Factors Associated with Medical Students' Attitudes About Cost-Conscious Care: A Mixed-Methods Multi-school Study.

BACKGROUND: Because physician practices contribute to national healthcare expenditures, initiatives aimed at educating physicians about high-value cost-conscious care (HVCCC) are important. Prior studies suggest that the training environment influences physician attitudes and behaviors towards HVCCC. OBJECTIVE: To explore the relationship between medical student experiences and HVCCC attitudes. DESIGN: Quantitative and qualitative analysis of a multi-institutional survey. PARTICIPANTS: Medical students from nine US medical schools. APPROACH: A 44-item survey that included the Maastricht HVCCC Attitudes Questionnaire, a validated tool for assessing HVCCC attitudes, was administered electronically. Attitudinal domains of high-value care (HVC), cost incorporation (CI), and perceived drawbacks (PD) were compared using one-way ANOVA among students with a range of exposures. Open text responses inviting participants to reflect on their attitudes were analyzed using classical content analysis. KEY RESULTS: A total of 740 students completed the survey (response rate 15%). Students pursuing a "continuity-oriented" specialty held more favorable attitudes towards HVCCC than those pursuing "technique-oriented" specialties (HVC sub-score = 3.20 vs. 3.06; p = 0.005, CI sub-score = 2.83 vs. 2.74; p < 0.001). Qualitative analyses revealed personal, educational, and professional experiences shape students' HVCCC attitudes, with similar experiences interpreted differently leading to both more and less favorable attitudes. CONCLUSION: Students pursuing specialties with longitudinal patient contact may be more enthusiastic about practicing high-value care. Life experiences before and during medical school shape these attitudes, and complex interactions between these forces drive student perceptions of HVCCC.

Exploring the Impact of COVID-19 on Women Hospitalists: A Mixed-Gender Qualitative Analysis.

BACKGROUND: Women physicians have faced persistent challenges, including gender bias, salary inequities, a disproportionate share of caregiving and domestic responsibilities, and limited representation in leadership. Data indicate the COVID-19 pandemic further highlighted and exacerbated these inequities. OBJECTIVE: To understand the pandemic's impact on women physicians and to brainstorm solutions to better support women physicians. DESIGN: Mixed-gender semi-structured focus groups. PARTICIPANTS: Hospitalists in the Hospital Medicine Reengineering Network (HOMERuN). APPROACH: Six semi-structured virtual focus groups were held with 22 individuals from 13 institutions comprised primarily of academic hospitalist physicians. Rapid qualitative methods including templated summaries and matrix analysis were applied to identify major themes and subthemes. KEY RESULTS: Four key themes emerged: (1) the pandemic exacerbated perceived gender inequities, (2) women's academic productivity and career development were negatively impacted, (3) women held disproportionate roles as caregivers and household managers, and (4) institutional pandemic responses were often misaligned with workforce needs, especially those of women hospitalists. Multiple interventions were proposed including: creating targeted workforce solutions and benefits to address the disproportionate caregiving burden placed on women, addressing hospitalist scheduling and leave practices, ensuring promotion pathways value clinical and COVID-19 contributions, creating transparency around salary and non-clinical time allocation, and ensuring women are better represented in leadership roles. CONCLUSIONS: Hospitalists perceived and experienced that women physicians faced negative impacts from the pandemic in multiple domains including leadership opportunities and scholarship, while also shouldering larger caregiving duties than men. There are many opportunities to improve workplace conditions for women; however, current institutional efforts were perceived as misaligned to actual needs. Thus, policy and programmatic changes, such as those proposed by this cohort of hospitalists, are needed to advance equity in the workplace.

A Novel Algorithm for the Management of Inpatient COVID-19 Glucocorticoid-Induced Hyperglycemia.

Hyperglycemia in hospitalized patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is linked to increased morbidity and mortality. This article reports on a novel insulin titration protocol for the management of glucocorticoid-induced hyperglycemia in hospitalized patients with COVID-19. Sixty-five patients with COVID-19 and glucocorticoid-induced hyperglycemia admitted after the protocol implementation were matched 1:1 to patients admitted before the treatment protocol rollout for analysis. In a large, diverse health system, the protocol achieved reductions in hypoglycemic events without increasing hyperglycemia or insulin use.

Analysing Monday discharges to identify lost opportunities for weekend discharge.

Lower rates of hospital discharge occur on weekends compared with weekdays. The authors performed a retrospective chart review of Monday discharges from the Hospital Medicine service at an academic hospital over a 3-month period to identify reasons for delayed discharge despite medical stability. Of 202 eligible patients, 81 (40%) had documentation indicating stability for earlier discharge. Common causes included bed availability or insurance authorisation at a skilled nursing facility, home care services and patient/family disagreement with discharge.

An interdisciplinary student-led multifaceted intervention addressing overuse of broad-spectrum antibiotics for patients with penicillin allergies.

BACKGROUND: Though 15% of hospitalized patients have a documented penicillin (PCN) allergy, fewer than 1% have an IgE-mediated reaction that necessitates avoidance of ß-lactam antibiotics. OBJECTIVE: Our interdisciplinary team of medical and nursing students led and executed a two-pronged quality improvement intervention to reduce prescribing of non-ß-lactam antibiotics (NBLs) for patients with reported PCN allergies. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first multidisciplinary student-led intervention aimed at educating providers on low-risk penicillin allergy and encouraging best antibiotic prescribing practices. DESIGN AND PARTICIPANTS: The intervention took place from June 2021 to February 2022. We developed and provided clinician education modules, including peer-to-peer information sharing and in-person small group discussions, as well as clinical decision support (CDS) strategies through the electronic medical record (EMR). The target population was attendings, residents, nurse practitioners, and physician assistants on the hospital medicine service at a large urban academic tertiary care center. We followed the SQUIRE 2.0 guidelines for reporting on quality improvement. MAIN MEASURES: Primary outcome measures included number of NBL prescriptions and use of nonspecific descriptors (e.g., "other" or "unknown") for PCN allergy reaction type, and were compared with a pre-intervention period. KEY RESULTS: The percent of ß-lactam prescriptions for patients with a PCN allergy after the intervention increased from 19 to 23% (p = 0.006). For patients with a low severity PCN allergy, the percent of ß-lactam prescriptions increased from 20 to 28% (p = 0.001). There was a significant decrease in nonspecific PCN allergy reaction type from 23% in the pre-intervention period to 20% post-intervention (p = 0.012). CONCLUSIONS: An intervention focused on educating prescribers and CDS strategies delivered through the EMR increased appropriate ß-lactam prescribing for patients with a documented low-risk PCN allergy and reduced the use of nonspecific PCN allergy reaction type in EMR documentation.

Building a thriving academic hospitalist workforce: A rapid qualitative analysis identifying key areas of focus in the field.

BACKGROUND: The hospitalist workforce has been at the forefront of the pandemic and has been stretched in both clinical and nonclinical domains. We aimed to understand current and future workforce concerns, as well as strategies to cultivate a thriving hospital medicine workforce. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: We conducted qualitative, semistructured focus groups with practicing hospitalists via video conferencing (Zoom). Utilizing components from the Brainwriting Premortem Approach, attendees were split into small focus groups and listed their thoughts about workforce issues that hospitalists may encounter in the next 3 years, identifying the highest priority workforce issues for the hospital medicine community. Each small group discussed the most pressing workforce issues. These ideas were then shared across the entire group and ranked. We used rapid qualitative analysis to guide a structured exploration of themes and subthemes. RESULTS: Five focus groups were held with 18 participants from 13 academic institutions. We identified five key areas: (1) support for workforce wellness; (2) staffing and pipeline development to maintain an adequate workforce to match clinical growth; (3) scope of work, including how hospitalist work is defined and whether the clinical skillset should be expanded; (4) commitment to the academic mission in the setting of rapid and unpredictable clinical growth; and (5) alignment between the duties of hospitalists and resources of hospitals. Hospitalists voiced numerous concerns about the future of our workforce. Several domains were identified as high-priority areas of focus to address current and future challenges.

Racial Disparities in Documented Chief Complaints and Diagnoses in Sepsis Patients.

BACKGROUND: Using History and Physical Examination (H&P) notes, we investigated potential racial differences in documented chief complaints and problems among sepsis patients admitted to the intensive care unit. METHODS: Patient records from Medical Information Mart for Intensive Care (MIMIC-III) dataset indicating a diagnosis of sepsis were included. First recorded clinical notes for each hospital admission were assessed; free text information was specifically extracted on (1) chief complaints, and (2) problems recorded in the Assessment & Plan (A&P) section. The top 10 for each were compared between Black and White patients. RESULTS: In initial H&P notes of 17 434 sepsis patients (n = 1229 Black and n = 9806 White), the top 10 most common chief complaints were somewhat similar between Black and White patients. However, relative differences existed in terms of ranking, specifically for altered mental status which was more commonly reported in Black versus White patients (11.7% vs 7.8% P < .001). Among text in the A&P, sepsis was documented significantly less frequently among Black versus White patients: 11.8% versus 14.3%, P = .001. Racial differences were not detected in vital signs and laboratory values. CONCLUSIONS: This analysis supports the hypothesis that there may be racial differences in early sepsis presentation and possible provider interpretation of these complaints.

Student High Value Care Initiative: a Longitudinal Model for Student-Led Implementation and Scholarship.

BACKGROUND: Educating medical trainees to practice high value care is a critical component to improving quality of care and should be introduced at the beginning of medical education. AIM: To create a successful educational model that provides medical students and junior faculty with experiential learning in quality improvement and mentorship opportunities, and produce effective quality initiatives. SETTING: A tertiary medical center affiliated with a medical school in New York City. PARTICIPANTS: First year medical students, junior faculty in hospital medicine, and a senior faculty course director. PROGRAM DESCRIPTION: The Student High Value Care initiative is a longitudinal initiative comprised of six core elements: (1) project development, (2) value improvement curriculum, (3) mentorship, (4), Institutional support, (5) scholarship, and (6) student leadership. PROGRAM EVALUATION: During the first 3 years, 68 medical students and ten junior faculty participated in 10 quality improvement projects. Nine projects were successful in their measured outcomes, with statistically significant improvements. Nine had an abstract accepted to a regional or national meeting, and seven produced publications in peer-reviewed literature. DISCUSSION: In the first 3 years of the initiative, we successfully engaged medical students and junior faculty to create and support the implementation of successful quality improvement initiatives. Since that time, the program continues to offer meaningful mentorship and scholarship opportunities.

Practical Applications of Rapid Qualitative Analysis for Operations, Quality Improvement, and Research in Dynamically Changing Hospital Environments.

BACKGROUND: Health care systems are in a constant state of change. As such, methods to quickly acquire and analyze data are essential to effectively evaluate current processes and improvement projects. Rapid qualitative analysis offers an expeditious approach to evaluate complex, dynamic, and time-sensitive issues. METHODS: We used rapid data acquisition and qualitative methods to assess six real-world problems the hospitalist field faced during the COVID-19 pandemic. We iteratively modified and applied a six-step framework for conducting rapid qualitative analysis, including determining if rapid methods are appropriate, creating a team, selecting a data collection approach, data analysis, and synthesis and dissemination. Virtual platforms were used for focus groups and interviews; templated summaries and matrix analyses were then applied to allow for rapid qualitative analyses. RESULTS: We conducted six projects using rapid data acquisition and rapid qualitative analysis from December 4, 2020, to January 14, 2022, each of which included 23 to 33 participants. One project involved participants from a single institution; the remainder included participants from 15 to 24 institutions. These projects led to the refinement of an adapted rapid qualitative method for evaluation of hospitalist-driven operational, research, and quality improvement efforts. We describe how we used these methods and disseminated our results. We also discuss situations for which rapid qualitative methods are well-suited and strengths and weaknesses of the methods. CONCLUSION: Rapid qualitative methods paired with rapid data acquisition can be employed for prompt turnaround assessments of quality, operational, and research projects in complex health care environments. Although rapid qualitative analysis is not meant to replace more traditional qualitative methods, it may be appropriate in certain situations. Application of a framework to guide projects using a rapid qualitative approach can help provide structure to the analysis and instill confidence in the findings.

Adaptability on Shifting Ground: a Rapid Qualitative Assessment of Multi-institutional Inpatient Surge Planning and Workforce Deployment During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

BACKGROUND: During the initial wave of COVID-19 hospitalizations, care delivery and workforce adaptations were rapidly implemented. In response to subsequent surges of patients, institutions have deployed, modified, and/or discontinued their workforce plans. OBJECTIVE: Using rapid qualitative methods, we sought to explore hospitalists' experiences with workforce deployment, types of clinicians deployed, and challenges encountered with subsequent iterations of surge planning during the COVID-19 pandemic across a collaborative of hospital medicine groups. APPROACH: Using rapid qualitative methods, focus groups were conducted in partnership with the Hospital Medicine Reengineering Network (HOMERuN). We interviewed physicians, advanced practice providers (APP), and physician researchers about (1) ongoing adaptations to the workforce as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, (2) current struggles with workforce planning, and (3) evolution of workforce planning. KEY RESULTS: We conducted five focus groups with 33 individuals from 24 institutions, representing 52% of HOMERuN sites. A variety of adaptations was described by participants, some common across institutions and others specific to the institution's location and context. Adaptations implemented shifted from the first waves of COVID patients to subsequent waves. Three global themes also emerged: (1) adaptability and comfort with dynamic change, (2) the importance of the unique hospitalist skillset for effective surge planning and redeployment, and (3) the lack of universal solutions. CONCLUSIONS: Hospital workforce adaptations to the COVID pandemic continued to evolve. While few approaches were universally effective in managing surges of patients, and successful adaptations were highly context dependent, the ability to navigate a complex system, adaptability, and comfort in a chaotic, dynamic environment were themes considered most critical to successful surge management. However, resource constraints and sustained high workload levels raised issues of burnout.

Bracing for the Wave: a Multi-Institutional Survey Analysis of Inpatient Workforce Adaptations in the First Phase of COVID-19.

BACKGROUND: Medical centers across the country have had to rapidly adapt clinician staffing strategies to accommodate large influxes of patients with the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). OBJECTIVE: We sought to understand the adaptations and staffing strategies that US academic medical centers employed in the inpatient setting early in the spread of COVID-19, and to assess whether those changes were sustained during the first phase of the pandemic. DESIGN: Cross-sectional survey assessing organization-level, team-level, and clinician-level inpatient workforce adaptations. PARTICIPANTS: Hospital medicine leadership at 27 academic medical centers in the USA. KEY RESULTS: Twenty-seven of 36 centers responded to the survey (75%). Widespread practices included frequent staffing reassessment, organization-level changes such as geographic cohorting and redeployment of non-hospitalists, and exempting high-risk healthcare workers from direct care of patients with COVID-19. Several practices were implemented but discontinued, such as reduction of non-essential services, indicating that they were less sustainable for large centers. CONCLUSION: These findings provide guidance for inpatient leaders seeking to identify sustainable practices for COVID-19 inpatient workforce planning.