Monthly Archives: March 2013

I am a huge fan of Dan Ariely.  A behavioral economist from Duke, his sense of humor and intellectual curiosity make him immediately appealing (watch a video and see).

This large retrospective cohort of patients undergoing elective knee arthroplasty found HbA1c above or below 7% did not affect any major outcomes (VTE, revisions, infections, readmissions, or AMI). There is not a clear correlation between preop HbA1c levels and postop outcomes (abstract).

This single center study found discharging providers spoke directly to the follow up provider in only ~1/3 of cases, but this communication did not have an effect on 30-day readmission rates (abstract).

This large derivation and validation cohort found the following factors independently increased the risk of 30 day readmissions (known as the HOSPITAL score): Hemoglobin at discharge, Oncology service discharge, Sodium at discharge, Procedure during index admission, Index Type of admission, Admits in last 12 months, and Length of stay. Although a single center study, the […]

This single center cohort randomized general medical teams to a pre-2011 work hour schedule (30 hour limit with q4 call) or 1 of 2 post-2011 work hour schedules (both with 16 hour limits with either q5 call or a night float system). Compared to the old model, both newer models increased handoffs, decreased teaching conference […]

This cohort of Michigan hospitals found the most common barriers to reducing CAUTI included difficulty engaging providers, family requests for foley catheters, and ED foley insertion practices. These can be overcome by incorporating CAUTI reduction in other patient safety initiatives, educating patients and families, and engaging the ED with appropriate insertion criteria (abstract).