Growth of Nocturnists, Mental Health Reform Top Hospital Medicine News

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By  |  July 12, 2016 | 

This issue of SHM & Hospital Medicine in the News features:

  • The Boston Globe’s coverage of the growing presence of nocturnists in U.S. hospitals and the associated improvements in patient care and satisfaction
  • The mental health bill that recently cleared the House of Representatives that was proposed in an attempt to address the nationwide shortage of psychiatric beds and child psychiatrists
  • Medical news coverage of Journal of Hospital Medicine research on the effectiveness of catheter reduction programs
  • The CMS’ plans to stop paying hospitals’ off-campus ambulatory care facilities the same as hospital-based outpatient departments
  • Research presented at Hospital Medicine 2016 on the positive financial implications of enhanced care transitions, such as email-based care transitions
  • Regional news coverage of the recent increase in violence towards healthcare workers in hospitals – much of it drug-related – and some hospitals’ responses

(For SHM’s press releases on recent comment submissions to CMS on the Medicare Patient Observation Notice and MACRA, click here.)


The Doctors Who Only Come Out at Night
Amid the growing national focus on patient safety, hospitals are increasingly hiring experienced physicians to work overnight shifts on general medical floors. Residents — doctors in training — and nurses often have managed patients during these off hours, with help from attending, or staff, physicians on-call at home. But nocturnalists, or nocturnists as they are also known, give patients the benefit of a supervising doctor who checks on them in person. 

July 4, 2016
The Boston Globe
Click here for the full story.

 

Mental Health Reform Bill Overwhelmingly Clears House of Representatives
A bill that would majorly reform mental health care in the United States cleared the U.S. House of Representatives 422-2 on Wednesday. Now, legislators are calling for the immediate passage of a similar bill in the Senate. The Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act, introduced by Rep. Tim Murphy (R-PA), a licensed child psychologist, would potentially address a nationwide shortage of psychiatric beds and child psychiatrists, in addition to creating the federal position of assistant secretary for mental health and substance use disorders.

July 6, 2016
Time
Click here for the full story.

 

Catheter Reduction Programs Do Reduce Use of Catheters
Catheter reduction programs are associated with a reduction in the number of catheter days per 100 patient-days, according to a research letter published online June 17 in the Journal of Hospital Medicine. In an effort to examine the prevalence and indication for catheters, Christine Soong, M.D., from Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto, and colleagues collected data on the total number of catheters, inpatient days, and indications for use from the bedside nurse or physician at each of nine Canadian teaching hospitals.

June 27, 2016
Doctors’ Lounge
Click here for the full story.

 

CMS Angers Hospitals with Plans for Site-Neutral Rates in Outpatient Payment Rule
The CMS has responded to calls to eliminate patient satisfaction on pain management from Medicare’s value-based purchasing program. The agency angered hospitals, however, with plans to stop paying their off-campus facilities the same as hospital-based outpatient departments. Both policies are included in the proposed rule for the 2017 Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment System issued Wednesday.

July 6, 2016
Modern Healthcare
Click here for the full story.

 

The Financial Upside of Enhanced Care Transitions
The results of a recent study presented at the Society of Hospital Medicine’s Annual Meeting reveal that an email-based care transition bundle not only improved communication but patient care as well. The key word in that sentence is ‘transition’, and Clay Ackley, MD and chief operating officer for naviHealth, a post-acute care management company, says it’s a critical aspect of the healthcare equation today.

July 6, 2016
Physician’s Money Digest
Click here for the full story.

 

Hospitals Track Physical, Verbal Assaults on Health Care Workers
A seasoned emergency room physician remembers a patient storming off after being refused narcotics for back pain that supposedly made walking difficult. “The patient jumped off the bed (and) got right in my face,” said Dr. Jay Falk, an emergency room physician at Orlando Regional Medical Center. The patient was a drug seeker who threatened to complain to hospital administrators. Physical and verbal assaults are ever present in emergency rooms and elsewhere in hospitals. 

July 5, 2016
Naples Daily News
Click here for the full story.

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About the Author: Brett Radler

Brett Radler is the Director of Communications at the Society of Hospital Medicine (SHM) and has been with the organization since May 2015. He is responsible for the organization's overall communications strategy, including public and media relations and SHM's publication's portfolio, including SHM’s blog, The Hospital Leader. Brett holds a bachelor’s degree in Communication from Rutgers University in New Brunswick, NJ and also serves as on-air talent at a New Jersey radio station in his spare time.

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