Early lessons learnt using simulation to rapidly deploy a trained observer programme during the COVID-19 pandemic in New York City.

New York City became one of the epicentres of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Simulation was used to establish the COVID-19 trained observer programme to mitigate healthcare workers' infection risk during patient care. The members of the trained observer group consisted of 32 staff members. At the start of the training programme, they were provided donning and doffing guides with a step-by-step description of personal protective equipment (PPE) usage, followed by in-situ PPE simulation training. Later on, as PPE protocols evolved, additional educational modalities were used and included training videos, picture demonstrations of common PPE mistakes and repeated in-situ simulations. The early lessons which emerged from using simulation to train observers during the COVID-19 pandemic were the following: address PPE shortages during presimulation planning, prepare to perform updates for trained observers and use multiple educational modalities to train observers. Adequate amounts of PPE should be available to train observers. Repeated simulations are necessary to update observers on PPE protocols. Multiple learning modalities should educate the trained observers and equip them for their role in COVID-19 units.

Team-based care to improve control of hypertension in an inner city practice.

The purpose of this case study was to identify which intervention or interventions, if any, resulted in improved hypertension control in an intercity public practice. Data includes interventions, graphed chronologically and the results in the form of percentage of patients with controlled hypertension. Challenges to success included understaffing of the practice and significantly limited access to appointments. Also, the variety of patients' languages and cultures presented a challenge. We reached our target of 60% of patients meeting criteria for control of hypertension. Although we instituted several interventions and all cumulatively contributed to the outcome, the two likely to be most effective were the establishment of hypertension-only appointments with either primary providers or with nurses. Both of these interventions resulted in an increased number of available appointments and improved access to timely follow up.

Impact of a focused nutrition educational intervention coupled with improved access to fresh produce on purchasing behavior and consumption of fruits and vegetables in overweight patients with diabetes mellitus.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to test the impact of distributing coupons redeemable at farmers markets plus an educational intervention on fruit and vegetable (F&V) purchase and consumption in overweight patients with type 2 diabetes (T2DM). METHODS: Seventy-eight participants with T2DM being followed at Jacobi Medical Center, a large public hospital in the Bronx, New York, were randomized to receive the standard of care or a 1-hour session focused on benefits of F&V consumption and $6 in coupons. Questionnaires assessed demographics, F&V intake, and farmers market purchasing at baseline and 12 weeks. Clinical parameters were obtained through chart review at baseline and at 12 weeks. RESULTS: Participants were predominantly Latino, females, and low income. At 12 weeks, there was a statistically significant increase in the number of participants in the intervention arm who reported purchasing from a farmers market. In addition, there was a minimal increase in fresh fruit intake in the intervention arm at 12 weeks. CONCLUSION: Focused education combined with a small economic incentive resulted in an increase in purchasing behavior and fresh fruit intake per day. A more intense behavioral intervention combined with increased access may result in a significant impact on obesity and diabetes, particularly among low-income and racially diverse communities.

"Pay-for-performance" as a quality improvement tool: perceptions and policy recommendations of physicians and program leaders.

BACKGROUND: Although pay-for-performance (P4P) compensation is widespread, questions have arisen about its efficacy in improving health care quality and consequences for vulnerable patients. OBJECTIVE: To assess perceptions of general internists and P4P program leaders regarding how to implement fair and effective P4P. METHODS: Qualitative investigation using in-depth interviews with P4P program leaders and focus groups with general internists. RESULTS: Internists emphasized a gradual and cautious approach to P4P implementation. They strongly recommended improving P4P measure validity and had detailed suggestions regarding how. Program leaders saw a need to implement perhaps imperfect programs but with continual improvement. Both groups advocated protecting vulnerable populations and made overlapping recommendations: improving measure validity; adjusting for patient characteristics; measuring improvements in quality (vs cutpoints); and providing incentives to physicians of vulnerable populations. Internists tended to favor explicit protections, while program leaders felt that P4P might inherently protect vulnerable patients by improving overall quality. DISCUSSION: Internists favored gradual P4P implementation, while P4P leaders saw an immediate need for implementation with iterative improvement. Both groups recommended specific measures to protect vulnerable populations such as improving measure validity, assessing improvements in quality, and providing special incentives to physicians of vulnerable populations.

The influence of longitudinal mentoring on medical student selection of primary care residencies.

BACKGROUND: The number of students selecting careers in primary care has declined by 41% in the last decade, resulting in anticipated shortages. METHODS: First-year medical students interested in primary care were paired with primary care mentors. Mentors were trained, and mentors and students participated in focus groups at the end of each academic year. Quantitative and qualitative results are presented. RESULTS: Students who remained in the mentoring program matched to primary care programs at 87.5% in the first year and 78.9% in the second year, compared to overall discipline-specific match rates of 55.8% and 35.9% respectively. Students reported a better understanding of primary care and appreciated a relationship with a mentor. CONCLUSIONS: A longitudinal mentoring program can effectively support student interest in primary care if it focuses on the needs of the students and is supportive of the mentors.

IgM(+) memory B cell expression predicts HIV-associated cryptococcosis status.

BACKGROUND: The role of B cells in resistance to Cryptococcus neoformans disease (i.e., cryptococcosis) is unknown. Given evidence that IgM(+) memory B cells are required for immunity to other encapsulated pathogens, we hypothesized that these cells might contribute to resistance to cryptococcosis. METHODS: We compared levels of IgM expression on memory B cells in 29 HIV-infected individuals who had a history of cryptococcosis (the HIV+CN+ group) with levels in 30 human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected subjects who had no history of cryptococcosis (the HIV+CN- group) and 20 HIV-uninfected subjects who had no history of cryptococcosis (the HIV- group) (cohort 1). We also determined levels of IgM expression on memory B cells in banked samples obtained before cryptococcosis onset from 31 participants in the Multicenter AIDS Cohort Study, of whom 8 had HIV infection and subsequently developed cryptococcosis (the HIV+CN+ group), 8 had HIV infection and did not develop cryptococcosis (the HIV+CN- group), and 15 did not have HIV infection and did not develop cryptococcosis (the HIV- group) (cohort 2). RESULTS: In cohort 1, the percentage of memory B cells that expressed IgM was lower among HIV+CN+ subjects, compared with HIV+CN- subjects (P < .01) and HIV- subjects (P < .05); expression of IgM on 50% of memory B cells was a significant predictor of C. neoformans disease status (odds ratio, 5.5; P = .03). In cohort 2, the percentage of memory B cells that expressed IgM was lower in HIV+CN+ subjects than in HIV+CN- subjects (P = .02) and HIV- subjects (P < .01); an IgM(+) memory B cell percentage of 38.5% was a significant predictor of future development of cryptococcosis (odds ratio, 14; P = .02). CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that HIV-infected persons in whom the percentage of memory B cells that express IgM is decreased might be at greater risk for the development of cryptococcosis.

High quality care and ethical pay-for-performance: a Society of General Internal Medicine policy analysis.

BACKGROUND: Pay-for-performance is proliferating, yet its impact on key stakeholders remains uncertain. OBJECTIVE: The Society of General Internal Medicine systematically evaluated ethical issues raised by performance-based physician compensation. RESULTS: We conclude that current arrangements are based on fundamentally acceptable ethical principles, but are guided by an incomplete understanding of health-care quality. Furthermore, their implementation without evidence of safety and efficacy is ethically precarious because of potential risks to stakeholders, especially vulnerable patients. CONCLUSION: We propose four major strategies to transition from risky pay-for-performance systems to ethical performance-based physician compensation and high quality care. These include implementing safeguards within current pay-for-performance systems, reaching consensus regarding the obligations of key stakeholders in improving health-care quality, developing valid and comprehensive measures of health-care quality, and utilizing a cautious evaluative approach in creating the next generation of compensation systems that reward genuine quality.

Diabetes and stress hyperglycemia associated with myocardial infarctions at an urban municipal hospital: prevalence and effect on mortality.

Municipal hospitals in large cities provide care for patients from immigrant and mixed ethnic communities that are at high risk for diabetes. Both diabetes and stress hyperglycemia increase the risk of adverse outcome after myocardial infarctions, and the impact of stress hyperglycemia on the outcome of myocardial infarctions in this particular setting has not been previously studied. We therefore undertook a retrospective cohort study to determine the prevalence of diabetes and stress hyperglycemia in patients presenting to a university-affiliated Bronx municipal hospital with myocardial infarction, and the relationship of these conditions to the extent of coronary disease and mortality. We obtained data on 106 consecutive patients from July 1998 to April 1999 with a diagnosis-related group diagnosis of either myocardial infarction or acute coronary syndrome, in which myocardial infarction was confirmed by serum enzymes or characteristic electrocardiographic changes. Patients were followed until March 30, 2001. Measurements of clinical parameters and results of catheterization were obtained for all patients. Death rates were determined by laboratory database, direct patient contact, or data from National Death Index. Eighty percent of the cohort had either a diagnosis of diabetes (n = 45, 42% of cohort) or evidence of stress hyperglycemia (defined as serum glucose greater than 126 mg/dL at the time of admission without prior diagnosis of diabetes, n = 40, 38%). In-hospital mortality for patients with diabetes, stress hyperglycemia, or normal glucose was 20%, 15%, and 14%, respectively. Eighty-three percent of the cohort received beta blockers, and 61% of hospital survivors had catheterization. Left main or triple vessel disease was common in both patients with diabetes (52%) and patients with stress hyperglycemia (32%). Mortality at follow up (maximum follow up 3 years; mean follow up 19.6 months) was much higher in patients with either diabetes (42%) or stress hyperglycemia (52%) than normal subjects (24%). Kaplan-Meier analysis of the difference in mortality between patients with high glucose on admission and normal subjects was borderline significant (P = 0.06). Multivariate regression demonstrated that age (P = 0.020), increase in admission serum creatinine (P = 0.001), and reduction in either ejection fraction (P = 0.016) or admission systolic blood pressure (P = 0.005) were significant predictors of mortality. Glycemic status and sex were not independently associated with death after controlling for these other factors. These results show that the prevalence of both diabetes and stress hyperglycemia on presentation with myocardial infarction is strikingly high in this immigrant, mixed ethnic, urban population. Patients with diabetes and stress hyperglycemia had advanced disease on presentation and much higher mortality at 2 to 3 years than those with normal blood glucose. The mortality difference is the result of older age and more advanced disease rather than hyperglycemia per se.