News
CMS Introduces Billing Code for Hospitalists: What You Need to Know
March 4, 2016
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) recently announced the approval of a dedicated specialty billing code for hospitalists that will soon be ready for official use.
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News
Can Psychology Offer a New Approach to QI?
March 4, 2016
Sound clinical reasoning is the foundation of patient safety, yet discussions of a physician’s raw thinking ability have become a “third rail” in hospitals, according to “Incorporating Metacognition into Morbidity and Mortality Rounds: The Next Frontier in Quality Improvement,” published in the Jour
News
CRT in Patients with Heart Failure Without LBBB May Harm
March 4, 2016
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) in patients with heart failure (HF) without left bundle branch block (LBBB) may not help and might even harm, according to an international group of investigators. As Dr.
News
Utah Health Sciences Center Realizes Significant Savings from Cost-Analysis Tool
March 3, 2016
Most healthcare systems don’t know or understand their cost of care at the unit that matters, i.e., the actual cost of care for an individual patient.
News
Risk of Chronic Kidney Disease is Increased If You Have Sleep Apnea
March 3, 2016
(Reuters Health) - Having sleep apnea may increase the risk of chronic kidney disease, according to a report from Taiwan. Researchers analyzed data from 2000 through 2010 on 8,600 adults diagnosed with sleep apnea and four times as many adults of similar age, sex and monthly income without sleep
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Opinion
A Closer Look at Characteristics of High-Performing HM Groups
March 2, 2016
Early in 2015, SHM published the updated edition of the “Key Principles and Characteristics of an Effective Hospital Medicine Group,” which is a free download via the SHM website.
News
Researchers Report Opioid Modulation with the Combination of Buprenorphine and Samidorphan Improves Symptoms in Patients with Depression
March 2, 2016
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Opioid modulation with the combination of buprenorphine and samidorphan (ALKS 5461) improves symptoms in patients whose depression has not responded adequately to antidepressant treatment, researchers report. "If the findings are confirmed in phase 3 studies, ALKS 5461
News
No Change in Duration of Mechanical Ventilation with Acetazolamide for COPD Patients with Metabolic Alkalosis
March 1, 2016
Clinical question: Does acetazolamide decrease the duration of mechanical ventilation for patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and metabolic alkalosis? Bottom line: Although acetazolamide effectively decreased the levels of serum bicarbonate and the number of days with metabolic al
News
Tamsulosin Effective as Expulsion Therapy for Distal Ureteric Stones
March 1, 2016
Clinical question: Is tamsulosin effective in the management of distal ureteric stones? Bottom line: Tamsulosin promotes stone passage of ureteric stones that are 5 mm to 10 mm. You would need to treat 5 patients with tamsulosin to cause the expulsion of one such stone.
News
SHM Offering Webinars on Reducing Readmissions, Optimizing Glycemic Control
March 1, 2016
This April, the Society of Hospital Medicine (SHM) will offer two free live webinars on how two of its signature mentored implementation programs are changing the way hospitals manage two key issues: readmissions and glycemic control. Project BOOST is an evidence-based approach to reduce preventa
