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Pharmacist Involvement in Transitional Care Can Reduce Return ED Visits, Inpatient Readmissions
January 15, 2016
Clinical question: Does pharmacist involvement in transitions of care decrease medication errors (MEs), adverse drug events (ADEs), and 30-day ED visits and inpatient readmissions? Background: Previous studies show pharmacist involvement in discharge can reduce ADEs and improve patient satisf
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Displaying Prices to Providers May Reduce Overall Ordering Costs
January 12, 2016
Clinical question: Does price display impact order costs and volume as well as patient safety outcomes, and is it acceptable to providers? Background: Up to one-third of national healthcare expenditures are wasteful, with physicians playing a central role in overall cost, purchasing almost all te
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Criteria for Appropriate Use of Peripherally Inserted Central Catheters
December 28, 2015
Clinical question: What are criteria for appropriate and inappropriate use of PICCs? Background: PICCs are commonly used in medical care in a variety of clinical contexts; however, criteria defining the appropriate use of PICCs and practices related to PICC placement have not been previously esta
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Value of Ultra-Brief Cognitive Assessments in Predicting Negative Hospital Outcomes
December 28, 2015
Clinical question: What is the value of ultra-brief cognitive assessments in predicting hospital outcomes? Background: Cognitive assessment tools can be used to predict patient outcomes in the hospital setting.
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ACP Guidelines for Evaluation of Suspected Pulmonary Embolism
December 25, 2015
Clinical question: What are best practices for evaluating patients with suspected acute pulmonary embolism (PE)? Background: Use of CT in the evaluation of PE has increased across all clinical settings without improving mortality.
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Early Palliative Care Can Save Money
December 25, 2015
Clinical question: Does time to consult after admission change the effect palliative care consultation has on cost of care? Background: Studies have shown that early palliative care involvement improves quality of life and survival among cancer patients while reducing the cost of care.
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Parental Perceptions of Nighttime Communication Are Strong Predictors of Patient Experience
December 23, 2015
Clinical question: How does parental perception of overnight pediatric inpatient care affect the overall patient experience? Background: Restrictions on resident duty hours have become progressively more stringent as attention to the effects of resident fatigue on patient safety has increased.
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Effectiveness of Antipsychotics in Treatment of Delirium
December 21, 2015
Clinical questions: Are antipsychotics for the treatment of delirium safe and effective? Does efficacy differ between ICU and non-ICU settings? Does efficacy differ between first- and second-generation antipsychotics (SGA)? Background: Delirium is common in hospitalized patients.
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Predictors for Surgical Management of Small Bowel Obstruction
December 18, 2015
Clinical question: Are there clinical or computerized tomography (CT) findings that identify which patients will need early surgical management in adhesive small bowel obstruction (ASBO)? Background: Previous studies determined adverse outcomes resulting from delayed surgery in patients with
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Adding Advanced Molecular Techniques to Standard Blood Cultures May Improve Patient Outcomes
December 18, 2015
Clinical question: Does the addition of rapid multiplex polymerase chain reaction molecular techniques to standard blood culture bottle (BCB) processing, with or without antimicrobial stewardship recommendations, affect antimicrobial utilization and patient outcomes? Background: Standard BCB