctors should care about design, too.

Putting MRSA to the test

Screening patients may keep infection from taking hold.

Q&A: Answering before the surgeon calls

Did seeing high-risk surgical patients early reduce complications and length of stay?

There is a doctor in the ‘House’

Lisa Sanders, ACP Member, is a technical adviser on the T.V. show "House, M.D."

Improving patient sleep by shaking up routines

Melissa Bartick, ACP Member, found that simple changes can reduce patients' requests for sedatives.

I-MOVE gets elderly patients on the move

The I-MOVE sounds like a state-of-the-art electronic gadget, but it's actually the simplest of medical tools. Developed by clinicians at Mercy Hospital of Pittsburgh and the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota, the Independent Mobility Validation Examination, or I-MOVE, is a 12-point scale that could help hospitalists assess their patients' mobility.

Treating trauma—not as scary as you think

A unique service makes hospitalists the primary physicians for certain trauma inpatients.

A sideline that grew outside the lines

Hospitalist Stephen Bekanich, MD, talks about starting a successful palliative care program.

Preventing heart disease by targeting patients' loved ones

Lori Mosca, ACP Member, explains how hospitalists can help reduce risk that runs in the family.

ACP program introduces leadership skills to young members

ACP's LEAD program (Leadership Enhancement and Development) grew out of the realization that training physicians in leadership skills would benefit both physicians and the College. ACP Hospitalist talked to Erik Wallace, FACP, who led the inaugural LEAD precourse at Internal Medicine 2008.

Finding an algorithm for heart failure

The OPTIMIZE-HF study showed which symptoms predicted likelihood of in-hospital mortality from decompensated congestive heart failure and what were the most important predictive factors. Now, there's an algorithm for stratifying patients.

A legal primer for international medical graduates and their employers

Carl Shusterman, JD, answers FAQs about how immigration law applies to doctors

No signouts? No problem

A hospitalist program uses an innovative scheduling system to reduce handoffs

New end-of-life guidelines help physicians fill gap in patient care

Donald E. Casey Jr., FACP, discusses new end-of-life guidelines

A new Rx for crowded hospitals: Math

Operations management expert brings queuing theory to health care

Q&A: Nurturing the human side of medical care

Nearly 20 years ago, Arnold P. Gold, MD, a pediatric neurologist, and his wife, Sandra O. Gold, EdD, a psychologist, created the Arnold P.

In the eye of the storm

Medical residents train amidst Hurricane Katrina's aftermath

Deciding when patients can't

End-of-life considerations for incapacitated patients without surrogates

Assessing unhealthy alcohol use in hospitalized patients

The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) estimates that 3 in 10 Americans drink enough to put them at risk for health problems.

Improving door-to-balloon time for acute MI

The decisions made by hospital staff in the first few minutes following an acute myocardial infarction (MI) often determine whether a patient lives or dies.

One-way lung valves may offer hope to patients with severe emphysema

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is the fourth leading cause of death in the U.S. and resulted in 638,000 hospital discharges in 2004, according to the National Center for Health Statistics.