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News
Move to Allow Patients to Request ‘Refund’ Appealing and Risky
December 30, 2015
We’ve all seen hundreds of commercials from companies advertising products and services with a money-back guarantee. The Men’s Warehouse, for example, has been promising men across the globe for over a decade, “You’re going to like the way you look.
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Opinion
Concerns Grow as Top Clinicians Choose Nonclinical Roles
December 22, 2015
On a spring day a couple of years ago, I met with some internal medicine residents in a “Healthcare Systems Immersion” elective.
News
Unassigned, Undocumented Patients Take a Toll on Healthcare and Hospitalists
December 3, 2015
When a patient must remain in the acute care hospital setting—despite being well enough to transition to a lower level of care, costs continue to mount as the patient receives care at the most expensive level. “But policymakers must understand that reducing support for essential hospitals might s
News
99% of Medical-Device Monitoring Alerts Not Actionable
December 3, 2015
Nearly all medical-device monitoring alerts on regular hospital units were found not to be actionable, according to a study by pediatrician and researcher Chris Bonafide, MD, MSCE, at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, based on reviewing hours of video from patient rooms.1 Reference Bonafide
News
ICD-10 Flexibility Helps Transition to New Coding Systems, Principles, Payer Policy Requirements
December 1, 2015
Effective October 1, providers submit claims with ICD-10-CM codes. As they adapt to this new system, physicians, clinical staff, and billers should be relying on feedback from each other to achieve a successful transition.
News
Guide Helps Hospitalists Choose Most Appropriate Catheter for Patients
November 30, 2015
The Michigan Appropriateness Guide for Intravenous Catheters (MAGIC) is a new resource designed to help clinicians select the safest and most appropriate peripherally inserted central catheter (PICC) for individual patients. “How do you decide which catheter is best for your patient?
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News
Institute of Medicine Report Examines Medical Misdiagnoses
November 30, 2015
In the latest report in its series on quality and patient safety in healthcare, the Institute of Medicine addresses the challenge of errors in medical diagnoses. Authors of the IOM’s “Improving Diagnosis in Health Care” report cite problems in communication and limitations in electronic health re
News
Quality Improvement Initiative Targets Sepsis
November 30, 2015
A quality improvement (QI) initiative at University Hospital in Salt Lake City aims to save lives and cut hospital costs by reducing inpatient sepsis mortality. Program co-leaders, hospitalists Devin Horton, MD, and Kencee Graves, MD, of University Hospital, launched the initiative as a pilot pro
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Opinion
Poor Continuity of Patient Care Increases Work for Hospitalist Groups
November 30, 2015
[caption id="attachment_12166" align="alignright" width="295"] Image Credit: ILLUSTRATION/PAUL JUESTRICH; PHOTOs shutterstock.com[/caption] I think every hospitalist group should diligently try to maximize hospitalist-patient continuity, but many seem to adopt schedules and other operational prac
News
ICD-10 Under ACP Scrutiny
November 19, 2015
NEW YORK - While the new International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision, Clinical Modification (ICD-10-CM) codes offer greater diagnostic precision, their implementation will require training of clinicians, coders, and other staff to minimize payment denials or delays from both public and
