The Hospitalist

Cover Story: ONLINE EXCLUSIVE: How the School of Medicine at Stanford University Is Addressing Women Physicians and Leadership

In just five years, the percentage of women at the full professor rank jumped from 14.5% to 22%

Audio File: ONLINE EXCLUSIVE: Listen to Bob Wachter, Norm Orenstein, and Michael Pistoria preview HM12 keynote addresses

HM12's key speakers discuss the future of HM, the possibility of health reform being repealed, and how to get the most out of an annual meeting

Audio File: ONLINE EXCLUSIVE: Listen to a senior research scholar Mary Gatta, PhD, discuss why gender pay gaps continue to exist

Dr. Gatta, senior research scholar at Wider Opportunities for Women, explains what hospitalists can do to address gaps in compensation

Audio File: ONLINE EXCLUSIVE: Hospitalists turned C-Suiters tell their secrets

Jeffrey Sperring, MD, discusses his path to the C-suite and keys to his success

Article: Gender Pay Gaps in Hospital Medicine

Research shows pay gap exists between female and male physicians, and female hospitalists need to be aware and be prepared.

Cover Story: HM12 Features High-Profile Speakers, RIV Sessions, Expanded Breakouts

The world was a different place in 2008, the last time SHM’s annual meeting was in San Diego. Attendance at the yearly confab of hospitalists was almost half of what it is expected to be this year, healthcare reform was still just a bullet point for a presidential candidate’s talking points, and society leaders were drumming up interest in a new fellowship program they’d created.

Article: Six Keys to a Successful Annual Meeting

HM12 isn’t for the faint of heart: Game-plan, don’t be shy, and implement what you learn.

Cover Story: Policy Experts Say Hospital Medicine Should be Ready to Tackle Reform Challenges

In a restaurant, it’s called being in the weeds: when the duties of one’s job become so overwhelming that you can’t keep up with the pace. Think five new admissions at the end of a 12-hour workday.

Cover Story: HM12 Organizers Strive for ‘Meaningful’ Educational Offerings for Hospitalists

Jeff Glasheen, MD, SFHM, has been going to SHM’s annual meetings for a decade. He’s played the part of poster presenter, session leader, physician editor of The Hospitalist, and even just a healthcare consumer eager to hear what a keynote speaker has to say.

Cover Story: HM12’s Host City of San Diego Offers Plenty of Fun Things to Do

HM12 is a perfect chance to learn about San Diego.

Cover Story: Wachter to Examine ‘Great Physicians’ at HM12

Robert Wachter, MD, the author of HM blog Wachter's World, might best be known for the penultimate address he delivers at SHM’s annual meeting. This year he takes center stage at the San Diego Convention Center at noon April 4, capping HM12.

Article: Pediatric Hospitalists Share Lessons Learned on the Path to Executive Leadership

A handful of pediatric hospitalists have assumed major administrative responsibilities in their hospitals. Most say their HM experience was crucial to the journey.

Article: Afghan-Born Hospitalist Gives Back Through Free Clinic

When Ahmad Nooristani, MD, became a physician, part of his motivation was to help his native country.

Article: Pediatric Hospitalists Climb the Corporate Ladder

Pediatric hospitalists around the country have made inroads into hospital administration roles.

Article: Negotiation Strategies for Better Compensation

The first step in negotiating is deciding to negotiate at all. Many employers initially offer a lower compensation package because they expect negotiation to occur.

Cover Story: CME Credit at HM12

HM12 is planned and implemented in accordance with the Essential Areas and Policies of the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) through the joint sponsorship of Blackwell Futura Media Services (BFMS) and SHM. BFMS is accredited by ACCME to provide CME for physicians.

Key Clinical Question: How Should Acute Alcoholic Hepatitis be Treated?

Alcoholic hepatitis is a severe form of alcohol-related liver disease associated with significant short-term mortality.

Key Clinical Guidelines: Guidelines for VTE Prophylaxis in Medical Patient Populations, Including Stroke

Observational studies suggest that 50% of patients who develop a VTE in the hospital will do so despite appropriate prophylaxis.

In the Literature: In the Literature: Physician Reviews of HM-Relevant Research

Higher loading dose of clopidogrel in STEMI; early vs. late surgery following hip fracture; beta-blockers in chronic kidney disease; long-term azithromycin in COPD; CT screening for lung cancer; timing of parenteral nutrition in the ICU; intrapleural management of empyema with DNase and t-PA; effect of weekend elective admissions on hospital flow; expectations and outcomes of medical comanagement.

Pediatric HM Literature: Oral Trimethoprim-Sulfamethoxazole a Consideration for Acute Osteomyelitis

Is oral trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (TmP-SmX) a therapeutic option for the treatment of acute osteomyelitis in children?

On the Move: Hospitalists On the Move

Society Pages: Quality Improvement Success Key to Hospitalist Professional Satisfaction

While quality improvement (QI) is the niche of hospital medicine, most hospitalists are not adept in this science. HM12 is an excellent venue for everyone to get up to speed on this necessary and vital aspect of the care we provide.

Society Pages: Survey Insights: The Scoop on Pediatric Hospital Medicine

The SHM/MGMA 2011 State of Hospital Medicine report offers some intriguing glimpses into the world of pediatric hospital medicine. Last year, we received responses from 31 pediatric HM groups, more than half of which were academic (an additional 29 groups reported caring for both adults and children).

Society Pages: SHM, Hospitalists Play Key Roles in CMS Innovation

A lot has happened in the past year at the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation, and many details can now be filled in. Some of those details directly relate to the work of hospitalists.

Innovations: Smartphones Present Both Risks and Opportunities for Hospitalists

The near-viral adoption of smartphone technology in hospital settings has made headlines recently, raising concerns about distracted physicians, data security breaches, infection hazards from bacteria on devices, and even misplaced devices.

Innovations: By the Numbers: 39

Percentage growth in health spending in 2010, to $2.6 trillion.

Innovations: Shift Fatigue in Healthcare Workers

The Joint Commission in December issued a “Sentinel Event Alert” on the dangers of extended shift fatigue in healthcare workers, particularly for nurses who work shifts longer than 12.5 hours.

Innovations: Doctors Help Other Doctors Use Information Technology

Doctors Helping Doctors Transform Health Care, a foundation-supported, nonprofit campaign, was launched Dec. 1 in Washington, D.C., to spur greater and more effective use of health information technology (HIT) by physicians to improve quality, safety, and efficiency.

Innovations: Putting the Right Patient in the Right Bed

A hospitalist-led project to improve bed assignment practices at Baystate Medical Center in Springfield, Mass., reduced errors in patient placements to 3.1% from 9.4%.

Public Policy: Massachusetts Healthcare Law Highlights Implications for National Healthcare Reform

The Massachusetts experience represents a microcosm of what might be expected on a national scale with the Affordable Care Act: success in covering the uninsured, but persistent access and cost challenges that can only be overcome with fundamental payment reform.

Public Policy: Access Problems Persist Despite Health Insurance: Lessons from Massachusetts

A surprising lesson from Massachusetts is that expanding health insurance coverage does not automatically improve access to healthcare services. Here's proof.

President’s Column: SHM Boasts Diverse Membership, Leadership Lacks Non-Academic Presence

It is my hope and belief that SHM will use your membership survey information appropriately when they organize committees and build leadership teams. This information will help SHM leadership understand its potential bias and guard against unintended consequences of their actions.

From the Editor’s Desk: How to Get the Most Out of the HM12 Toolkit

I view the annual meeting as a kind of toolkit: Have a problem, reach into the HM12 toolkit, and pull out your solution.

Practice Management: John Nelson: ED Patient Throughput Is New Core Measure

Hospitals are likely to increase their customers’ satisfaction by improving “frontend” throughput from the ED to the inpatient unit. In fact, CMS added two new core measures (known as inpatient quality reporting, or IQR) that hospitals began reporting on Jan. 1.

Ask Dr. Hospitalist: Incentives to Improve Hospital Readmission Rates OK

Is it legal to incentivize hospitalists to reduce readmission rates?