MedWorm provides a medical RSS filtering service. Over 6000 RSS medical sources are combined and output via different filters. This feed contains the latest medical blog items that have been tagged with 'hospitalist medicine'. Sat, 03 Sep 2011 02:51:24 +0100 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4501586&cid=t_158194_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Fpostoperative-care-and-the-black-swan%2F2011.02.20 This is a guest post by J. Paul Curry, M.D. I was inspired when I lost my best friend 15 years ago to a common medical-error phenomenon: The lack of monitoring patients in the hospital. Losing Mark altered my entire career in medicine and started me on a long journey of trying to understand how this particular problem happens. The journey has been eye-opening for me for many reasons, and probably most importantly by striving to learn and understand how the human brain can deceive itself into believing that thoughtful, rational, goal-directed tactics are always the solution to finding the answers to highly-complex enigmas. Actually, the blockbusting solutions that change the course of our culture — how we do things — are most often totally unpredictable and discovered by a... Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4501586 Sun, 20 Feb 2011 20:00:51 +0100 4501586 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4429020&cid=t_158194_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Fthe-physician-exodus-when-doctors-leave-hospitals-behind%2F2011.02.02 My partners and I have long struggled with the lack of specialty back-up at our hospital. Semi-rural hospitals, out of the way facilities, just can’t always attract specialists. So, we’re happy to have cardiologists every night, but understand that we only have an ENT every third night. We’re thankful to have neurologists, even if they don’t admit anyone. We’re glad to have radiologists, even if they don’t read plain films after 5PM on weekdays. Still, I continue to scratch my head about why only three of seven community pediatricians take call, such that family physicians have to admit their patients. I was bumfuzzled that our neurologists were previously going to require us to use telemedicine for stroke evaluation when their offices were close by the hospital. (In the same y... Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4429020 Wed, 02 Feb 2011 17:00:12 +0100 4429020 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4322510&cid=t_158194_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Faverage-hourly-earnings-of-primary-care-relative-to-other-specialists-graph%2F2011.01.07 Here’s an interesting article, talking about stuff that’s not new to anyone who has read my blog for the last three years. The current relative value unit (RVU) system is a scam, perpetuated by a super-secretive group of subspecialists each  inflating their own worth for the benefit of themselves, at the expense of primary care. If you don’t understand what I’m talking about, first read about RVUs explained. Then come back and read this article put out by the National Institute for Health Care Management. It’s titled “Out of Whack: Pricing Distortions in the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule.“ In his essay, Dr. Robert Berenson shows how distorted primary care specialties are paid, relative to other specialties, in an all Medicare practice with t... Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4322510 Fri, 07 Jan 2011 14:00:00 +0100 4322510 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4097934&cid=t_158194_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Fhospitalist-food-service-too%2F2010.10.23 What is a hospitalist and what kind of care does a hospitalist provide? It’s funny to read what people are writing these days about my professional role in patient care. It now appears hospitalists don’t manage medical issues anymore, but rather go through seven years of medical training to discuss the efficiency of the cafeteria food with their patients. I read one article where the reader (obviously not a hospitalist) suggests that a hospitalist is a medical doctor who can do all the things normal doctors can, but instead of seeing patients all day, he makes rounds through the hospital, talking to patients to find out what can make their hospital stay better. And what kind of issues does the hospitalist deal with on their rounds? Why, the efficiency of the cafeteria food, of ... Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4097934 Sat, 23 Oct 2010 22:00:00 +0100 4097934 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3961814&cid=t_158194_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Fmental-illness-on-sesame-street%2F2010.09.12 ZDoggMD, a hospitalist in California, gives us Diagnosis: Sesame Street – a “cluster of mental illness, all on one urban inner-city avenue.” Enjoy. *This blog post was originally published at KevinMD.com* (Source: Better Health) Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3961814 Sun, 12 Sep 2010 18:00:26 +0100 3961814 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3911700&cid=t_158194_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Fstep-away-from-the-chart-or-ill-be-forced-to-give-you-chemo%2F2010.08.27 *This blog post was originally published at The Happy Hospitalist* (Source: Better Health) Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3911700 Fri, 27 Aug 2010 18:00:00 +0100 3911700 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3607497&cid=t_158194_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Fsuccessful-care-grandmother-knows-best%2F2010.05.28 Want to know the secret to successful care of ICU patients? Think back to the advice your grandmother always gave, joked American Thoracic Society conference speaker Renee Stapleton, M.D., recently: - Wash your hands. - You can’t sleep your life away. - Get some exercise. - Sit up straight. - Take your medicine. - If you can’t remember it, write it down. *This blog post was originally published at ACP Hospitalist* (Source: Better Health) Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3607497 Fri, 28 May 2010 12:00:00 +0100 3607497 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3556096&cid=t_158194_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Fa-helpful-guide-for-discharge-planning%2F2010.05.11 Medicare has a handy guide to help patients and their caregivers take control of the discharge planning process. It might be good for hospitals to have a stack of these at the ready and a plan to make sure every patient gets one: Planning for your discharge: A checklist for patients and caregivers preparing to leave a hospital, nursing home, or other health care setting *This blog post was originally published at ACP Hospitalist* (Source: Better Health) Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3556096 Tue, 11 May 2010 20:00:00 +0100 3556096 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3538095&cid=t_158194_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2F9-tips-to-improve-patient-satisfaction%2F2010.05.05 Some interesting points were raised at a recent Society of Hospital Medicine (SHM) session by Winthrop Whitcomb and Nancy Mihevc on patient satisfaction. To improve satisfaction scores: 1. Review the patient’s chart before you go in the room. It makes a big difference if the patient perceives you know what’s going on without having to bury your face in a chart. 2. Patients are often confused about who they are supposed to see after discharge. This, of course, is a safety issue as well as one that affects patient satisfaction. 3. Sit down when you are visiting a patient. Patients are happiest when they perceive you’ve spent enough time with them, and they are more likely to perceive this if you are sitting than standing with your hand on the doorknob. (more…) ... Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3538095 Wed, 05 May 2010 18:00:00 +0100 3538095 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3460187&cid=t_158194_105_f&fid=38964&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdrwes.blogspot.com%2F2010%2F04%2Frunning-on-empty.html "In sixty-nine I was twenty-one and I called the road my ownI don't know when that road turned onto the road I'm on.Running on, running on emptyRunning on, running blindRunning on, running into the sunBut I'm running behind."-Jackson Browne"We're stretch so thin, right now. No new hires in sight. Look at this list of patients: twenty-two of 'em, all over 70, eight "new's" among them, every one with tons of medical issues. Didn't get out of here until 10:30 last night. Then back at it at 8 (am) this morning. I'm telling you, I hate it. Hate it. There just doesn't ever seem to be an end in sight. We're just a bunch of "f**in' employees, and no one gives a damn."I sat stunned. I knew him from before. His job had taken it's toll. This wasn't the guy I knew earlier. I really didn't know how to ... Dr. Wes blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3460187 Mon, 12 Apr 2010 14:40:00 +0100 3460187 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1054734&cid=t_158194_90_f&fid=34499&url=http%3A%2F%2Fcalifmedicineman.blogspot.com%2F2007%2F11%2Frapid-response-teams-still-wondering.html (Source: California Medicine Man) California Medicine Man blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1054734 Wed, 28 Nov 2007 00:24:00 +0100 1054734