Defining Supervision Preferences and Roles Within a New Subspecialty: Pediatric Hospital Medicine.

OBJECTIVE: To describe supervision preferences among pediatric hospitalists, Pediatric Hospital Medicine (PHM) fellows, and senior residents (SRs), and to better define the ideal role of a PHM fellow. METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional survey study at 6 institutions nationwide. We developed 3 complementary surveys, one for each population (hospitalists, fellows, SRs). We calculated univariate descriptive and bivariate statistics for categorical variables using Chi-square tests with the Rao-Scott correction to account for clustering by institution. RESULTS: Survey respondents included 106 of 200 hospitalists (53%), all 20 fellows (100%), and 149 of 380 SRs (39%). Most hospitalists and all fellows preferred the supervising hospitalist to have 3+ years of experience or be fellowship-trained. Nearly all fellows preferred the attending round in-person providing progressive independence; while hospitalists and SRs desired greater attending presence on rounds. Hospitalists and fellows wanted more frequent communication when the attending does not round with the team, and more hospitalists desired at least 2 points of contact regardless of attending presence on rounds. Fifty-five percent of SRs reported experiencing much less/less autonomy when on with a fellow than when supervised by a hospitalist only. Regarding the fellow's role, most participants agreed SRs should lead rounds and contact the fellow first with questions. The majority agreed teaching should be a shared responsibility but lacked consensus about how to provide feedback. CONCLUSIONS: Study results reveal preferences about supervising fellows in this new subspecialty. Hospitalists, fellows, and SRs may have differing opinions regarding workflow, communication, and teaching, impacting team leadership and autonomy.

Assessment of the knowledge level and experience of healthcare personnel concerning CPR and early defibrillation: an internal survey.

BACKGROUND: In-hospital cardiac arrest (IHCA) is a major public health problem with significant mortality. Rapid cardiopulmonary resuscitation and early defibrillation is extremely connected to patient outcome. In this study, we aimed to assess the effects of a basic life support and defibrillation course in improving knowledge in IHCA management. METHODS: We performed a prospective observational study recruiting healthcare personnel working at Azienda Ospedaliero Universitaria Pisana, Pisa, Italy. Study consisted in the administration of two questionnaires before and after BLS-D course. The course was structured as an informative meeting and it was held according to European Resuscitation Council guidelines. RESULTS: 78 participants completed pre- and post-course questionnaires. Only 31.9% of the participants had taken part in a BLS-D before our study. After the course, we found a significative increase in the percentage of participants that evaluated their skills adequate in IHCA management (17.9% vs 42.3%; p < 0.01) and in the correct use of defibrillator (38.8% vs 67.9% p < 0.001). However, 51.3% of respondents still consider their preparation not entirely appropriate after the course. Even more, we observed a significant increase in the number of corrected responses after the course, especially about sequence performed in case of absent vital sign, CPR maneuvers and use of defibrillator. CONCLUSIONS: The training course resulted in significant increase in the level of knowledge about the general management of IHCA in hospital staff. Therefore, a simple intervention such as an informative meetings improved significantly the knowledge about IHCA and, consequently, can lead to a reduction of morbidity and mortality.

Perfil socioprofissional dos médicos atuantes em serviços hospitalares / Social and professional profile of physicians working in hospitals

Objetivo: Determinar o perfil socioprofissional dos médicos que atuam em serviços hospitalares de urgência e emergência. Métodos: Realizou-se uma pesquisa descritiva com delineamento transversal. Foram avaliadas as informações de 60 médicos que atuavam em três hospitais com serviços de urgência e emergência do município de Imperatriz (MA), no período de janeiro a março de 2018. Para coleta de dados, utilizou-se um questionário autoaplicável contendo 18 questões. Resultados: Dos 60 participantes, 70% eram do sexo masculino, e 53,3% não ingressaram em programas de Residência Médica. A média de idade dos profissionais foi de 37 anos, enquanto a média do tempo de atuação no setor de urgência e emergência foi de 11 anos. Dos participantes, 85% referiram ter realizado cursos complementares voltados para a área da emergência. Os cursos mais citados foram o Advanced Cardiac Life Support (39,3%) e o Advanced Trauma Life Support (38,1%). Conclusão: Os perfis dos médicos foram de jovens, com predominância do sexo masculino e com pouco tempo de experiência profissional em atuação no setor de urgência e emergência. Identificou-se grande adesão aos cursos complementares na área de emergência e de educação continuada. Entretanto, apenas uma minoria dos participantes possuía especialidade e pós-graduação stricto e lato sensu.

Objective: To establish the social and professional profile of physicians working in emergency hospital services. Methods: A descriptive study with cross-sectional design was carried out. The information of 60 physicians working in hospitals with emergency services in the municipality of Imperatriz, MA, from January to March 2018 was assessed. A self-administered questionnaire with 18 questions was applied for data collection. Results: Of the 60 participants, 70% were men and 53.3% did not enroll in Medical Residency Programs. The physicians' mean age was 37 years, while the mean time of work in the emergency department was 11 years. Of the participants, 85% declared taking complementary courses on the emergency area. The most cited courses were Advanced Cardiac Life Support (39.3%) and Advanced Trauma Life Support (38.1%). Conclusion: The physicians' profiles were being young, a predominance of men, and little experience in on the emergency area. There was high adhesion to complementary courses in the area of emergency and of Continuing Education. However only a minority of participants had a graduate certificate or a graduate degree.

The Design and Evaluation of the Comprehensive Hospitalist Assessment and Mentorship with Portfolios (CHAMP) Ultrasound Program.

BACKGROUND: Literature supports the use of point-ofcare ultrasound performed by the treating hospitalist in the diagnosis of common diseases. There is no consensus on the training paradigm or the evaluation of skill retention for hospitalists. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effectiveness of a comprehensive bedside ultrasound training program with postcourse competency assessments for hospitalists. DESIGN: A retrospective report of a training program with 53 hospitalists. The program consisted of online modules, a 3-day in-person course, portfolios, 1-day refresher training, monthly scanning, and assessments. Hospitalists were rated by using similar pre- and postcourse competency assessments and self-rating parameters during the 3-day and refresher courses. SETTING: A large tertiary-care center. RESULTS: Skills increased after the 3-day course from a median preassessment score of 15% correct (interquartile range [IQR] 10%-25%) to a median postassessment score of 90% (IQR 80%-95%; P < .0001). At the time of the refresher course, the median precourse skills score had decreased to 65% correct (IQR 35%-90%), which improved to 100% postcourse (IQR 85%-100%; P < .0001). Skills scores decreased significantly less between the post 3-day course assessment and pre 1-day refresher course for hospitalists who completed portfolios (mean decrease 13.6% correct; P < .0001) and/or monthly scanning sessions (mean decrease 7.3% correct; P < .0001) compared with hospitalists who did not complete these items. CONCLUSIONS: A comprehensive longitudinal ultrasound training program including competency assessments improved ultrasound acquisition skills with hospitalists. Skill retention remained high in those who completed portfolios and/or monthly scanning sessions along with a 1-day in-person refresher course.

Decrease in Inpatient Telemetry Utilization Through a System-Wide Electronic Health Record Change and a Multifaceted Hospitalist Intervention.

BACKGROUND: Unnecessary telemetry monitoring contributes to healthcare waste. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the impact of 2 interventions to reduce telemetry utilization. DESIGN, SETTING, PATIENTS: A 2-group retrospective, observational pre- to postintervention study of 35,871 nonintensive care unit (ICU) patients admitted to 1 academic medical center. INTERVENTION: On the hospitalist service, we implemented a telemetry reduction intervention including education, process change, routine feedback, and a financial incentive between January 2015 and June 2015. In July 2015, a system-wide change to the telemetry ordering process was introduced. MEASUREMENTS: The primary outcome was telemetry utilization, measured as the percentage of daily room charges for telemetry. Secondary outcomes were mortality, escalation of care, code event rate, and appropriateness of telemetry utilization. Generalized linear models were used to evaluate changes in outcomes while adjusting for patient factors. RESULTS: Among hospitalist service patients, telemetry utilization was reduced by 69% (95% confidence interval [CI], -72% to -64%; P < .001), whereas on other services the reduction was a less marked 22% (95% CI, -27% to -16%; P < .001). There were no significant increases in mortality, code event rates, or care escalation, and there was a trend toward improved utilization appropriateness. CONCLUSIONS: Although electronic telemetry ordering changes can produce decreases in hospital-wide telemetry monitoring, a multifaceted intervention may lead to an even larger decline in utilization rates. Whether these changes are durable cannot be ascertained from our study.

Hospitalist Perspective of Interactions with Medicine Subspecialty Consult Services.

BACKGROUND: Medicine subspecialty consultation is becoming increasingly important in inpatient medicine. OBJECTIVE: We conducted a survey study in which we examined hospitalist practices and attitudes regarding medicine subspecialty consultation. DESIGN AND SETTING: The survey instrument was developed by the authors based on prior literature and administered online anonymously to hospitalists at 4 academic medical centers in the United States. MEASUREMENTS: The survey evaluated 4 domains: (1) current consultation practices, (2) preferences regarding consultation, (3) barriers to and facilitating factors of effective consultation, and (4) a comparison between hospitalist-fellow and hospitalist-subspecialty attending interactions. RESULTS: One hundred twenty-two of 261 hospitalists (46.7%) responded. The majority of hospitalists interacted with fellows during consultation. Of those, 90.9% reported that in-person communication occurred during less than half of consultations, and 64.4% perceived pushback at least "sometimes " in their consult interactions. Participants viewed consultation as an important learning experience, preferred direct communication with the consulting service, and were interested in more teaching during consultation. The survey identified a number of barriers to and facilitating factors of an effective hospitalist-consultant interaction, which impacted both hospitalist learning and patient care. Hospitalists reported more positive experiences when interacting with subspecialty attendings compared to fellows with regard to multiple aspects of the consultation. CONCLUSION: The hospitalist-consultant interaction is viewed as important for both hospitalist learning and patient care. Multiple barriers and facilitating factors impact the interaction, many of which are amenable to intervention.

Graduating Pediatric Residents Entering the Hospital Medicine Workforce, 2006-2015.

OBJECTIVE: In October 2016, the American Board of Medical Specialties approved the petition for pediatric hospital medicine (PHM) to become the newest pediatric subspecialty. Knowledge about residents entering the PHM workforce is needed to inform certification and fellowship accreditation. This study describes the characteristics of graduating pediatric residents with PHM positions and identifies factors associated with postresidency position choices. METHODS: We analyzed data from the American Academy of Pediatrics Annual Survey of Graduating Residents, 2006-2015. Chi-square tests were used to compare responses between residents entering PHM to those entering subspecialty fellowships, and to compare residents entering PHM at community and tertiary-care hospitals. We used multivariable logistic regression to identify associations between resident and training characteristics and position choices. RESULTS: A total of 5969 respondents completed the survey (60.6% response rate); 593 (10.3%) reported that they were entering PHM and 1954 (33.9%) reported subspecialty fellowships. Of residents entering PHM, 345 (60.7%) reported positions at tertiary-care hospitals and 194 (34.2%) reported positions at community hospitals. Seventy percent of residents entering PHM envisioned long-term PHM careers, with PHM career goals more frequently reported among residents entering community hospitalist positions (P < .01). In multivariable analysis, residents entering PHM were significantly more likely to be female, to have children, to report that family factors limited their job selection, and to have higher levels of educational debt than residents entering fellowships. CONCLUSIONS: Factors associated with postresidency PHM positions, including substantial educational debt and sociodemographic characteristics, may influence the development of the field as the specialty pursues fellowship accreditation.

Improving Quality of Care for Seriously Ill Patients: Opportunities for Hospitalists.

As the shift to value-based payment accelerates, hospitals are under increasing pressure to deliver high-quality, efficient services. Palliative care approaches improve quality of life and family well-being, and in doing so, reduce resource utilization and costs. Hospitalists frequently provide palliative care interventions to their patients, including pain and symptom management and engaging in conversations with patients and families about the realities of their illness and treatment plans that align with their priorities. Hospitalists are ideally positioned to identify patients who could most benefit from palliative care approaches and often refer the most complex cases to specialty palliative care teams. Though hospitalists are frequently called upon to provide palliative care, most lack formal training in these skills, which have not typically been included in medical education. Additional training in communication, safe and effective symptom management, and other palliative care knowledge and skills are available in both in-person and online formats.

The African Hospitalist Fellowship.

The African Paediatric Fellowship Programme is rolling out a training course for newly qualified paediatricians to equip them with the leadership skills to function in complex general paediatric settings. The care of children in Africa carries its own unique demands, from the layering effects of multiple conditions through to establishing and sustaining services under severe resource constraints. This novel training concept aims to strengthen confidence and knowledge in areas that are not priorities during standard general paediatric training. The skills gained are considered of great relevance in assisting general paediatricians to achieve their full potential in their careers.

Physician Assistant Student Training for the Inpatient Setting: A Needs Assessment.

PURPOSE: The number of physician assistants (PAs) practicing hospital medicine is rapidly expanding. Little research has been done to determine which inpatient medicine rotation experiences are most helpful to prepare PA students for a career in inpatient medicine. We aimed to determine those skills that practicing hospitalists believe are most critical for PA students to master and to describe hospitalists' current understanding of PA training. We also sought to evaluate the current performance of our own inpatient medicine rotation for PA students. METHODS: We surveyed 85 practicing hospitalists, including physicians and advanced-practice providers, from 3 hospitals in the Duke University Health System to identify (1) the clinical topics and skills deemed most essential for PA students on an inpatient medicine rotation, (2) the percentage of hospitalists able to correctly answer basic questions about PA training, and (3) current rotation performance. Descriptive statistics were used to summarize responses. RESULTS: Hospitalists identified the clinical conditions and health care systems with the most educational value for PA students. Hospitalists were found to have variable levels of understanding of the PA training pathway, with more than 20% incorrectly answering questions about the training process. According to mean responses, the rotation performed positively for 15 of 19 medical conditions. The majority of survey respondents suggested that a formal curriculum would help faculty teach and improve the learning experience for PA students. CONCLUSIONS: Identifying the most essential content can facilitate curriculum development. Hospitalists have a knowledge gap about the training of PA students. The inpatient medicine rotation was rated positively, but survey responses suggested that a formal curriculum could have a positive effect and would be well received.

Dermatology hospital fellowships: present and future.

The question of what makes a successful dermatology hospitalist has risen to the forefront due to the rapidly increasing number of these providers. Inpatient dermatology fellowships have formed as a direct consequence. Though mostly in their infancy, these programs have primary or secondary goals to train providers in the dermatologic care of the hospitalized patient. This article presents a brief synopsis of the history of traditional hospitalist fellowships and extrapolates these findings to existing hospitalist dermatology fellowships. As more of these programs arise, these fellowships are poised to revolutionize dermatologic inpatient care from a systems perspective.

Hospital Medicine and Fellowship Program in Rural North Dakota - A Multifaceted Success Story.

INTRODUCTION: Recruitment of hospitalists and primary care physicians for Critical Access Hospitals and tertiary care hospitals in North Dakota is difficult. To address this challenge, 2 programs were implemented in Bismarck, North Dakota. METHODS: St. Alexius Medical Center created a hospitalist fellowship training program in collaboration with the University of North Dakota School of Medicine and Health Sciences and physicians willing to work in Critical Access Hospitals were offered a joint appointment to teach hospitalist fellows and obtain a clinical academic appointment at the university. RESULTS: Since it was created in 2012, 84 physicians have applied for 13 fellowships. Of the 11 fellows who have completed the program, 64% (7/11) remained in North Dakota to practice. CONCLUSIONS: Physicians are more likely to work in a rural Critical Access Hospital if they spend time working at a tertiary care center and have clinical academic appointments. Where recruitment is challenging, hospitalist fellowship programs are helpful in meeting the health care workforce demand.

Multifaceted intervention including education, rounding checklist implementation, cost feedback, and financial incentives reduces inpatient laboratory costs.

BACKGROUND: Inappropriate laboratory testing is a contributor to waste in healthcare. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the impact of a multifaceted laboratory reduction intervention on laboratory costs. DESIGN: A retrospective, controlled, interrupted time series (ITS) study. SETTING: University of Utah Health Care, a 500-bed academic medical center in Salt Lake City, Utah. POPULATION: All patients 18 years or older admitted to the hospital to a service other than obstetrics, rehabilitation, or psychiatry. INTERVENTION: Multifaceted quality-improvement initiative in a hospitalist service including education, process change, cost feedback, and financial incentive. MEASUREMENTS: Primary outcomes of lab cost per day and per visit. Secondary outcomes of number of basic metabolic panel (BMP), comprehensive metabolic panel (CMP), complete blood count (CBC), and prothrombin time/international normalized ratio tests per day; length of stay (LOS); and 30-day readmissions. RESULTS: A total of 6310 hospitalist patient visits (intervention group) were compared to 25,586 nonhospitalist visits (control group). Among the intervention group, the unadjusted mean cost per day was reduced from $138 before the intervention to $123 after the intervention (P < 0.001), and the unadjusted mean cost per visit decreased from $618 to $558 (P = 0.005). The ITS analysis showed significant reductions in cost per day, cost per visit, and the number of BMP, CMP, and CBC tests per day (P = 0.034, 0.02, <0.001, 0.004, and <0.001). LOS was unchanged and 30-day readmissions decreased in the intervention group. CONCLUSION: A multifaceted approach to laboratory reduction demonstrated a significant reduction in laboratory cost per day and per visit, as well as common tests per day at a major academic medical center. Journal of Hospital Medicine 2016;11:348-354. © 2016 Society of Hospital Medicine.

Obstetrics and Gynecology Hospitalist Fellowships.

This article establishes the rationale and development of an obstetrics and gynecology (OB/GYN) hospitalist fellowship program. The pool of OB/GYN hospitalists needs to be drastically expanded to accommodate the country's needs. Fellowship programs should provide extra training and confidence for recent resident graduates who want to pursue a hospitalist career. Fellowships should train physicians in a way that aligns their interests with those of the hospital with respect to patient care, teaching, and research. Research in the core measures should be a necessary component of the fellowship so as to provide long-term benefits for all stakeholders, including hospitals and patients.

Hospitalist intervention for appropriate use of telemetry reduces length of stay and cost.

BACKGROUND: Telemetry monitoring is a widely used, labor-intensive, and often-limited resource. Little is known of the effectiveness of methods to guide appropriate use. OBJECTIVE: Our intervention for appropriate use included: (1) a hospitalist-led, daily review of bed utilization, (2) hospitalist-driven education module for trainees, (3) quarterly feedback of telemetry usage, and (4) financial incentives. DESIGN/METHODS: Hospitalists were encouraged to discuss daily telemetry utilization on rounds. A module on appropriate telemetry usage was taught by hospitalists during the intervention period (January 2013-August 2013) on medicine wards. Pre- and post-evaluations measured changes regarding telemetry use. We compared hospital bed-use data between the baseline period (January 2012-December 2012), intervention period, and extension period (September 2014-March 2015). During the intervention period, hospital bed-use data were sent to the hospitalist group quarterly. Financial incentives were provided after a decrease in hospitalist telemetry utilization. SETTING: Stanford Hospital, a 444-bed, academic medical center in Stanford, California. RESULTS: Hospitalists saw reductions for both length of stay (LOS) (2.75 vs 2.13 days, P = 0.005) and total cost (22.5% reduction) for telemetry bed utilization in the intervention period. Nonhospitalists telemetry bed utilization remained unchanged. We saw significant improvements in trainee knowledge of the most cost-saving action (P = 0.002) and the least cost-saving action (P = 0.003) in the pre- and post-evaluation analyses. Results were sustained in the hospitalist group, with telemetry LOS of 1.93 days in the extension period. CONCLUSIONS: A multipronged, hospitalist-driven intervention to improve appropriate use of telemetry reduces LOS and cost, and increases knowledge of cost-saving actions among trainees.

Comparing patient outcomes of academician-preceptors, hospitalist-preceptors, and hospitalists on internal medicine services in an academic medical center.

BACKGROUND: Patient outcomes with hospitalist care have been studied in many settings, yet little is known about how hospitalist care interacts with trainee care to affect patient outcomes in teaching hospitals. OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to compare patient outcomes between hospitalist-preceptors and hospitalists working alone (isolating the effect of housestaff involvement), and between hospitalist-preceptors and academician-preceptors (isolating the effect of attending type, given housestaff involvement). DESIGN: A four-year retrospective cohort study of patients (n = 13,313) admitted to all internal medicine services at an academic medical center from July 2008 to June 2012. MAIN MEASURES: Using generalized estimating equations, we measured readmission within 30 days, hospital length of stay, cost of the index hospitalization, and cumulative cost including readmissions within 30 days. KEY RESULTS: In the adjusted models, 30-day readmission odds were higher for academic-preceptors (OR, 1.14 [95% CI, 1.03 - 1.26]) and hospitalist-preceptors (OR, 1.10 [95% CI, 1.002 - 1.21]) than for hospitalists working alone. Compared with hospitalists working alone, academic-preceptors were associated with shorter length of stay (mean difference, 0.27 days [95% CI, 0.18 - 0.38]), lower index hospitalization costs (mean difference, $386 [95% CI, $192 - $576]), but similar cumulative inpatient costs within 30 days of discharge. Compared with hospitalists working alone, hospitalist-preceptors were associated with shorter length of stay (mean difference, 0.34 days [95% CI, 0.26 - 0.42]), lower index hospitalization cost (mean difference, $570 [95% CI, $378 - $760]), and a trend toward lower cumulative cost (mean difference, $1347 [95% CI, $254 - $2,816]). CONCLUSIONS: Preceptor-led medicine services were associated with more readmissions within 30 days, shorter lengths of stay, and lower index admission-associated costs. However, when considering cumulative hospitalization costs, patients discharged by academician-preceptors incurred the highest cost and hospitalist-preceptors incurred the lowest cost.

Resident and hospitalist perspectives on the "great teaching case": Correlation with actual patient assignment decisions.

BACKGROUND: With the advent of limits to resident duty hours and the size of teaching services, many academic institutions have introduced nonteaching services, often triaging perceived better teaching cases to the resident services. OBJECTIVE: To compare resident versus faculty perceptions of ideal cases for teaching services and compare these perceptions with actual triage decisions made by faculty who assigned patients to either teaching or nonteaching services. DESIGN: Residents and hospitalist faculty were surveyed about their perceptions of ideal and actual teaching admissions, first with qualitative, open-ended questions and then with quantitative, specific questions generated from responses to the first survey. Characteristics of patients admitted to teaching and nonteaching services were analyzed retrospectively and compared with resident and faculty perceptions. RESULTS: Residents and faculty agreed that rare cases, patients with unique physical findings, and a variety of pathology were ideal for teaching services and that social admissions, benefactors, and patients with chronic or functional pain were not. Residents believed that traditional ("bread and butter") medicine cases were under-represented on the teaching services. Although residents perceived that they received a disproportionate number of older patients, outside transfers, patients with chronic pain, and patients with cancer, the only statistically significant difference was in patient age, with the teaching service actually receiving younger patients (66.7 vs 69.3 years; P=0.008). CONCLUSIONS: Residents and faculty have similar views about ideal teaching cases, but a triage system based on perceived educational merit creates the possibility of resident misperceptions about their case mix, even if patients are distributed relatively equitably.