JAMA : the journal of the American Medical Association
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The coordinating function of primary care is information-intensive and may be impeded by missing clinical information. However, missing clinical information has not been explicitly investigated in the primary care setting. ⋯ Primary care clinicians report that missing clinical information is common, multifaceted, likely to consume time and other resources, and may adversely affect patients. Additional research on missing information is needed to focus on validating clinicians' perceptions and on conducting prospective studies of its causes and sequelae.
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Estimation of mortality risk in patients hospitalized with acute decompensated heart failure (ADHF) may help clinicians guide care. ⋯ These results suggest that ADHF patients at low, intermediate, and high risk for in-hospital mortality can be easily identified using vital sign and laboratory data obtained on hospital admission. The ADHERE risk tree provides clinicians with a validated, practical bedside tool for mortality risk stratification.