News
Lower Perioperative Mortality with Endovascular Vs. Open Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm Repair
October 27, 2014
Clinical question: How do perioperative and long-term morbidity and mortality compare in endovascular and open repair of abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA)? Background: Open AAA repair has relatively high perioperative mortality.
News
Discontinuation of Beta Blockers Increases Risk of Postoperative Myocardial Infarction and Death
October 27, 2014
Clinical question: Does perioperative beta-blocker discontinuation affect postoperative myocardial infarction (MI) in low-risk patients undergoing joint arthroplasty? Background: Recent trials show no benefit of perioperative beta blockers in reducing the incidence of perioperative myocardial inf
News
Trauma Patients with Pulmonary Embolism Might Not Have DVT on Imaging of Lower Extremities
October 27, 2014
Clinical question: What is the relationship between acute DVT and pulmonary embolism (PE) in trauma patients? Background: Major trauma is associated with an increased risk of acute DVT and PE. It is assumed that the majority of PEs arise from DVTs in the lower extremities.
News
Eliminating Adverse Events and Redundant Tests Could Generate U.S. Healthcare Savings
October 27, 2014
Clinical question: Using available data, what is the estimated cost savings of eliminating adverse events and avoiding redundant tests? Background: Reimbursement schemes are changing such that hospitals are reimbursed less for some adverse events.
News
Computer-Based Reminders Have Small to Modest Effect on Care Processes
October 27, 2014
Clinical question: Do on-screen, computer-based clinical reminders improve adherence to target processes of care or clinical outcomes? Background: Gaps between practice guidelines and routine care are caused, in part, by the inability of clinicians to access or recall information at the point of
News
Patient Participation in Medication Reconciliation at Discharge Helps Detect Prescribing Discrepancies
October 27, 2014
Clinical question: Does the inclusion of a medication adherence counseling session during a hospital discharge reconciliation process reduce discrepancies in the final medication regimen? Background: Inadvertent medication prescribing errors are an important cause of preventable adverse drug even
News
Negative D-Dimer Test Can Safely Exclude Pulmonary Embolism in Patients at Low To Intermediate Clinical Risk
October 27, 2014
Clinical question: In patients with symptoms consistent with pulmonary embolism (PE), can evaluation with a clinical risk assessment tool and D-dimer assay identify patients who do not require CT angiography to exclude PE? Background: D-dimer is a highly sensitive but nonspecific marker of VTE, a
News
Emergency Department Signout via Voicemail Yields Mixed Reviews
October 27, 2014
Clinical question: How does traditional, oral signout from emergency providers to inpatient medicine physicians compare to dictated, voicemail signout? Background: Communication failures contribute to errors in care transition from ED to inpatient medicine units.
News
Emergency Department “Boarding” Results in Undesirable Events
October 27, 2014
Clinical question: What is the frequency and nature of undesirable events experienced by patients who “board” in the ED? Background: Hospital crowding results in patients spending extended amounts of time—also known as “boarding”—in the ED as they wait for an inpatient bed.
Video
Baystate Medical Center’s Unit-Based, Multidisciplinary Rounding Enhances Inpatient Care
October 24, 2014
The hospitalist-led Broder Service empowers all care-team members to focus on patient quality, satisfaction. Get an up-close look at the service with our 6-minute feature video: