Implementation of the I-PASS handoff program in diverse clinical environments: A multicenter prospective effectiveness implementation study.

BACKGROUND: Handoff miscommunications are a leading source of medical errors. Harmful medical errors decreased in pediatric academic hospitals following implementation of the I-PASS handoff improvement program. However, implementation across specialties has not been assessed. OBJECTIVE: To determine if I-PASS implementation across diverse settings would be associated with improvements in patient safety and communication. DESIGN: Prospective Type 2 Hybrid effectiveness implementation study. SETTINGS AND PARTICIPANTS: Residents from diverse specialties across 32 hospitals (12 community, 20 academic). INTERVENTION: External teams provided longitudinal coaching over 18 months to facilitate implementation of an enhanced I-PASS program and monthly metric reviews. MAIN OUTCOME AND MEASURES: Systematic surveillance surveys assessed rates of resident-reported adverse events. Validated direct observation tools measured verbal and written handoff quality. RESULTS: 2735 resident physicians and 760 faculty champions from multiple specialties (16 internal medicine, 13 pediatric, 3 other) participated. 1942 error surveillance reports were collected. Major and minor handoff-related reported adverse events decreased 47% following implementation, from 1.7 to 0.9 major events/person-year (p < .05) and 17.5 to 9.3 minor events/person-year (p < .001). Implementation was associated with increased inclusion of all five key handoff data elements in verbal (20% vs. 66%, p < .001, n = 4812) and written (10% vs. 74%, p < .001, n = 1787) handoffs, as well as increased frequency of handoffs with high quality verbal (39% vs. 81% p < .001) and written (29% vs. 78%, p < .001) patient summaries, verbal (29% vs. 78%, p < .001) and written (24% vs. 73%, p < .001) contingency plans, and verbal receiver syntheses (31% vs. 83%, p < .001). Improvement was similar across provider types (adult vs. pediatric) and settings (community vs. academic).

Capturing the Rest: Inpatient Mammography for Nonadherent Hospitalized Women.

INTRODUCTION: More than a third of hospitalized women are overdue or nonadherent to breast cancer screening guidelines, and almost a third of them are also at high risk for developing breast cancer. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the feasibility of coordinating inpatient breast cancer screening mammography for these women before their discharge from the hospital. METHODS: A prospective intervention study was conducted among 101 nonadherent women aged 50-74 years who were hospitalized to a general medicine service. Sociodemographic, reproductive history, family history of breast cancer, and medical comorbidities data were collected for all patients from January 2015 to October 2016. The data were analyzed in March 2018. Fisher's exact tests and unpaired t-tests were utilized to compare the characteristics of the study population. RESULTS: Of the 101 women enrolled who were nonadherent to breast cancer screening recommendations, their mean age was 59.3 (SD=6) years, the mean 5-year Gail risk score was 1.63 (SD=0.69), and 29% of the women were African American. Almost 80% (n=79) underwent inpatient screening mammography. All women who underwent screening mammography during their inpatient stay were extremely satisfied with the experience. The convenience of having screening mammography while hospitalized was reported to be a major facilitator of completing the overdue screening. All nurses (100%) taking care of these women believed that this practice should become part of the standard of care, and most hospitalist physicians (66%) agreed that this practice is feasible. CONCLUSIONS: This study shows that it is possible to coordinate mammography for hospitalized women who were overdue for screening and at high risk for developing breast cancer. TRIAL REGISTRATION: This study is registered at www.clinicaltrials.gov NCT04164251.

Retrospective Quality Improvement Study of Insulin-Induced Hypoglycemia and Implementation of Hospital-Wide Initiatives.

BACKGROUND: Hospitalized patients who are receiving antihyperglycemic agents are at increased risk for hypoglycemia. Inpatient hypoglycemia may lead to increased risk for morbidity, mortality, prolonged hospitalization, and readmission within 30 days of discharge, which in turn may lead to increased costs. Hospital-wide initiatives targeting hypoglycemia are known to be beneficial; however, their impact on patient care and economic measures in community nonteaching hospitals are unknown. METHODS: This retrospective quality improvement study examined the effects of hospital-wide hypoglycemia initiatives on the rates of insulin-induced hypoglycemia in a community hospital setting from January 1, 2016, until September 30, 2019. The potential cost of care savings has been calculated. RESULTS: Among 49 315 total patient days, 2682 days had an instance of hypoglycemia (5.4%). Mean ± SD hypoglycemic patient days/month was 59.6 ± 16.0. The frequency of hypoglycemia significantly decreased from 7.5% in January 2016 to 3.9% in September 2019 (P = .001). Patients with type 2 diabetes demonstrated a significant decrease in the frequency of hypoglycemia (7.4%-3.8%; P < .0001), while among patients with type 1 diabetes the frequency trended downwards but did not reach statistical significance (18.5%-18.0%; P = 0.08). Based on the reduction of hypoglycemia rates, the hospital had an estimated cost of care savings of $98 635 during the study period. CONCLUSIONS: In a community hospital setting, implementation of hospital-wide initiatives targeting hypoglycemia resulted in a significant and sustainable decrease in the rate of insulin-induced hypoglycemia. These high-leverage risk reduction strategies may be translated into considerable cost savings and could be implemented at other community hospitals.

Retrospective study of inpatient diabetes management service, length of stay and 30-day readmission rate of patients with diabetes at a community hospital.

Background: Hospitalized patients with diabetes are at risk of complications and longer length of stay (LOS). Inpatient Diabetes Management Services (IDMS) are known to be beneficial; however, their impact on patient care measures in community, non-teaching hospitals, is unknown. Objectives: To evaluate whether co-managing patients with diabetes by the IDMS team reduces LOS and 30-day readmission rate (30DR). Methods: This retrospective quality improvement cohort study analyzed LOS and 30DR among patients with diabetes admitted to a community hospital. The IDMS medical team consisted of an endocrinologist, nurse practitioner, and diabetes educator. The comparison group consisted of hospitalized patients with diabetes under standard care of attending physicians (mostly internal medicine-trained hospitalists). The relationship between study groups and outcome variables was assessed using Generalized Estimating Equation models. Results: 4,654 patients with diabetes (70.8 ± 0.2 years old) were admitted between January 2016 and May 2017. The IDMS team co-managed 18.3% of patients, mostly with higher severity of illness scores (p < 0.0001). Mean LOS in patients co-managed by the IDMS team decreased by 27%. Median LOS decreased over time in the IDMS group (p = 0.046), while no significant decrease was seen in the comparison group. Mean 30DR in patients co-managed by the IDMS decreased by 10.71%. Median 30DR decreased among patients co-managed by the IDMS (p = 0.048). Conclusions: In a community hospital setting, LOS and 30DR significantly decreased in patients co-managed by a specialized diabetes team. These changes may be translated into considerable cost savings.

Implementation of a comprehensive program to improve coordination of care in an urban academic health care system.

Purpose Academic healthcare systems face great challenges in coordinating services across a continuum of care that spans hospital, community providers, home and chronic care facilities. The Johns Hopkins Community Health Partnership (J-CHiP) was created to improve coordination of acute, sub-acute and ambulatory care for patients, and improve the health of high-risk patients in surrounding neighborhoods. The paper aims to discuss this issue. Design/methodology/approach J-CHiP targeted adults admitted to the Johns Hopkins Hospital and Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center, patients discharged to participating skilled nursing facilities (SNFs), and high-risk Medicare and Medicaid patients receiving primary care in eight nearby outpatient sites. The primary drivers of the program were redesigned acute care delivery, seamless transitions of care and deployment of community care teams. Findings Acute care interventions included risk screening, multidisciplinary care planning, pharmacist-driven medication management, patient/family education, communication with next provider and care coordination protocols for common conditions. Transition interventions included post-discharge health plans, hand-offs and follow-up with primary care providers, Transition Guides, a patient access line and collaboration with SNFs. Community interventions involved forming multidisciplinary care coordination teams, integrated behavioral care and new partnerships with community-based organizations. Originality/value This paper offers a detailed description of the design and implementation of a complex program to improve care coordination for high-risk patients in an urban setting. The case studies feature findings from each intervention that promoted patient engagement, strengthened collaboration with community-based organizations and improved coordination of care.

Association of a Care Coordination Model With Health Care Costs and Utilization: The Johns Hopkins Community Health Partnership (J-CHiP).

Importance: The Johns Hopkins Community Health Partnership was created to improve care coordination across the continuum in East Baltimore, Maryland. Objective: To determine whether the Johns Hopkins Community Health Partnership (J-CHiP) was associated with improved outcomes and lower spending. Design, Setting, and Participants: Nonrandomized acute care intervention (ACI) and community intervention (CI) Medicare and Medicaid participants were analyzed in a quality improvement study using difference-in-differences designs with propensity score-weighted and matched comparison groups. The study spanned 2012 to 2016 and took place in acute care hospitals, primary care clinics, skilled nursing facilities, and community-based organizations. The ACI analysis compared outcomes of participants in Medicare and Medicaid during their 90-day postacute episode with those of a propensity score-weighted preintervention group at Johns Hopkins Community Health Partnership hospitals and a concurrent comparison group drawn from similar Maryland hospitals. The CI analysis compared changes in outcomes of Medicare and Medicaid participants with those of a propensity score-matched comparison group of local residents. Interventions: The ACI bundle aimed to improve transition planning following discharge. The CI included enhanced care coordination and integrated behavioral support from local primary care sites in collaboration with community-based organizations. Main Outcomes and Measures: Utilization measures of hospital admissions, 30-day readmissions, and emergency department visits; quality of care measures of potentially avoidable hospitalizations, practitioner follow-up visits; and total cost of care (TCOC) for Medicare and Medicaid participants. Results: The CI group had 2154 Medicare beneficiaries (1320 [61.3%] female; mean age, 69.3 years) and 2532 Medicaid beneficiaries (1483 [67.3%] female; mean age, 55.1 years). For the CI group's Medicaid participants, aggregate TCOC reduction was $24.4 million, and reductions of hospitalizations, emergency department visits, 30-day readmissions, and avoidable hospitalizations were 33, 51, 36, and 7 per 1000 beneficiaries, respectively. The ACI group had 26 144 beneficiary-episodes for Medicare (13 726 [52.5%] female patients; mean patient age, 68.4 years) and 13 921 beneficiary-episodes for Medicaid (7392 [53.1%] female patients; mean patient age, 52.2 years). For the ACI group's Medicare participants, there was a significant reduction in aggregate TCOC of $29.2 million with increases in 90-day hospitalizations and 30-day readmissions of 11 and 14 per 1000 beneficiary-episodes, respectively, and reduction in practitioner follow-up visits of 41 and 29 per 1000 beneficiary-episodes for 7-day and 30-day visits, respectively. For the ACI group's Medicaid participants, there was a significant reduction in aggregate TCOC of $59.8 million and the 90-day emergency department visit rate decreased by 133 per 1000 episodes, but hospitalizations increased by 49 per 1000 episodes and practitioner follow-up visits decreased by 70 and 182 per 1000 episodes for 7-day and 30-day visits, respectively. In total, the CI and ACI were associated with $113.3 million in cost savings. Conclusions and Relevance: A care coordination model consisting of complementary bundled interventions in an urban academic environment was associated with lower spending and improved health outcomes.

A Concise Tool for Measuring Care Coordination from the Provider's Perspective in the Hospital Setting.

BACKGROUND: To support hospital efforts to improve coordination of care, a tool is needed to evaluate care coordination from the perspective of inpatient healthcare professionals. OBJECTIVES: To develop a concise tool for assessing care coordination in hospital units from the perspective of healthcare professionals, and to assess the performance of the tool in measuring dimensions of care coordination in 2 hospitals after implementation of a care coordination initiative. METHODS: We developed a survey consisting of 12 specific items and 1 global item to measure provider perceptions of care coordination across a variety of domains, including teamwork and communication, handoffs, transitions, and patient engagement. The questionnaire was distributed online between October 2015 and January 2016 to nurses, physicians, social workers, case managers, and other professionals in 2 tertiary care hospitals. RESULTS: A total of 841 inpatient care professionals completed the survey (response rate = 56.6%). Among respondents, 590 (75%) were nurses and 37 (4.7%) were physicians. Exploratory factor analysis revealed 4 subscales: (1) Teamwork, (2) Patient Engagement, (3) Handoffs, and (4) Transitions (Cronbach's alpha 0.84-0.90). Scores were fairly consistent for 3 subscales but were lower for patient engagement. There were minor differences in scores by profession, department, and hospital. CONCLUSIONS: The new tool measures 4 important aspects of inpatient care coordination with evidence for internal consistency and construct validity, indicating that the tool can be used in monitoring, evaluating, and planning care coordination activities in hospital settings.

Introducing the Hospitalist Morale Index: A new tool that may be relevant for improving provider retention.

OBJECTIVE: To develop a valid instrument to assess morale and explore the relationship between morale and intent to leave employment due to unhappiness. PATIENTS AND METHODS: An expert panel identified 46 drivers of hospitalist morale. In May 2009, responders of our single-site pilot survey rated each driver in terms of current contentment and importance to their morale. With exploratory factor analysis, a 28-item/7-factor instrument emerged. In May 2011, the refined scale was distributed to 108 hospitalists from 2 academic and 3 community hospitals. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was used for internal validation and refinement of the Hospitalist Morale Index. Importance ratings and contentment assessments were used to generate item scores, which were then combined to generate factor scores and personal morale scores. Results were used to validate the instrument and evaluate the relationship between hospitalist morale and intent to leave due to unhappiness. RESULTS: The 2011 response rate was 86%. The final CFA resulted in a 5-factor and 5-stand-alone-item model. Personal morale scores were normally distributed (mean = 2.79, standard deviation = 0.58). For every categorical increase on a global question that assessed overall morale, personal morale scores rose 0.23 points (P < 0.001). Each 1-point increase in personal morale score was associated with an 85% decrease (odds ratio: 0.15, 95% confidence interval: 0.05-0.41, P < 0.001) in the odds of intending to leave because of unhappiness. CONCLUSION: The Hospitalist Morale Index is a validated instrument that evaluates hospitalist morale across multiple dimensions of morale. The Hospitalist Morale Index may help program leaders monitor morale and develop customized and effective retention strategies. Journal of Hospital Medicine 2016;11:425-431. © 2016 Society of Hospital Medicine.

Hospitalists and Their Impact on Quality, Patient Safety, and Satisfaction.

The forces promoting the hospitalist model arose from the need for high-value care; therefore, improving quality and cost has been part of the hospitalist formula for success. The factors driving the rapid growth of generalist and subspecialty hospitalists include nationally mandated quality and safety measures, increasing age and complexity of the hospitalized patient, reduced residency duty hours, increased economic pressures to contain costs and reduce length of stay, and also primary care physicians, and specialists, relinquishing hospital privileges to focus on outpatient practices. Hospitalists are playing key roles in patient safety and quality as either leaders or practitioners in the field.

What do hospitalists think about inpatient mammography for hospitalized women who are overdue for their breast cancer screening?

BACKGROUND: A recent study showed that many hospitalized women are nonadherent with breast cancer screening recommendations, and that a majority of these women would be amenable to inpatient screening if it were offered. OBJECTIVE: Explore hospitalists' views about the appropriateness of inpatient breast cancer screening and their concerns about related matters. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 4 hospitalist groups affiliated with Johns Hopkins Medical Institution. χ(2) and t-test statistics were used to identify hospitalist characteristics that were associated with being supportive of inpatient screening mammography. RESULTS: The response rate was 92%. Sixty-two percent of respondents believed that hospitalists should not be involved in breast cancer screening. In response to clinical scenarios describing hospitalized women who were overdue for screening, only one-third of hospitalists said that they would order a screening mammogram. Lack of follow-up on screening mammography results was cited as the most common concern related to ordering the test. CONCLUSIONS: Future studies are needed to evaluate the feasibility and potential barriers associated with inpatient screening mammography.

Hospitalists' ability to use hand-carried ultrasound for central venous pressure estimation after a brief training intervention: a pilot study.

BACKGROUND: Access to hand-carried ultrasound technology for noncardiologists has increased significantly, yet development and evaluation of training programs are limited. OBJECTIVE: We studied a focused program to teach hospitalists image acquisition of inferior vena cava (IVC) diameter and IVC collapsibility index with interpretation of estimated central venous pressure (CVP). METHODS: Ten hospitalists completed an online educational module prior to attending a 1-day in-person training session that included directly supervised IVC imaging on volunteer subjects. In addition to making quantitative assessments, hospitalists were also asked to visually assess whether the IVC collapsed more than 50% during rapid inspiration or a sniff maneuver. Skills in image acquisition and interpretation were assessed immediately after training on volunteer patients and prerecorded images, and again on volunteer patients at least 6 weeks later. RESULTS: Eight of 10 hospitalists acquired adequate IVC images and interpreted them correctly on 5 of the 5 volunteer subjects and interpreted all 10 prerecorded images correctly at the end of the 1-day training session. At 7.4 ± 0.7 weeks (range, 6.9-8.6 weeks) follow-up, 9 of 10 hospitalists accurately acquired and interpreted all IVC images in 5 of 5 volunteers. Hospitalists were also able to accurately determine whether the IVC collapsibility index was more than 50% by visual assessment in 180 of 198 attempts (91% of the time). CONCLUSIONS: After a brief training program, hospitalists acquired adequate skills to perform and interpret hand-carried ultrasound IVC images and retained these skills in the near term. Though calculation of the IVC collapsibility index is more accurate, coupling a qualitative assessment with the IVC maximum diameter measurement may be acceptable in aiding bedside estimation of CVP.

Prevalence of asymptomatic left ventricular systolic dysfunction in at-risk medical inpatients.

BACKGROUND: Asymptomatic left ventricular systolic dysfunction is an important risk factor for heart failure and death. Given the availability of patients, trained personnel, and equipment, the hospital is an ideal setting to identify and initiate treatment for left ventricular systolic dysfunction. The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence of asymptomatic left ventricular systolic dysfunction in patients 45 years of age or older with at least one clinical heart failure risk factor admitted to a general medical service. METHODS: Bedside, hand-carried echocardiography provided quantitative assessment of left ventricular systolic function in 217 medical inpatients 45 years of age or older who had at least one heart failure risk factor. Patients with known or suspected heart failure or with an assessment of left ventricular function in the past 5 years were excluded. We measured the prevalence of asymptomatic left ventricular systolic dysfunction, defined by left ventricular ejection fraction of 50% or lower, and its association with heart failure risk factors. RESULTS: Of 207 patients with interpretable images, 11 (5.3%) had a left ventricular ejection fraction of 50% or lower. Patients with left ventricular systolic dysfunction had more heart failure risk factors than those without left ventricular systolic dysfunction (3.09±0.8 vs 2.5±1.0, P=.04). The total number of heart failure risk factors trended towards an association with a greater prevalence of asymptomatic left ventricular systolic dysfunction, but this did not reach significance (odds ratio 1.74; 95% confidence interval, 0.97-3.12, P=.06). CONCLUSIONS: Asymptomatic left ventricular systolic dysfunction is present in about 1 of every 20 general medical inpatients with at least one risk factor for heart failure. Because treatment of asymptomatic left ventricular systolic dysfunction may reduce morbidity, further studies examining the costs and benefits of using hand-carried ultrasound to identify this important condition in general medical inpatients are warranted.

Improving interunit transitions of care between emergency physicians and hospital medicine physicians: a conceptual approach.

Patient care transitions across specialties involve more complexity than those within the same specialty, yet the unique social and technical features remain underexplored. Further, little consensus exists among researchers and practitioners about strategies to improve interspecialty communication. This concept article addresses these gaps by focusing on the hand-off process between emergency and hospital medicine physicians. Sensitivity to cultural and operational differences and a common set of expectations pertaining to hand-off content will more effectively prepare the next provider to act safely and efficiently when caring for the patient. Through a consensus decision-making process of experienced and published authorities in health care transitions, including physicians in both specialties as well as in communication studies, the authors propose content and style principles clinicians may use to improve transition communication. With representation from both community and academic settings, similarities and differences between emergency medicine and internal medicine are highlighted to heighten appreciation of the values, attitudes, and goals of each specialty, particularly pertaining to communication. The authors also examine different communication media, social and cultural behaviors, and tools that practitioners use to share patient care information. Quality measures are proposed within the structure, process, and outcome framework for institutions seeking to evaluate and monitor improvement strategies in hand-off performance. Validation studies to determine if these suggested improvements in transition communication will result in improved patient outcomes will be necessary. By exploring the dynamics of transition communication between specialties and suggesting best practices, the authors hope to strengthen hand-off skills and contribute to improved continuity of care.

The Creating Incentives and Continuity Leading to Efficiency staffing model: a quality improvement initiative in hospital medicine.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the effect of a hospitalist-developed, continuity-centered hospitalist staffing model on patient outcomes and resource use. METHODS: The Creating Incentives and Continuity Leading to Efficiency (CICLE) staffing model was conceived by a group of hospitalists who sought to improve continuity of inpatient care. Using a retrospective, observational, pre-post study design, we compared patient-level data for all discharges from our hospitalist service from 6 months after implementation of the CICLE staffing model (September 1, 2009, through February 28, 2010; n=1585) with data from those same months in the prior year (September 1, 2008, through February 28, 2009; n=1808). We used the number of unique hospitalists who documented an encounter during the admission as a measure of continuity of care. Length of stay and hospital charges per admission constituted the measures of resource use. RESULTS: The odds of having a single hospitalist for the entire hospitalization nearly doubled under the CICLE model (odds ratio, 1.87; 95% confidence interval, 1.60-2.2; P<.001). Mean length of stay decreased 7.5% (from 2.92 before to 2.70 days after initiation of the model; P<.001). Mean hospital charge per admission decreased 8.5% (from $7224.33 before to $6607.79 after initiation of the model; P<.001). Thirty-day readmission rates were not substantially affected by the CICLE model (15.0% before to 17.3% after initiation of the model; P=.08). CONCLUSION: Improved continuity of care among hospitalists was associated with reductions in length of stay and lower health care costs. These benefits were realized without substantially affecting readmission rates. The staffing model can be achieved by reorganizing existing hospitalists and may not require the hiring of additional personnel. The CICLE staffing model is a viable option for hospitalist groups that are aiming to diminish resource use and improve quality of care.

Research in progress conference for hospitalists provides valuable peer mentoring.

BACKGROUND: Many academic hospitalist units lack senior mentors. In such groups, peer mentoring may be valuable. To formalize collaboration, we instituted a research-in-progress conference at our institution, and this article describes the format and evaluation data. METHODS: The research-in-progress sessions were held every 3 to 4 weeks and followed a specific format. Evaluation forms were completed after each of the 15 sessions during the 2009 academic year. Attendees and presenters completed surveys at the end of the sessions. The projects presented were tracked for successful academic outcomes, namely, publication in a peer-reviewed journal or presentation at a national meeting. RESULTS: A mean of 9.6 persons were present at each session and completed the evaluations. All 15 presenters rated the climate of the sessions as extremely supportive, and 86% believed they were helpful in advancing their project. A total of 143 evaluations were completed by the attendees, 86% and 96% of whom found the sessions to be intellectually stimulating and to have satisfactorily kept them abreast of their colleagues' scholarly pursuits, respectively. To date, 10 of the 15 projects have translated into successful academic outcomes: 6 peer-reviewed publications and 4 other presentations presented at national meetings. CONCLUSIONS: The research-in-progress conference has been well received and has resulted in academic productivity within our hospitalist division. It is likely that such a conference will be most valuable for groups with limited access to senior mentors.

Hospitalist physician leadership skills: perspectives from participants of a leadership conference.

OBJECTIVE: To characterize how the use of behavioral contracts may serve to focus individuals' intentions to grow as leaders. METHODS: Between 2007 and 2008, participants of the Society of Hospital Medicine Leadership Academy courses completed behavioral contracts to identify 4 action plans they wanted to implement based on things learned at the Academy. Contracts were independently coded by 2 investigators and compared for agreement. Content analysis identified several major themes that relate to professional growth as leaders. Follow-up surveys assessed fulfillment of personal goals. RESULTS: The majority of respondents were male (84; 70.0%), and most were hospitalist leaders (76; 63.3%). Their median time practicing as hospitalists was 4 years, 14 (11.7%) were Assistant Professors, and 80 (66.7%) were in private practice. Eight themes emerged from the behavioral contracts, revealing ways in which participants wished to develop: improving communication and interpersonal relations; refining vision and goals for strategic planning; developing intrapersonal leadership; enhancing negotiation skills; committing to organizational change; understanding business drivers; establishing better metrics to assess performance; and strengthening interdepartmental relationships. At follow-up, all but 1 participant had achieved at least 1 of their personal goals. CONCLUSIONS: Understanding the areas that hospitalist leaders identify as "learning edges" may inform the personal learning plans of those hoping to take on leadership roles in hospital medicine.

Hand-carried ultrasound performed by hospitalists: does it improve the cardiac physical examination?

OBJECTIVE: The traditional physical examination of the heart is relatively inaccurate. There is little information regarding whether cardiac hand-carried ultrasound performed by noncardiologists adds to the accuracy of physical examinations. The purpose of this study was to determine whether hand-carried ultrasound can add to the accuracy of hospitalists' cardiac physical examinations. METHODS: During a focused training program in hand-carried echocardiography, 10 hospitalists performed cardiac examinations of 354 general medical inpatients first by physical examination and then by hand-carried ultrasound. Eligible inpatients included those for whom a conventional hospital echocardiogram was ordered. We measured how frequently the hospitalists' cardiac examination with or without hand-carried ultrasound matched or came within 1 scale level of an expert cardiologist's interpretation of the hospital echocardiogram. RESULTS: Adding hand-carried ultrasound to the physical examination improved hospitalists' assessment of left ventricular function, cardiomegaly, and pericardial effusion. For left ventricular function, using hand-carried ultrasound increased the percentage of exact matches with the expert cardiologist's assessment from 46% to 59% (P=.005) and improved the percentage of within 1-level matches from 67% to 88% (P=.0001). The addition of hand-carried ultrasound failed to improve the assessments of aortic stenosis, aortic regurgitation, and mitral regurgitation. CONCLUSION: Adding hand-carried ultrasound to physical examination increases the accuracy of hospitalists' assessment of left ventricular dysfunction, cardiomegaly, and pericardial effusion, and fails to improve assessment of valvular heart disease. The clinical benefit achieved by improved immediacy of this information has not been determined. An important limitation is that the study assessed only 1 level of training in hand-carried ultrasound.

Pilot study comparing patients' valuation of health-care services with Medicare's relative value units.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Physician reimbursement for services and thus income are largely determined by the Medicare Resource-Based Relative Value Scale. Patients' assessment of the value of physician services has never been considered in the calculation. This study sought to compare patients' valuation of health-care services to Medicare's relative value unit (RVU) assessments and to discover patients' perceptions about the relative differences in incomes across physician specialties. DESIGN: Cross-sectional survey. PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING: Individuals in select outpatient waiting areas at Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center. METHODS: Data collection included the use of a visual analog 'value scale' wherein participants assigned value to 10 specific physician-dependent health-care services. Informants were also asked to estimate the annualized incomes of physicians in specialties related to the above-mentioned services. Comparisons of (i) the 'patient valuation RVUs' with actual Medicare RVUs, and (ii) patients' estimations of physician income with actual income were explored using t-tests. OUTCOMES: Of the 206 eligible individuals, 186 (90%) agreed to participate. Participants assigned a significantly higher mean value to 7 of the 10 services compared with Medicare RVUs (P<0.001) and the range in values assigned by participants was much smaller than Medicare's (a factor of 2 vs. 22). With the exception of primary care, respondents estimated that physicians earn significantly less than their actual income (all P<0.001) and the differential across specialties was thought to be much smaller (estimate: $88,225, actual: $146,769). CONCLUSION: In this pilot study, patients' estimations of the value health-care services were markedly different from the Medicare RVU system. Mechanisms for incorporating patients' valuation of services rendered by physicians may be warranted.

Physician-teacher characteristics associated with learner-centered teaching skills.

BACKGROUND: Academic institutions do not have a way to identify physician-teachers who are proficient in learner-centered teaching. AIM: To identify physician characteristics associated with being highly learner-centered. METHODS: A cohort of 363 physicians was surveyed. Measured items included personal characteristics, professional characteristics, teaching activities, self-assessed teaching proficiencies and behaviors, and scholarly activities. A learner-centeredness scale was developed using factor analysis. Logistic regression models were used to determine which characteristics were independently associated with scoring highly on the learner-centeredness scale. RESULTS: Two hundred and ninety-nine physicians responded (82%) of whom 262 (88%) had taught medical learners in the prior 12 months. Six variables combined to form the learner-centeredness scale and the Cronbach Alpha of the scale was 0.73. The eight characteristics independently associated with high learner-centered scores for physician teachers were (i) proficiency in giving lectures or presentations (OR ;= ;5.1, 95% CI: 1.3-19.6), (ii) frequently helping learners identify resources to meet their own needs (OR ;= ;3.7, 95% CI: 1.3-10.3), (iii) proficiency in eliciting feedback from learners (OR ;= ;3.7, 95% CI: 1.7-8.5), (iv) frequently attempting to detect and discuss emotional responses of the learners (OR ;= ;2.9, 95% CI: 1.2-6.9), (v) frequently reflecting on the validity of feedback from the learners (OR ;= ;2.8, 95% CI: 1.1-7.4), (vi) frequently identifying available resources to meet the teacher's learning needs (OR ;= ;2.8, 95% CI: 1.1-7.2), (vii) having given an oral presentation related to education at a national/regional meeting (OR ;= ;2.6, 95% CI: 1.1-6.0), and (viii) frequently letting learners know how different situations affect the teacher (OR ;= ;2.5, 95% CI: 1.1-5.5). CONCLUSIONS: The clinical competence and professional growth of medical learners can be most effectively facilitated by learner-centered educational methods. It may now be possible to identify medical educators who are more learner-centered in their teaching.