Cover Feature

Physicians of the night

The who, what and why of nocturnists
Disparities between day and night care, as well as new guidelines and public pressure, are pushing hospital administrators and hospitalist practices to offer 24/7 care. Quite a few hospitalists are willing to work at night under the right circumstances.

Letter from the Editor

Write to the Editor

Newman’s Notions

The final page

Medical editor James S. Newman, FACP, remembers his first pager, and his next, and then wearing three at once…

Mindful Medicine

When diagnoses get lost in translation

Jerome Groopman, FACP and Pamela Hartzband, FACP review two cases where a patient's use of key words led to anchoring errors in diagnosing an abdominal aortic aneurism and a classic case of intermittent claudication.

Ethical Dilemmas

'Futile to whom' challenges views on reasonable recovery

By Lachlan Forrow, FACP

A reader debates how health care providers handle life-saving medical treatment despite no hope for recovery.

Cartoon Caption Contest

Put words in our mouth

Patient Safety

To err is human … to not plan for it is trouble

Hospitals should plan in advance for serious medical mistakes

Hospitals should always work to prevent serious or fatal medical errors, but they also need to have a plan in place for what to do if an error occurs. Chances are, it will happen eventually.

Your Career

Community hospitals branch out to clinical research

Partnering with academic medical centers benefits both sides

Clinical research at community hospitals in collaboration with academic medical facilities is gaining traction around the U.S.

Pulse On™ Lewiston, Maine

Pulse On™ Little Rock, Ark.

Green Medicine

Wait—don’t throw that out!

More and more hospitals are using reprocessed medical devices

About 3,000 hospitals nationwide have turned to single-use medical device (SUD) reprocessing to save money and reduce their carbon footprint.

Coding Corner

Billing for interactions with a patient’s family or other caregiver

More than 44 million Americans care for an adult family member or friend. Physicians often will discuss the care of a patient with the patient’s caregivers, and may be able to bill for these interactions.

Success Story

Improvements in emergency department create ripple effect in hospital

Avera McKennan Hospital & University Health Center, Sioux Falls, S.D. used a manufacturing concept called Lean to identify wasted steps in the delivery of care. The result: decreased wait times and more efficiency in a new emergency department.

Web Watch

Podcast engages medical bloggers in virtual talk show

Doctor Anonymous’s weekly live podcast interviews well-known medical bloggers in an interactive talk show, including call in with questions and an instant-message in a chatroom while the show is live.

On the blog

What’s new on ACP Internist’s blog

The staff of ACP Internist and ACP Hospitalist update our blog daily with news about medical research and practice management, as well as onsite coverage of major medical conferences. On the lighter side, our “Medical news of the obvious” each Monday points out studies that fail to pass the “so what?” test. Read a sampling of posts that appeared on the blog over the past month.

National Trends

Steady increases in number of obese adults drove sharp rise in overweight populations since 1980

The National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys showed substantial increases in overweight among adults since 1980, primarily reflecting an increase in the percentage of adults 20–74 years of age who are obese.

FDA Update

Recalls for heart pumps, intrathecal catheters, dextroamphetamine sulfate

Physician Profile

A passion for quality improvement, right from the start

Mark R. Chassin, FACP, outlines his role as President of The Joint Commission.

Quality Corner

Measure of the month: stroke and stroke rehabilitation

Q&A

ACP program introduces leadership skills to young members

ACP’s LEAD program (Leadership Enhancement and Development) grew out of the realization that training physicians in leadership skills would benefit both physicians and the College. ACP Hospitalist talked to Erik Wallace, FACP, who led the inaugural LEAD precourse at Internal Medicine 2008.

Clinical Medicine

Test yourself: Sleep disorders

Research News

Recent studies of note

In the News

Top-ranked hospitals have 70% fewer deaths, and other medical updates

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ACP Career Connection

Looking for a new hospitalist position?

ACP Career Connection can help you find your next job in hospital medicine. Search hospitalist positions nationwide that suit your criteria and preferences. Jobs are posted about two weeks before print publication of Annals of Internal Medicine, ACP Internist, and ACP Hospitalist. Exclusive “Online Direct” opportunities are updated weekly. Check us out online.

Attend your fall chapter meeting, earn CME credit, and find out what your local ACP Chapter has to offer! See the Chapter calendar or find out more, including the answers to frequently asked questions about ACP Chapters and regions.

This new online game is based on the popular ACP Doctor's Dilemma™ Competition from ACP’s annual Internal Medicine meetings. The game is simple to play but challenging to master. Start now!