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September 2009
Featured Articles
Cover story
Spontaneous awakening trials
How to increase adherence in the ICU
Research is one thing, and practice quite another. It’s been nine years since a New England Journal of Medicine study showed ICU patients recover more quickly when their sedation medication is routinely stopped. It’s been over a year and a half since a Lancet study found that combining this practice, called spontaneous awakening trials, with spontaneous breathing trials further decreased patients’ time on mechanical ventilation and in the ICU. Yet a sizable number of hospitals still don’t do it.
Patient safety
Lost in transition
Medication discrepancies between hospitals and skilled nursing facilities are common. Learn why and what you can do about it.
Disaster management
Treatment on the fly
Mobile units help hospitals boost surge capacity
Portable “MASH-like” hospital units are helping communities across the country improve their ability to respond to disasters and other events requiring extra capacity.
Q&A: John Rumsfeld, FACP
Lowering hospital readmissions by improving care transitions
The Hospital to Home program targets changes by 2012.
Success story
Hospitalist Web site streamlines signouts, helps communication
At St. John’s Mercy Medical Center in St. Louis, Mo., a hospitalist-developed Web site makes it easy to identify and contact each patient’s attending physician.
Mindful medicine
Unmasking the patient’s hidden agenda
A patient’s reply of “so-so” regarding her depression leads a doctor to dig deeper.
Physician profile
A devotion to patients that springs from gratitude
For Suren Pathman, MD, doctoring is all about service.
Perspectives
Letter from the editor
Studies have shown that critically ill patients who are given “sedation vacations” consisting of spontaneous awakening trials (SATs) and spontaneous breathing trials spend less time on the ventilator and less time in the ICU overall. But many hospitals don’t follow written policy on performing SATs, and a large proportion don’t use SATs in the majority of their patients.
Newman’s notions
A tick’s tale
People have always been fascinated by medical comedies, medical dramas and medical reality shows. One of the most interesting of the current crop has to be “House, M.D.”—not because it is the most believable, but because it is by far the most inaccurate.
The student hospitalist
Too much information
A medical student recounts her experience as a patient.
Your Practice
Coding Corner
Accurate coding for transfer to post-discharge facilities
Accurate ICD-9-CM codes for diagnoses and procedures performed during a hospital stay will only partially determine payment. Discharge status codes must be given equal attention.
Clinical Medicine
Test yourself
Sedation and ventilation
The following cases and commentary, which address sedation and ventilation, are excerpted from ACP’s Medical Knowledge Self-Assessment Program (MKSAP14).
FDA update
Propofol, ventilators, infusion sets recalled
Drug recalls, label changes, safety reviews.
Research news
Journal watch
Recent studies of note.
In the news
Guidelines on catheter-related infections, and more.
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Hospitalist Archives
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ACP Hospitalist Weekly
From the September 1, 2010 edition
- Statin prescriptions at discharge increasing in patients with intracerebral hemorrhage
- Black and low-income patients more likely to leave hospital against medical advice, be readmitted
Cartoon Caption Contest
This issue's winning cartoon caption was submitted by Patricia J. Peterson, FACP, in practice in Longview, Wash., who will receive a $50 gift certificate good toward any ACP product, program or service. Thanks to all who voted!
"Did you say you were a little horse? Or a little hoarse?"
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.
Register Now For Your ACP Fall Chapter Meeting
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.
Test Your Medical Knowledge on Your Mobile Device with ACP’s Doctor's Dilemma™ Game!
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!