Journal of general internal medicine
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Professional interpreter use improves the quality of care for patients with limited English proficiency (LEP), but little is known about interpreter use in the hospital. ⋯ Interpreter use varied by type of clinical contact, but was overall more common with physicians than with nurses. Professional interpreters were rarely used. With physicians, use of ad hoc interpreters such as family or friends was most common; with nurses, patients often reported, "getting by" without an interpreter or barely speaking at all.
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Editorial Comment
Rethinking "abnormal" blood pressure: what is the value?
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Individual faculty assessments of resident competency are complicated by inconsistent application of standards, lack of reliability, and the "halo" effect. ⋯ This study demonstrates improved inter-rater reliability and reduced range restriction (halo effect) of resident assessment across multiple performance domains by adding the group assessment method to traditional individual faculty-on-resident assessment. This feasible model could help graduate medical education programs achieve more reliable and discriminating resident assessments.
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Seniors frequently struggle during the transition home following an acute hospitalization resulting in frequent rehospitalizations. Studies consistently show a lack of comprehension of discharge instructions. ⋯ Low cognition at discharge is common among elderly patients without dementia, and cognition often improves one month post-hospitalization. Seniors may not comprehend discharge instructions, and patient self-management may be better taught as an outpatient following discharge rather than at the time of hospital discharge. Discharge interventions should incorporate screening of seniors for low cognition prior to hospital discharge to provide optimal transitional care.
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Health numeracy can be defined as the ability to use numeric information in the context of health. The interpretation and application of numbers in health may vary across cultural groups. ⋯ Numbers are important across a range of skills and applications in health in a sample of an urban Mexican-American population. This study expands previous work that strives to understand the application of numeric skills to medical decision making and health behaviors.