Journal of hospital medicine : an official publication of the Society of Hospital Medicine
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Potentially avoidable emergency department use by patients discharged to skilled nursing facilities.
One-third of patients discharged from hospitals to skilled nursing facilities (SNF) are sent back to the Emergency Department (ED) within 30 days. Little is known about those patients who are discharged from the ED directly back to SNF. ⋯ The most common reasons for these ED visits were mechanical falls (17.3%), postoperative problems (16.8%), and cardiac or pulmonary complaints (11.4%). Future interventions to decrease avoidable ED visits from SNFs should aim to provide access for SNF patients to receive timely outpatient lab and imaging services and postoperative follow-ups.
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Children with gastrointestinal infections often require acute care.The objectives of this study were to describe variations in patterns of stool testing across children's hospitals and determine whether such variation was associated with utilization outcomes. ⋯ Children with acute gastrointestinal infections experience substantial variation in stool testing within and across hospitals, with no difference in utilization outcomes. These findings highlight the need for guidelines to address diagnostic stewardship.
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Late recognition of in-hospital deterioration is a source of preventable harm. Emergency transfers (ET), when hospitalized patients require intensive care unit (ICU) interventions within 1 h of ICU transfer, are a proximal measure of late recognition associated with increased mortality and length of stay (LOS). ⋯ MOID are common in ETs and are associated with increased mortality risk and posttransfer LOS. Diagnostic improvement strategies should be leveraged to support earlier recognition of clinical deterioration.