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MARCH 13, 2015 | Subscribe | Search jobs | BLOGS
WEEKLY NEWS BRIEFS FOR HOSPITALISTS
DISCHARGE CARE
1. Not all patients need to be seen quickly after discharge
How soon after discharge should patients be seen for follow-up care? While common sense says as soon as possible, new research says that only those patients with multiple chronic conditions showed significant benefit from follow-up care within seven days of discharge. The study, which was published in the Annals of Family Medicine, found that while early follow-up care did reduce readmissions in other patients, that reduction was as low as 1.5%. For high-risk patients, by comparison, readmission rates were cut by as much as 8%. Researchers also found that about the same number of high- and low-risk patients—just over half—received postdischarge care within 14 days, which points to a need to focus on patients at high-risk of readmissions. Read more at Medscape.
HANDOFFS
2. Face-to-face handoffs don’t reduce adverse events
More news to dispel common sense on the wards: While it may seem obvious that face-to-face handoffs are better for patient care, a new study found that’s not necessarily the case. The research, which was published in the Journal of Hospital Medicine, found that face-to-face handoffs produced no significant reduction in adverse events or length of stay in the 12 hours after the handoff. Researchers looked at factors like the number of rapid response team calls, code team calls, transfers to a higher level of care, readmissions and in-hospital mortality. Read more in the Journal of Hospital Medicine.
SEPSIS
3. Keys to spotting—and preventing—sepsis readmissions
New research has found that while sepsis patients are no more likely to be readmitted than patients with other problems, they are often admitted for problems that can be prevented with early treatment. According to a study in JAMA, sepsis patients were more likely to bounce back to the hospital because of a second bout of sepsis or because of kidney or lung failure. These patients were also commonly readmitted because of lung, skin and soft tissue infections. Researchers said that early treatment of these conditions both in and out of the hospital can reduce sepsis-related readmissions, but only if physicians know to what problems to watch for. Read more in Fierce Healthcare.
PATIENT EDUCATION
4. Giving inpatients access to medical records may reduce stress
Would giving inpatients access to their medical records make patients less nervous? A study in JAMA Internal Medicine asking that question found mixed results when researchers gave patients access to their medical records via a tablet computer. Most patients (82%) said that viewing their records helped them better understand the condition that put them in the hospital, and 60% said that access to their records helped them better understand their physicians’ instructions. The study found, however, that 18% of patients were worried by their records and 32% were confused. Researchers also found that 36% of physicians said giving patients access to their records produced extra work for them, compared to about half of nurses who said the records produced extra work. Read more at Reuters.
RECERTIFICATION
5. What are your plans for recertification? Tell us ...
Are you enrolled in a maintenance of certification program? Today’s Hospitalist is asking for reader feedback on this topic in our first “What do you think?” poll on www.todayshospitalist.com. The three-question survey will take less than 10 seconds to complete, so give us your feedback. Take the poll.
 

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