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Society of Hospital Medicine Learning Portal Adds Programs
Free CME is available to all SHM members, and new modules are added all the time. Here’s a sampling of the most recent online modules:
- Observation or Inpatient? Challenges and Successes in Implementing the Two-Midnight Rule.
- Primer for Hospitalists on Skilled Nursing Facilities: SHM’s first educational initiative, directed at a rapidly growing segment of work for hospitalists, post-acute care (PAC).
- Organizational Knowledge and Leadership Skills 2015.
- Patient Safety Principles 2015.
- Quality Measurement and Stakeholder Interest 2015.
Free CME is available to all SHM members, and new modules are added all the time. Here’s a sampling of the most recent online modules:
- Observation or Inpatient? Challenges and Successes in Implementing the Two-Midnight Rule.
- Primer for Hospitalists on Skilled Nursing Facilities: SHM’s first educational initiative, directed at a rapidly growing segment of work for hospitalists, post-acute care (PAC).
- Organizational Knowledge and Leadership Skills 2015.
- Patient Safety Principles 2015.
- Quality Measurement and Stakeholder Interest 2015.
Free CME is available to all SHM members, and new modules are added all the time. Here’s a sampling of the most recent online modules:
- Observation or Inpatient? Challenges and Successes in Implementing the Two-Midnight Rule.
- Primer for Hospitalists on Skilled Nursing Facilities: SHM’s first educational initiative, directed at a rapidly growing segment of work for hospitalists, post-acute care (PAC).
- Organizational Knowledge and Leadership Skills 2015.
- Patient Safety Principles 2015.
- Quality Measurement and Stakeholder Interest 2015.
Veteran's Affairs Education Programs Develop Hospitalist Leaders
The Veterans Health Administration (VHA) is entrusted with three key missions: clinical care, research, and education. Although clinical care and research receive much of the publicity, the role that the VHA plays in education remains critically important to both current and future healthcare providers.
As one of the statutory requirements of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), the VHA runs multiple training programs, encompassing many types of healthcare providers, under the aegis of the Office of Academic Affiliations (OAA). Started after World War II, OAA was founded on the premise of joining each VA hospital with a medical school. For more than 60 years, these agreements have grown and flourished, and VHA facilities currently have affiliation agreements with 130 of the 141 accredited allopathic and 22 of the 29 accredited osteopathic medical schools in the United States. In partnership with these academic institutions, VHA trained more than 40,000 graduate medical learners (residents and fellows) and more than 21,000 medical students in 2013 alone. This makes VHA the nation’s single largest provider of medical education. Currently, more than 65% of all U.S. physicians have completed some portion of their training in a VHA setting.
A core piece of the VHA, OAA continues to innovate as it grows. For example, as the country moves toward patient-centered medical homes, VHA has developed its own version: patient aligned care teams (PACTs). Accordingly, OAA has been overseeing the development of “Academic” PACTs to better understand how to incorporate trainees into these new systems of care.
Along the same lines, there are three post-graduate training programs of particular interest to hospitalists: the Chief Resident in Quality and Patient Safety (CRQS) program, the Patient Safety Fellowship Program, and the VA National Quality Scholars Fellowship Program (NQSFP). All of these have rigorous educational components that are coordinated through the National Center for Patient Safety.
The CRQS program was developed to support additional chief residents who would be dedicated to educating housestaff and students about quality improvement and patient safety. As of July 1, 2015, there will be 58 such chief residents at VAs across the country. These positions are open to any residency that has at least eight other VA-funded resident positions in the program. Currently, there are CRQSs from internal medicine, surgery, anesthesia, and psychiatry.
The Patient Safety Fellowship is a one-year interdisciplinary program that includes nurses, pharmacists, and psychologists, as well as the physician fellows. This program is offered at six VA Medical Centers across the county and focuses on patient safety improvement science and leadership development.
Since 1999, the NQSFP has produced fellows that are leaders in QI scholarship and implementation. It is a two-year fellowship for post-graduate nurses and physicians and occurs at eight sites across the U.S.
These programs offer graduating residents who are interested in safety and quality opportunities to develop skills in research, implementation, and education. These are especially beneficial for hospitalists who may wish to pursue leadership roles in quality and safety at the program, institution, or healthcare system level.
The VA’s commitment to medical education starts at the level of medical school and continues through its post-graduate programs, many of which may well produce hospitalist leaders of the future.
Dr. Fletcher is associate program director for the internal medicine residency program at the Clement J. Zablocki VA Medical Center and the Medical College of Wisconsin in Madison. Dr. Bates is graduate medical education site director for internal medicine at Baylor College of Medicine at the Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center in Houston.
The Veterans Health Administration (VHA) is entrusted with three key missions: clinical care, research, and education. Although clinical care and research receive much of the publicity, the role that the VHA plays in education remains critically important to both current and future healthcare providers.
As one of the statutory requirements of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), the VHA runs multiple training programs, encompassing many types of healthcare providers, under the aegis of the Office of Academic Affiliations (OAA). Started after World War II, OAA was founded on the premise of joining each VA hospital with a medical school. For more than 60 years, these agreements have grown and flourished, and VHA facilities currently have affiliation agreements with 130 of the 141 accredited allopathic and 22 of the 29 accredited osteopathic medical schools in the United States. In partnership with these academic institutions, VHA trained more than 40,000 graduate medical learners (residents and fellows) and more than 21,000 medical students in 2013 alone. This makes VHA the nation’s single largest provider of medical education. Currently, more than 65% of all U.S. physicians have completed some portion of their training in a VHA setting.
A core piece of the VHA, OAA continues to innovate as it grows. For example, as the country moves toward patient-centered medical homes, VHA has developed its own version: patient aligned care teams (PACTs). Accordingly, OAA has been overseeing the development of “Academic” PACTs to better understand how to incorporate trainees into these new systems of care.
Along the same lines, there are three post-graduate training programs of particular interest to hospitalists: the Chief Resident in Quality and Patient Safety (CRQS) program, the Patient Safety Fellowship Program, and the VA National Quality Scholars Fellowship Program (NQSFP). All of these have rigorous educational components that are coordinated through the National Center for Patient Safety.
The CRQS program was developed to support additional chief residents who would be dedicated to educating housestaff and students about quality improvement and patient safety. As of July 1, 2015, there will be 58 such chief residents at VAs across the country. These positions are open to any residency that has at least eight other VA-funded resident positions in the program. Currently, there are CRQSs from internal medicine, surgery, anesthesia, and psychiatry.
The Patient Safety Fellowship is a one-year interdisciplinary program that includes nurses, pharmacists, and psychologists, as well as the physician fellows. This program is offered at six VA Medical Centers across the county and focuses on patient safety improvement science and leadership development.
Since 1999, the NQSFP has produced fellows that are leaders in QI scholarship and implementation. It is a two-year fellowship for post-graduate nurses and physicians and occurs at eight sites across the U.S.
These programs offer graduating residents who are interested in safety and quality opportunities to develop skills in research, implementation, and education. These are especially beneficial for hospitalists who may wish to pursue leadership roles in quality and safety at the program, institution, or healthcare system level.
The VA’s commitment to medical education starts at the level of medical school and continues through its post-graduate programs, many of which may well produce hospitalist leaders of the future.
Dr. Fletcher is associate program director for the internal medicine residency program at the Clement J. Zablocki VA Medical Center and the Medical College of Wisconsin in Madison. Dr. Bates is graduate medical education site director for internal medicine at Baylor College of Medicine at the Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center in Houston.
The Veterans Health Administration (VHA) is entrusted with three key missions: clinical care, research, and education. Although clinical care and research receive much of the publicity, the role that the VHA plays in education remains critically important to both current and future healthcare providers.
As one of the statutory requirements of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), the VHA runs multiple training programs, encompassing many types of healthcare providers, under the aegis of the Office of Academic Affiliations (OAA). Started after World War II, OAA was founded on the premise of joining each VA hospital with a medical school. For more than 60 years, these agreements have grown and flourished, and VHA facilities currently have affiliation agreements with 130 of the 141 accredited allopathic and 22 of the 29 accredited osteopathic medical schools in the United States. In partnership with these academic institutions, VHA trained more than 40,000 graduate medical learners (residents and fellows) and more than 21,000 medical students in 2013 alone. This makes VHA the nation’s single largest provider of medical education. Currently, more than 65% of all U.S. physicians have completed some portion of their training in a VHA setting.
A core piece of the VHA, OAA continues to innovate as it grows. For example, as the country moves toward patient-centered medical homes, VHA has developed its own version: patient aligned care teams (PACTs). Accordingly, OAA has been overseeing the development of “Academic” PACTs to better understand how to incorporate trainees into these new systems of care.
Along the same lines, there are three post-graduate training programs of particular interest to hospitalists: the Chief Resident in Quality and Patient Safety (CRQS) program, the Patient Safety Fellowship Program, and the VA National Quality Scholars Fellowship Program (NQSFP). All of these have rigorous educational components that are coordinated through the National Center for Patient Safety.
The CRQS program was developed to support additional chief residents who would be dedicated to educating housestaff and students about quality improvement and patient safety. As of July 1, 2015, there will be 58 such chief residents at VAs across the country. These positions are open to any residency that has at least eight other VA-funded resident positions in the program. Currently, there are CRQSs from internal medicine, surgery, anesthesia, and psychiatry.
The Patient Safety Fellowship is a one-year interdisciplinary program that includes nurses, pharmacists, and psychologists, as well as the physician fellows. This program is offered at six VA Medical Centers across the county and focuses on patient safety improvement science and leadership development.
Since 1999, the NQSFP has produced fellows that are leaders in QI scholarship and implementation. It is a two-year fellowship for post-graduate nurses and physicians and occurs at eight sites across the U.S.
These programs offer graduating residents who are interested in safety and quality opportunities to develop skills in research, implementation, and education. These are especially beneficial for hospitalists who may wish to pursue leadership roles in quality and safety at the program, institution, or healthcare system level.
The VA’s commitment to medical education starts at the level of medical school and continues through its post-graduate programs, many of which may well produce hospitalist leaders of the future.
Dr. Fletcher is associate program director for the internal medicine residency program at the Clement J. Zablocki VA Medical Center and the Medical College of Wisconsin in Madison. Dr. Bates is graduate medical education site director for internal medicine at Baylor College of Medicine at the Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center in Houston.
Movers and Shakers in Hospital Medicine, June 2015
Tammy Bugger, hospitalist practice administrator at Alton Memorial Hospital (AMH) in Alton, Ill., was awarded Manager of the Year for Illinois by BJC Medical Group. Bugger is being honored for helping to improve overall patient satisfaction scores for the AMH hospitalist group by ensuring that each patient understands the role of the hospitalist in his or her inpatient care at the hospital.
Rakhi Dimino, MD, has been promoted to one of Greenville, S.C.-based Ob Hospitalist Group’s medical directors of operations as part of its OBHG’s Clinical Leadership Team. Dr. Dimino is currently an OB hospitalist at Houston Methodist Willowbrook Hospital in Houston, Texas.
Roger Lee, MD, has been appointed to the role of chief of staff at UCLA Medical Center in Santa Monica. Dr. Lee is the current co-director of the hospitalist program at UCLA and has served as the chair of UCLA Medical Center’s Medicine Department since 2009. Dr. Lee provides inpatient care at the UCLA Santa Monica campus and at Saint John’s Health Center in Santa Monica.
Jordan Messler, MD, is the new glycemic mentor at the Diabetes Center for Excellence at Heywood Healthcare in North-Central Massachusetts, as part of its partnership with SHM’s Glycemic Control Mentored Implementation Program. Dr. Messler is the current chair of SHM’s Healthcare Quality and Patient Safety Committee. He is based in Clearwater, Fla., where he serves as the medical director of Morton Plant Hospital’s hospitalist program.
Shiraz Nisar, MD, was appointed chairperson of the department of medicine at University Hospitals (UH) Ahuja Medical Center in Cleveland, Ohio. Dr. Nisar is the current clinical site director for Community Hospitalists, a division of the Martin Healthcare Group (MHG) based in Cleveland, at UH Ahuja.
Stephen P. O’Mahony, MD, FACP, has been appointed chief medical information officer for Barnabas Health system based in West Orange, N.J. Most recently, Dr. O’Mahony served as vice president of information technology at Norwalk Hospital in Norwalk, Conn. He is credited with founding one of Connecticut’s first ever hospitalist programs at Norwalk Hospital in 1999.
O’Neil J. Pyke, MD, SFHM, is the new national director of hospital medicine for Keystone Healthcare Management, Inc., based in Memphis, Tenn. Prior to his new role, Dr. Pyke had worked as a hospitalist consultant for Keystone since 2006. Dr. Pyke previously served on SHM’s Ethics and Non-Physician Provider Committees and was a SHM Leadership Academy faculty facilitator.
Jeff Sperring, MD, has been named the new CEO of Seattle Children’s Hospital in Seattle, Wash. Most recently, Dr. Sperring was the CEO of Riley Hospital for Children at Indiana University Health in Indianapolis. Before joining the C-suite, Dr. Sperring served as director of pediatric hospital medicine, chief of staff, and associate chief of staff at Riley Hospital.
Robin Thomas, DO, is the new chairperson of the department of medicine at UH Regional Hospitals, Richmond Campus. Dr. Thomas is a hospitalist for Community Hospitalists, a division of Martin Healthcare Group (MHG) based in Cleveland, Ohio. Dr. Thomas is the current residency director for UH Regional Hospitals.
Jane van Dis, MD, FACOG, was recently promoted to one of the positions of medical directors of operations for Ob Hospitalist Group based in Greenville, S.C. Dr. van Dis is an OB hospitalist at Huntington Memorial Hospital in Pasadena, Calif. Before launching her clinical career six years ago, Dr. van Dis taught at the University of Minnesota Department of OB/GYN as an assistant professor and served as director of the Medical Student OB/GYN Clerkship at the University of Minnesota.
Business Moves
Bates County Memorial Hospital (BCMH) in Butler, Mo., has partnered with Saint Luke’s Health System and Saint Luke’s Physician Specialists to offer hospital medicine services at the facility. The new hospitalist program will staff four hospitalists seven days a week in the hospital from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. and via telemedicine at night. Saint Luke’s Health System is a regional hospital system that consists of 10 acute care facilities and dozens of outpatient, specialty, and laboratory practices throughout the greater Kansas City area.
Blue Ridge Regional Hospital (BRRH) in Spruce Pine, N.C., recently launched its first hospitalist program. BRRH is a 46-bed, nonprofit, acute care facility serving lower Avery, upper McDowell, Mitchell, and Yancey counties in North Carolina.
IPC Healthcare, Inc. (formerly IPC The Hospitalist Company), based in North Hollywood, Calif., recently acquired Capital Internal Medicine, LLC, based in Silver Spring, Md.; Geriatrics Associates, PC, in Albuquerque, N.M., and GTA Health Solutions in Morristown, Tenn. Capital Internal Medicine is a physician staffing company serving the greater Washington, D.C., metro area. Geriatrics Associates is a long-term and hospice care provider serving greater Albuquerque. GTA Health Solutions is a post-acute behavioral health practice. IPC provides hospitalist and post-acute staffing services in 27 states across the country.
Moses Taylor Hospital, a 217-bed acute care center in Scranton, Penn., recently opened a brand new pediatric wing that will be staffed by a team of pediatric hospitalists from Penn State Hershey Children’s Hospital. The new Pediatric Center of Excellence will provide 18 beds for pediatric care 24 hours a day. Moses Taylor Hospital is part of Commonwealth Health, a regional healthcare network in Northeastern Pennsylvania consisting of six hospitals and dozens of post-acute and laboratory centers throughout the region.
Sound Physicians is now providing hospitalist services to Dignity Health-St. Rose Dominican hospital in Henderson, Nev. St. Rose Dominican is a nonprofit, religiously sponsored hospital part of the Dignity Health network, which operates hospitals, clinics, and care centers in 21 states across the country. Sound Physicians is one of the largest hospitalist providers in the United States, serving hospitals in 35 states across the United States.
Southland MD, a regional hospitalist service provider based in Thomasville, Ga., is now providing hospital medicine at Memorial Hospital and Manor in Bainbridge, Ga. Memorial Hospital and Manor is an 80-bed acute care hospital with an adjacent 107-bed nursing home next door. Southland MD is a regional hospitalist, emergency medicine, and outpatient care provider serving patients throughout South Georgia and North Florida.
–Michael O’Neal
Tammy Bugger, hospitalist practice administrator at Alton Memorial Hospital (AMH) in Alton, Ill., was awarded Manager of the Year for Illinois by BJC Medical Group. Bugger is being honored for helping to improve overall patient satisfaction scores for the AMH hospitalist group by ensuring that each patient understands the role of the hospitalist in his or her inpatient care at the hospital.
Rakhi Dimino, MD, has been promoted to one of Greenville, S.C.-based Ob Hospitalist Group’s medical directors of operations as part of its OBHG’s Clinical Leadership Team. Dr. Dimino is currently an OB hospitalist at Houston Methodist Willowbrook Hospital in Houston, Texas.
Roger Lee, MD, has been appointed to the role of chief of staff at UCLA Medical Center in Santa Monica. Dr. Lee is the current co-director of the hospitalist program at UCLA and has served as the chair of UCLA Medical Center’s Medicine Department since 2009. Dr. Lee provides inpatient care at the UCLA Santa Monica campus and at Saint John’s Health Center in Santa Monica.
Jordan Messler, MD, is the new glycemic mentor at the Diabetes Center for Excellence at Heywood Healthcare in North-Central Massachusetts, as part of its partnership with SHM’s Glycemic Control Mentored Implementation Program. Dr. Messler is the current chair of SHM’s Healthcare Quality and Patient Safety Committee. He is based in Clearwater, Fla., where he serves as the medical director of Morton Plant Hospital’s hospitalist program.
Shiraz Nisar, MD, was appointed chairperson of the department of medicine at University Hospitals (UH) Ahuja Medical Center in Cleveland, Ohio. Dr. Nisar is the current clinical site director for Community Hospitalists, a division of the Martin Healthcare Group (MHG) based in Cleveland, at UH Ahuja.
Stephen P. O’Mahony, MD, FACP, has been appointed chief medical information officer for Barnabas Health system based in West Orange, N.J. Most recently, Dr. O’Mahony served as vice president of information technology at Norwalk Hospital in Norwalk, Conn. He is credited with founding one of Connecticut’s first ever hospitalist programs at Norwalk Hospital in 1999.
O’Neil J. Pyke, MD, SFHM, is the new national director of hospital medicine for Keystone Healthcare Management, Inc., based in Memphis, Tenn. Prior to his new role, Dr. Pyke had worked as a hospitalist consultant for Keystone since 2006. Dr. Pyke previously served on SHM’s Ethics and Non-Physician Provider Committees and was a SHM Leadership Academy faculty facilitator.
Jeff Sperring, MD, has been named the new CEO of Seattle Children’s Hospital in Seattle, Wash. Most recently, Dr. Sperring was the CEO of Riley Hospital for Children at Indiana University Health in Indianapolis. Before joining the C-suite, Dr. Sperring served as director of pediatric hospital medicine, chief of staff, and associate chief of staff at Riley Hospital.
Robin Thomas, DO, is the new chairperson of the department of medicine at UH Regional Hospitals, Richmond Campus. Dr. Thomas is a hospitalist for Community Hospitalists, a division of Martin Healthcare Group (MHG) based in Cleveland, Ohio. Dr. Thomas is the current residency director for UH Regional Hospitals.
Jane van Dis, MD, FACOG, was recently promoted to one of the positions of medical directors of operations for Ob Hospitalist Group based in Greenville, S.C. Dr. van Dis is an OB hospitalist at Huntington Memorial Hospital in Pasadena, Calif. Before launching her clinical career six years ago, Dr. van Dis taught at the University of Minnesota Department of OB/GYN as an assistant professor and served as director of the Medical Student OB/GYN Clerkship at the University of Minnesota.
Business Moves
Bates County Memorial Hospital (BCMH) in Butler, Mo., has partnered with Saint Luke’s Health System and Saint Luke’s Physician Specialists to offer hospital medicine services at the facility. The new hospitalist program will staff four hospitalists seven days a week in the hospital from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. and via telemedicine at night. Saint Luke’s Health System is a regional hospital system that consists of 10 acute care facilities and dozens of outpatient, specialty, and laboratory practices throughout the greater Kansas City area.
Blue Ridge Regional Hospital (BRRH) in Spruce Pine, N.C., recently launched its first hospitalist program. BRRH is a 46-bed, nonprofit, acute care facility serving lower Avery, upper McDowell, Mitchell, and Yancey counties in North Carolina.
IPC Healthcare, Inc. (formerly IPC The Hospitalist Company), based in North Hollywood, Calif., recently acquired Capital Internal Medicine, LLC, based in Silver Spring, Md.; Geriatrics Associates, PC, in Albuquerque, N.M., and GTA Health Solutions in Morristown, Tenn. Capital Internal Medicine is a physician staffing company serving the greater Washington, D.C., metro area. Geriatrics Associates is a long-term and hospice care provider serving greater Albuquerque. GTA Health Solutions is a post-acute behavioral health practice. IPC provides hospitalist and post-acute staffing services in 27 states across the country.
Moses Taylor Hospital, a 217-bed acute care center in Scranton, Penn., recently opened a brand new pediatric wing that will be staffed by a team of pediatric hospitalists from Penn State Hershey Children’s Hospital. The new Pediatric Center of Excellence will provide 18 beds for pediatric care 24 hours a day. Moses Taylor Hospital is part of Commonwealth Health, a regional healthcare network in Northeastern Pennsylvania consisting of six hospitals and dozens of post-acute and laboratory centers throughout the region.
Sound Physicians is now providing hospitalist services to Dignity Health-St. Rose Dominican hospital in Henderson, Nev. St. Rose Dominican is a nonprofit, religiously sponsored hospital part of the Dignity Health network, which operates hospitals, clinics, and care centers in 21 states across the country. Sound Physicians is one of the largest hospitalist providers in the United States, serving hospitals in 35 states across the United States.
Southland MD, a regional hospitalist service provider based in Thomasville, Ga., is now providing hospital medicine at Memorial Hospital and Manor in Bainbridge, Ga. Memorial Hospital and Manor is an 80-bed acute care hospital with an adjacent 107-bed nursing home next door. Southland MD is a regional hospitalist, emergency medicine, and outpatient care provider serving patients throughout South Georgia and North Florida.
–Michael O’Neal
Tammy Bugger, hospitalist practice administrator at Alton Memorial Hospital (AMH) in Alton, Ill., was awarded Manager of the Year for Illinois by BJC Medical Group. Bugger is being honored for helping to improve overall patient satisfaction scores for the AMH hospitalist group by ensuring that each patient understands the role of the hospitalist in his or her inpatient care at the hospital.
Rakhi Dimino, MD, has been promoted to one of Greenville, S.C.-based Ob Hospitalist Group’s medical directors of operations as part of its OBHG’s Clinical Leadership Team. Dr. Dimino is currently an OB hospitalist at Houston Methodist Willowbrook Hospital in Houston, Texas.
Roger Lee, MD, has been appointed to the role of chief of staff at UCLA Medical Center in Santa Monica. Dr. Lee is the current co-director of the hospitalist program at UCLA and has served as the chair of UCLA Medical Center’s Medicine Department since 2009. Dr. Lee provides inpatient care at the UCLA Santa Monica campus and at Saint John’s Health Center in Santa Monica.
Jordan Messler, MD, is the new glycemic mentor at the Diabetes Center for Excellence at Heywood Healthcare in North-Central Massachusetts, as part of its partnership with SHM’s Glycemic Control Mentored Implementation Program. Dr. Messler is the current chair of SHM’s Healthcare Quality and Patient Safety Committee. He is based in Clearwater, Fla., where he serves as the medical director of Morton Plant Hospital’s hospitalist program.
Shiraz Nisar, MD, was appointed chairperson of the department of medicine at University Hospitals (UH) Ahuja Medical Center in Cleveland, Ohio. Dr. Nisar is the current clinical site director for Community Hospitalists, a division of the Martin Healthcare Group (MHG) based in Cleveland, at UH Ahuja.
Stephen P. O’Mahony, MD, FACP, has been appointed chief medical information officer for Barnabas Health system based in West Orange, N.J. Most recently, Dr. O’Mahony served as vice president of information technology at Norwalk Hospital in Norwalk, Conn. He is credited with founding one of Connecticut’s first ever hospitalist programs at Norwalk Hospital in 1999.
O’Neil J. Pyke, MD, SFHM, is the new national director of hospital medicine for Keystone Healthcare Management, Inc., based in Memphis, Tenn. Prior to his new role, Dr. Pyke had worked as a hospitalist consultant for Keystone since 2006. Dr. Pyke previously served on SHM’s Ethics and Non-Physician Provider Committees and was a SHM Leadership Academy faculty facilitator.
Jeff Sperring, MD, has been named the new CEO of Seattle Children’s Hospital in Seattle, Wash. Most recently, Dr. Sperring was the CEO of Riley Hospital for Children at Indiana University Health in Indianapolis. Before joining the C-suite, Dr. Sperring served as director of pediatric hospital medicine, chief of staff, and associate chief of staff at Riley Hospital.
Robin Thomas, DO, is the new chairperson of the department of medicine at UH Regional Hospitals, Richmond Campus. Dr. Thomas is a hospitalist for Community Hospitalists, a division of Martin Healthcare Group (MHG) based in Cleveland, Ohio. Dr. Thomas is the current residency director for UH Regional Hospitals.
Jane van Dis, MD, FACOG, was recently promoted to one of the positions of medical directors of operations for Ob Hospitalist Group based in Greenville, S.C. Dr. van Dis is an OB hospitalist at Huntington Memorial Hospital in Pasadena, Calif. Before launching her clinical career six years ago, Dr. van Dis taught at the University of Minnesota Department of OB/GYN as an assistant professor and served as director of the Medical Student OB/GYN Clerkship at the University of Minnesota.
Business Moves
Bates County Memorial Hospital (BCMH) in Butler, Mo., has partnered with Saint Luke’s Health System and Saint Luke’s Physician Specialists to offer hospital medicine services at the facility. The new hospitalist program will staff four hospitalists seven days a week in the hospital from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. and via telemedicine at night. Saint Luke’s Health System is a regional hospital system that consists of 10 acute care facilities and dozens of outpatient, specialty, and laboratory practices throughout the greater Kansas City area.
Blue Ridge Regional Hospital (BRRH) in Spruce Pine, N.C., recently launched its first hospitalist program. BRRH is a 46-bed, nonprofit, acute care facility serving lower Avery, upper McDowell, Mitchell, and Yancey counties in North Carolina.
IPC Healthcare, Inc. (formerly IPC The Hospitalist Company), based in North Hollywood, Calif., recently acquired Capital Internal Medicine, LLC, based in Silver Spring, Md.; Geriatrics Associates, PC, in Albuquerque, N.M., and GTA Health Solutions in Morristown, Tenn. Capital Internal Medicine is a physician staffing company serving the greater Washington, D.C., metro area. Geriatrics Associates is a long-term and hospice care provider serving greater Albuquerque. GTA Health Solutions is a post-acute behavioral health practice. IPC provides hospitalist and post-acute staffing services in 27 states across the country.
Moses Taylor Hospital, a 217-bed acute care center in Scranton, Penn., recently opened a brand new pediatric wing that will be staffed by a team of pediatric hospitalists from Penn State Hershey Children’s Hospital. The new Pediatric Center of Excellence will provide 18 beds for pediatric care 24 hours a day. Moses Taylor Hospital is part of Commonwealth Health, a regional healthcare network in Northeastern Pennsylvania consisting of six hospitals and dozens of post-acute and laboratory centers throughout the region.
Sound Physicians is now providing hospitalist services to Dignity Health-St. Rose Dominican hospital in Henderson, Nev. St. Rose Dominican is a nonprofit, religiously sponsored hospital part of the Dignity Health network, which operates hospitals, clinics, and care centers in 21 states across the country. Sound Physicians is one of the largest hospitalist providers in the United States, serving hospitals in 35 states across the United States.
Southland MD, a regional hospitalist service provider based in Thomasville, Ga., is now providing hospital medicine at Memorial Hospital and Manor in Bainbridge, Ga. Memorial Hospital and Manor is an 80-bed acute care hospital with an adjacent 107-bed nursing home next door. Southland MD is a regional hospitalist, emergency medicine, and outpatient care provider serving patients throughout South Georgia and North Florida.
–Michael O’Neal
Precaution Guidelines Updated for Visitors of Inpatients with Infectious Diseases
Hospitalists may soon see changes in precaution protocols for some hospital visitors, thanks to a revised set of guidelines published by the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America (SHEA). The guidelines include recommendations for visitors to patients hospitalized with infectious diseases.
"Up until now, visitors have been wearing contact precautions just like healthcare providers—gowns, gloves, masks, sometimes respirators," says lead author L. Silvia Munoz-Price, MD, PhD, enterprise epidemiologist at the Institute for Health and Society of the Medical College of Wisconsin based in Milwaukee. "We looked at the evidence for these policies. Using our judgment, a literature review, and a survey of our membership, we came up with new guidelines."
Among SHEA's recommendations are two major changes:
- Visitors of patients diagnosed with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) or vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE) don't need gowns and gloves if those pathogens are endemic in the region and the institution;
- For cases involving Clostridium difficile infection and extensively drug-resistant gram-negative organisms, contact isolation precautions are still recommended; and
- Visitors of patients under airborne isolation precautions do not need N95 respirators. Healthcare workers still need the protective masks, but because the masks only function when fitted properly to an individual, the masks loaned to visitors are probably ineffective.
"We've been asking visitors to wear N95, even though we know most likely it’s doing nothing," Dr. Munoz-Price says. "Now we're saying, stop doing that."
If visitors have had enough exposure to the patient at home, they can wear surgical masks or maybe no precautions at all, she adds. If visitors have not seen the patient for weeks, visitation may have to be restricted.
Dr. Munoz-Price notes that hospitalists should be aware of these revised guidelines and know that they apply only to visitors.
"Even though family members are not wearing contact precaution gear, that doesn't mean that hospitalists shouldn't," Dr. Munoz-Price says. "It's extremely important that hospitalists be compliant with their protocols and not be influenced by what we're doing with visitors." TH
Suzanne Bopp is a freelance writer in New Jersey.
Visit our website for more information on managing patients with infectious diseases.
Hospitalists may soon see changes in precaution protocols for some hospital visitors, thanks to a revised set of guidelines published by the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America (SHEA). The guidelines include recommendations for visitors to patients hospitalized with infectious diseases.
"Up until now, visitors have been wearing contact precautions just like healthcare providers—gowns, gloves, masks, sometimes respirators," says lead author L. Silvia Munoz-Price, MD, PhD, enterprise epidemiologist at the Institute for Health and Society of the Medical College of Wisconsin based in Milwaukee. "We looked at the evidence for these policies. Using our judgment, a literature review, and a survey of our membership, we came up with new guidelines."
Among SHEA's recommendations are two major changes:
- Visitors of patients diagnosed with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) or vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE) don't need gowns and gloves if those pathogens are endemic in the region and the institution;
- For cases involving Clostridium difficile infection and extensively drug-resistant gram-negative organisms, contact isolation precautions are still recommended; and
- Visitors of patients under airborne isolation precautions do not need N95 respirators. Healthcare workers still need the protective masks, but because the masks only function when fitted properly to an individual, the masks loaned to visitors are probably ineffective.
"We've been asking visitors to wear N95, even though we know most likely it’s doing nothing," Dr. Munoz-Price says. "Now we're saying, stop doing that."
If visitors have had enough exposure to the patient at home, they can wear surgical masks or maybe no precautions at all, she adds. If visitors have not seen the patient for weeks, visitation may have to be restricted.
Dr. Munoz-Price notes that hospitalists should be aware of these revised guidelines and know that they apply only to visitors.
"Even though family members are not wearing contact precaution gear, that doesn't mean that hospitalists shouldn't," Dr. Munoz-Price says. "It's extremely important that hospitalists be compliant with their protocols and not be influenced by what we're doing with visitors." TH
Suzanne Bopp is a freelance writer in New Jersey.
Visit our website for more information on managing patients with infectious diseases.
Hospitalists may soon see changes in precaution protocols for some hospital visitors, thanks to a revised set of guidelines published by the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America (SHEA). The guidelines include recommendations for visitors to patients hospitalized with infectious diseases.
"Up until now, visitors have been wearing contact precautions just like healthcare providers—gowns, gloves, masks, sometimes respirators," says lead author L. Silvia Munoz-Price, MD, PhD, enterprise epidemiologist at the Institute for Health and Society of the Medical College of Wisconsin based in Milwaukee. "We looked at the evidence for these policies. Using our judgment, a literature review, and a survey of our membership, we came up with new guidelines."
Among SHEA's recommendations are two major changes:
- Visitors of patients diagnosed with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) or vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE) don't need gowns and gloves if those pathogens are endemic in the region and the institution;
- For cases involving Clostridium difficile infection and extensively drug-resistant gram-negative organisms, contact isolation precautions are still recommended; and
- Visitors of patients under airborne isolation precautions do not need N95 respirators. Healthcare workers still need the protective masks, but because the masks only function when fitted properly to an individual, the masks loaned to visitors are probably ineffective.
"We've been asking visitors to wear N95, even though we know most likely it’s doing nothing," Dr. Munoz-Price says. "Now we're saying, stop doing that."
If visitors have had enough exposure to the patient at home, they can wear surgical masks or maybe no precautions at all, she adds. If visitors have not seen the patient for weeks, visitation may have to be restricted.
Dr. Munoz-Price notes that hospitalists should be aware of these revised guidelines and know that they apply only to visitors.
"Even though family members are not wearing contact precaution gear, that doesn't mean that hospitalists shouldn't," Dr. Munoz-Price says. "It's extremely important that hospitalists be compliant with their protocols and not be influenced by what we're doing with visitors." TH
Suzanne Bopp is a freelance writer in New Jersey.
Visit our website for more information on managing patients with infectious diseases.
Most Hospitalists Not Eager to Screen Inpatients for Breast Cancer: JHM Study
A recent Journal of Hospital Medicine study found that most hospitalists do not believe they should be involved in breast cancer screening for their hospitalized patients who are overdue for a screening.
Study authors at Johns Hopkins Bayview (JHB) Medical Center in Baltimore surveyed nearly 100 hospitalists about their thoughts on ordering a mammography for hospitalized women and possible concerns for hospitalists ordering inpatient screenings. Only 38% of those surveyed believed that hospitalists should be involved with breast cancer screening. The main concerns, according to survey takers, were following up on the results of the screening and that the mammography might not be covered by patients’ insurance.
The Hospitalist caught up with lead author Waseem Khaliq MD, MPH, who is a hospitalist and assistant professor of medicine at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and a member of the JHB Cancer Committee.
Question: What are the key takeaways from this study?
Answer: About three years ago, we looked up what the adherence rate is among women who are admitted to the hospital for breast cancer screenings, and what we found was that a lot of these women were nonadherent to the breast cancer screening. So we polled those women who were nonadherent to the breast cancer screening and asked, “What if we were able to offer you a mammogram while you were in the hospital for other issues?” About 76% said that they would like to have a mammogram while they were in the hospital.
Looking at that background, we polled this question to our hospitalists, too. What we found out was that a lot of the hospitalists were not willing to order a mammogram or were not too excited about getting a breast cancer screening done in the hospital setting. A majority told us that they’re more worried about how those results are going to be followed up, and it is possible that even if they order this mammogram that it may interfere with patient care or patient discharge. Then who would cover the cost of the mammogram if they do it in the inpatient setting?
So although a third of the hospitalists would still order a mammogram for those women who were high risk … a majority of them were not willing to because there were some perceived barriers to that.
Q: What is your reaction to the concerns with screening inpatients?
A: I can understand the concerns that most of the hospitalists have in regard to screening every patient that comes to the hospital. What I think we can do is, at the very least, we can be smart enough to figure out if a patient were at high risk for developing cancer and at least have those patients who were at high risk get screened.
Q: Where do you think hospitalists should go from here with regard to their patients who are overdue for breast cancer screenings?
A: We need to test for the feasibility and the financial issue of actually getting a screening mammogram in the hospital setting. I think down the road it should not matter what setting a patient [intersects] with the health system; it could be inpatient or outpatient. Patients should be provided the care and prevention needs that are recommended for their routine care. The next step should be doing a feasibility study, looking at whether or not these mammograms can be done in the hospital setting and do not interfere with the patient’s acute care. TH
Candace Mitchell is a freelance writer in New Jersey.
A recent Journal of Hospital Medicine study found that most hospitalists do not believe they should be involved in breast cancer screening for their hospitalized patients who are overdue for a screening.
Study authors at Johns Hopkins Bayview (JHB) Medical Center in Baltimore surveyed nearly 100 hospitalists about their thoughts on ordering a mammography for hospitalized women and possible concerns for hospitalists ordering inpatient screenings. Only 38% of those surveyed believed that hospitalists should be involved with breast cancer screening. The main concerns, according to survey takers, were following up on the results of the screening and that the mammography might not be covered by patients’ insurance.
The Hospitalist caught up with lead author Waseem Khaliq MD, MPH, who is a hospitalist and assistant professor of medicine at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and a member of the JHB Cancer Committee.
Question: What are the key takeaways from this study?
Answer: About three years ago, we looked up what the adherence rate is among women who are admitted to the hospital for breast cancer screenings, and what we found was that a lot of these women were nonadherent to the breast cancer screening. So we polled those women who were nonadherent to the breast cancer screening and asked, “What if we were able to offer you a mammogram while you were in the hospital for other issues?” About 76% said that they would like to have a mammogram while they were in the hospital.
Looking at that background, we polled this question to our hospitalists, too. What we found out was that a lot of the hospitalists were not willing to order a mammogram or were not too excited about getting a breast cancer screening done in the hospital setting. A majority told us that they’re more worried about how those results are going to be followed up, and it is possible that even if they order this mammogram that it may interfere with patient care or patient discharge. Then who would cover the cost of the mammogram if they do it in the inpatient setting?
So although a third of the hospitalists would still order a mammogram for those women who were high risk … a majority of them were not willing to because there were some perceived barriers to that.
Q: What is your reaction to the concerns with screening inpatients?
A: I can understand the concerns that most of the hospitalists have in regard to screening every patient that comes to the hospital. What I think we can do is, at the very least, we can be smart enough to figure out if a patient were at high risk for developing cancer and at least have those patients who were at high risk get screened.
Q: Where do you think hospitalists should go from here with regard to their patients who are overdue for breast cancer screenings?
A: We need to test for the feasibility and the financial issue of actually getting a screening mammogram in the hospital setting. I think down the road it should not matter what setting a patient [intersects] with the health system; it could be inpatient or outpatient. Patients should be provided the care and prevention needs that are recommended for their routine care. The next step should be doing a feasibility study, looking at whether or not these mammograms can be done in the hospital setting and do not interfere with the patient’s acute care. TH
Candace Mitchell is a freelance writer in New Jersey.
A recent Journal of Hospital Medicine study found that most hospitalists do not believe they should be involved in breast cancer screening for their hospitalized patients who are overdue for a screening.
Study authors at Johns Hopkins Bayview (JHB) Medical Center in Baltimore surveyed nearly 100 hospitalists about their thoughts on ordering a mammography for hospitalized women and possible concerns for hospitalists ordering inpatient screenings. Only 38% of those surveyed believed that hospitalists should be involved with breast cancer screening. The main concerns, according to survey takers, were following up on the results of the screening and that the mammography might not be covered by patients’ insurance.
The Hospitalist caught up with lead author Waseem Khaliq MD, MPH, who is a hospitalist and assistant professor of medicine at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and a member of the JHB Cancer Committee.
Question: What are the key takeaways from this study?
Answer: About three years ago, we looked up what the adherence rate is among women who are admitted to the hospital for breast cancer screenings, and what we found was that a lot of these women were nonadherent to the breast cancer screening. So we polled those women who were nonadherent to the breast cancer screening and asked, “What if we were able to offer you a mammogram while you were in the hospital for other issues?” About 76% said that they would like to have a mammogram while they were in the hospital.
Looking at that background, we polled this question to our hospitalists, too. What we found out was that a lot of the hospitalists were not willing to order a mammogram or were not too excited about getting a breast cancer screening done in the hospital setting. A majority told us that they’re more worried about how those results are going to be followed up, and it is possible that even if they order this mammogram that it may interfere with patient care or patient discharge. Then who would cover the cost of the mammogram if they do it in the inpatient setting?
So although a third of the hospitalists would still order a mammogram for those women who were high risk … a majority of them were not willing to because there were some perceived barriers to that.
Q: What is your reaction to the concerns with screening inpatients?
A: I can understand the concerns that most of the hospitalists have in regard to screening every patient that comes to the hospital. What I think we can do is, at the very least, we can be smart enough to figure out if a patient were at high risk for developing cancer and at least have those patients who were at high risk get screened.
Q: Where do you think hospitalists should go from here with regard to their patients who are overdue for breast cancer screenings?
A: We need to test for the feasibility and the financial issue of actually getting a screening mammogram in the hospital setting. I think down the road it should not matter what setting a patient [intersects] with the health system; it could be inpatient or outpatient. Patients should be provided the care and prevention needs that are recommended for their routine care. The next step should be doing a feasibility study, looking at whether or not these mammograms can be done in the hospital setting and do not interfere with the patient’s acute care. TH
Candace Mitchell is a freelance writer in New Jersey.
Newest SHM Board Member Eager to Make Positive Impact
Christopher Frost, MD, FHM, has accomplished a lot in his career. He retired as a major from the U.S. Air Force Reserve. He's been an ED physician. And now he is the chief medical officer of hospital-based physicians for Hospital Corporation of America.
Yet, he considers being the newest member of SHM's Board of Directors a distinct honor.
"I am truly humbled to be participating with this group of energetic, intelligent, and wise individuals that comprise the SHM board," Dr. Frost says in an e-mail interview with The Hospitalist. "[I'm] very eager to participate with this group, and ultimately, I would like for us, not me, to be able to say we had some positive impact on the specialty, whether that be for our providers, patients, families, or some combination thereof."
Question: What drew you to hospital medicine?
Answer: During my chief [residency] year, I started moonlighting as a hospitalist for a large hematology/oncology group. I enjoyed the experience but did not really consider hospital medicine as a career option until I received a call asking if I knew of any residents who might be interested in joining a hospital medicine group undergoing rapid growth. Up until that moment, hospital medicine was just a moonlighting gig. It was still a relatively nascent specialty, and I did not realize it could be a career path. The call served as a catalyst to rethink my options.
Q: What keeps you engaged in the specialty?
A: The specialty attracts change agents. Individuals that are not necessarily satisfied with the status quo but instead are interested in collaborating with others to affect change. From a local level, in our community hospitals where hospitalists chair committees or serve as chiefs of staff, all the way to the national level where hospitalists are serving in such roles as the CMO of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services or as the U.S. Surgeon General.
Q: As a new board member, what do you now realize that you didn’t before?
A: One is what it means to be a part of a “big tent” organization, and the other is an appreciation of the breadth and depth of the talent found among the SHM staff. I knew that SHM was involved in a lot of different activities and that several other specialty societies and organizations seek out SHM based on the collaborative nature of our specialty society; however, I didn't appreciate just how broad the scope of involvement extends. TH
Visit our website for more information on leadership.
Christopher Frost, MD, FHM, has accomplished a lot in his career. He retired as a major from the U.S. Air Force Reserve. He's been an ED physician. And now he is the chief medical officer of hospital-based physicians for Hospital Corporation of America.
Yet, he considers being the newest member of SHM's Board of Directors a distinct honor.
"I am truly humbled to be participating with this group of energetic, intelligent, and wise individuals that comprise the SHM board," Dr. Frost says in an e-mail interview with The Hospitalist. "[I'm] very eager to participate with this group, and ultimately, I would like for us, not me, to be able to say we had some positive impact on the specialty, whether that be for our providers, patients, families, or some combination thereof."
Question: What drew you to hospital medicine?
Answer: During my chief [residency] year, I started moonlighting as a hospitalist for a large hematology/oncology group. I enjoyed the experience but did not really consider hospital medicine as a career option until I received a call asking if I knew of any residents who might be interested in joining a hospital medicine group undergoing rapid growth. Up until that moment, hospital medicine was just a moonlighting gig. It was still a relatively nascent specialty, and I did not realize it could be a career path. The call served as a catalyst to rethink my options.
Q: What keeps you engaged in the specialty?
A: The specialty attracts change agents. Individuals that are not necessarily satisfied with the status quo but instead are interested in collaborating with others to affect change. From a local level, in our community hospitals where hospitalists chair committees or serve as chiefs of staff, all the way to the national level where hospitalists are serving in such roles as the CMO of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services or as the U.S. Surgeon General.
Q: As a new board member, what do you now realize that you didn’t before?
A: One is what it means to be a part of a “big tent” organization, and the other is an appreciation of the breadth and depth of the talent found among the SHM staff. I knew that SHM was involved in a lot of different activities and that several other specialty societies and organizations seek out SHM based on the collaborative nature of our specialty society; however, I didn't appreciate just how broad the scope of involvement extends. TH
Visit our website for more information on leadership.
Christopher Frost, MD, FHM, has accomplished a lot in his career. He retired as a major from the U.S. Air Force Reserve. He's been an ED physician. And now he is the chief medical officer of hospital-based physicians for Hospital Corporation of America.
Yet, he considers being the newest member of SHM's Board of Directors a distinct honor.
"I am truly humbled to be participating with this group of energetic, intelligent, and wise individuals that comprise the SHM board," Dr. Frost says in an e-mail interview with The Hospitalist. "[I'm] very eager to participate with this group, and ultimately, I would like for us, not me, to be able to say we had some positive impact on the specialty, whether that be for our providers, patients, families, or some combination thereof."
Question: What drew you to hospital medicine?
Answer: During my chief [residency] year, I started moonlighting as a hospitalist for a large hematology/oncology group. I enjoyed the experience but did not really consider hospital medicine as a career option until I received a call asking if I knew of any residents who might be interested in joining a hospital medicine group undergoing rapid growth. Up until that moment, hospital medicine was just a moonlighting gig. It was still a relatively nascent specialty, and I did not realize it could be a career path. The call served as a catalyst to rethink my options.
Q: What keeps you engaged in the specialty?
A: The specialty attracts change agents. Individuals that are not necessarily satisfied with the status quo but instead are interested in collaborating with others to affect change. From a local level, in our community hospitals where hospitalists chair committees or serve as chiefs of staff, all the way to the national level where hospitalists are serving in such roles as the CMO of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services or as the U.S. Surgeon General.
Q: As a new board member, what do you now realize that you didn’t before?
A: One is what it means to be a part of a “big tent” organization, and the other is an appreciation of the breadth and depth of the talent found among the SHM staff. I knew that SHM was involved in a lot of different activities and that several other specialty societies and organizations seek out SHM based on the collaborative nature of our specialty society; however, I didn't appreciate just how broad the scope of involvement extends. TH
Visit our website for more information on leadership.
Antibiotic Regimens Compared for Treating Uncomplicated Skin Infections
Clinical question: What are the efficacy and safety of clindamycin and trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (TMP-SMX) for treatment of uncomplicated soft tissue infections in adults and children?
Background: Clindamycin and TMP-SMX are commonly used treatments for uncomplicated skin infections in adults and children, but no head-to-head comparison of efficacy or side effect profile for these medications exists.
Study design: Multi-center, prospective, double-blind, randomized clinical trial of superiority.
Setting: Four academic medical centers.
Synopsis: A group of 524 adults (n=369) and children with uncomplicated cellulitis, abscess, or both was enrolled. For patients with abscess, only those with larger lesions (based on age) were included. All abscesses were incised and drained, and patients were randomly treated with either clindamycin or TMP-SMX for 10 days. A total of 41% of cultures from suppurative wounds grew Staphylococcus aureus; 77% of these were methicillin-resistant.
The primary outcome was clinical cure assessed at 7 to 10 days and one month after completing treatment. No significant difference in cure or reported side effects was seen between drug treatment groups, age groups, lesion types, or isolates cultured. Some 80.3% of patients in the clindamycin group and 77.3% of patients in the TMP-SMX group were cured. Side effect profiles assessed by patient questionnaires showed similar rates of self-limited gastrointestinal (~19%) and dermatologic (~1%) complaints. No cases of Clostridium difficile–associated diarrhea were found.
Limitations include exclusion of patients with significant comorbidities and hospitalized patients. Also, other antibiotic regimens were not compared. Patients were followed for only one month to assess recurrence. Finally, no attempt was made to optimize antibiotic dose.
Bottom line: Clindamycin and TMP-SMX had similar cure rates and side effect profiles in otherwise healthy patients with uncomplicated skin infections.
Citation: Miller LG, Daum RS, Creech CB, et al. Clindamycin versus trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole for uncomplicated skin infections. N Engl J Med. 2015;372:1093–1103.
Visit our website for more hospitalist-focused literature reviews.
Clinical question: What are the efficacy and safety of clindamycin and trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (TMP-SMX) for treatment of uncomplicated soft tissue infections in adults and children?
Background: Clindamycin and TMP-SMX are commonly used treatments for uncomplicated skin infections in adults and children, but no head-to-head comparison of efficacy or side effect profile for these medications exists.
Study design: Multi-center, prospective, double-blind, randomized clinical trial of superiority.
Setting: Four academic medical centers.
Synopsis: A group of 524 adults (n=369) and children with uncomplicated cellulitis, abscess, or both was enrolled. For patients with abscess, only those with larger lesions (based on age) were included. All abscesses were incised and drained, and patients were randomly treated with either clindamycin or TMP-SMX for 10 days. A total of 41% of cultures from suppurative wounds grew Staphylococcus aureus; 77% of these were methicillin-resistant.
The primary outcome was clinical cure assessed at 7 to 10 days and one month after completing treatment. No significant difference in cure or reported side effects was seen between drug treatment groups, age groups, lesion types, or isolates cultured. Some 80.3% of patients in the clindamycin group and 77.3% of patients in the TMP-SMX group were cured. Side effect profiles assessed by patient questionnaires showed similar rates of self-limited gastrointestinal (~19%) and dermatologic (~1%) complaints. No cases of Clostridium difficile–associated diarrhea were found.
Limitations include exclusion of patients with significant comorbidities and hospitalized patients. Also, other antibiotic regimens were not compared. Patients were followed for only one month to assess recurrence. Finally, no attempt was made to optimize antibiotic dose.
Bottom line: Clindamycin and TMP-SMX had similar cure rates and side effect profiles in otherwise healthy patients with uncomplicated skin infections.
Citation: Miller LG, Daum RS, Creech CB, et al. Clindamycin versus trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole for uncomplicated skin infections. N Engl J Med. 2015;372:1093–1103.
Visit our website for more hospitalist-focused literature reviews.
Clinical question: What are the efficacy and safety of clindamycin and trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (TMP-SMX) for treatment of uncomplicated soft tissue infections in adults and children?
Background: Clindamycin and TMP-SMX are commonly used treatments for uncomplicated skin infections in adults and children, but no head-to-head comparison of efficacy or side effect profile for these medications exists.
Study design: Multi-center, prospective, double-blind, randomized clinical trial of superiority.
Setting: Four academic medical centers.
Synopsis: A group of 524 adults (n=369) and children with uncomplicated cellulitis, abscess, or both was enrolled. For patients with abscess, only those with larger lesions (based on age) were included. All abscesses were incised and drained, and patients were randomly treated with either clindamycin or TMP-SMX for 10 days. A total of 41% of cultures from suppurative wounds grew Staphylococcus aureus; 77% of these were methicillin-resistant.
The primary outcome was clinical cure assessed at 7 to 10 days and one month after completing treatment. No significant difference in cure or reported side effects was seen between drug treatment groups, age groups, lesion types, or isolates cultured. Some 80.3% of patients in the clindamycin group and 77.3% of patients in the TMP-SMX group were cured. Side effect profiles assessed by patient questionnaires showed similar rates of self-limited gastrointestinal (~19%) and dermatologic (~1%) complaints. No cases of Clostridium difficile–associated diarrhea were found.
Limitations include exclusion of patients with significant comorbidities and hospitalized patients. Also, other antibiotic regimens were not compared. Patients were followed for only one month to assess recurrence. Finally, no attempt was made to optimize antibiotic dose.
Bottom line: Clindamycin and TMP-SMX had similar cure rates and side effect profiles in otherwise healthy patients with uncomplicated skin infections.
Citation: Miller LG, Daum RS, Creech CB, et al. Clindamycin versus trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole for uncomplicated skin infections. N Engl J Med. 2015;372:1093–1103.
Visit our website for more hospitalist-focused literature reviews.
To Battle Burnout, Jerome C. Siy, MD, CHIE, SFHM, Instructs Hospitalist Leaders to Engage, Communicate, and Create a “Culture”
Studies show nearly one in three hospitalists will experience long-term exhaustion or diminished interest in their work.1 Burned out physicians have low empathy, don’t communicate well, and provide poor quality of care. Not only does burnout lower quality of care, it is also costly and affects physicians’ personal lives. Unfortunately, despite more than a decade of research and effort to improve burnout, there seems to be no secret formula.
“We see burnout in our quality metrics. We see it in increased medical errors. Patient compliance can be tied to burnout and poor patient satisfaction, as well,” said Jerome C. Siy, MD, CHIE, SFHM, during his HM15 session last month at the Gaylord National Resort and Conference Center in National Harbor, Md. “What is really important to understand is that burnout results in high turnover and early retirement. Conservative estimates tell us a burned out physician can cost the hospital system $250,000.”
Dr. Siy’s talk, “Preventing Hospitalist Burnout through Engagement,” went beyond the basics of burnout (higher rates of substance abuse, depression, suicidal ideation, and family conflicts) and explored the systematic reasons for its occurrence in hospital medicine. The 2009 winner of SHM’s Award for Clinical Excellence also outlined a handful of ways HM groups can engage and combat burnout.
“What is interesting is that the rate that our profession has burnout is inversely proportional to the rate of the U.S. general population,” said Dr. Siy, assistant professor of medicine at the University of Minnesota Medical School and department head of hospital medicine at HealthPartners Medical Group in Minneapolis. “In the general U.S. population, the higher your level of education, the lower the rates of burnout. And yet we, physicians, have a remarkably high rate of burnout compared with those at our education level.
“And when they broke it out by specialty, it was front-line physicians that have the highest rates of burnout.”
Dr. Siy says burnout is partly the fault of the “system,” in terms of workload and performance pressures. His hospitalist group has implemented mindfulness training with a guru and empathy training with age simulators. They employ geographic-based teams and bedside rounds with nursing. They’ve even hired scribes on the observation unit.
“Not only are we trying to address burnout from the individual physician perspective, but we’re trying to address the causes of burnout,” he says.
Dr. Siy also showed attendees a video on engagement by best-selling author Daniel Pink. The three factors Pink believes lead to better performance and personal satisfaction are autonomy, mastery, purpose. And Pink encourages business leaders to “take compensation off the table.”
“He talks about how compensation is important and drives things, but actually, if you are fair with your compensation, it no longer incents your workforce,” Dr. Siy reiterates. “So if compensation is a big issue for you, you should know that.”
Most important, he says, “It’s about creating a culture.” He provided this list of ways to engage hospitalists:
- Add a measure of physician engagement to your scorecard;
- Translate engagement data by having presence in the workspace, even when off service;
- Employ individualized and group time to provide feedback and mentoring, develop relationships, learn new skills, and grow;
- Have physicians lead and partner in quality improvement efforts;
- Have regular, formal meetings with opportunities for open discussion;
- Incorporate professional development into your culture;
- Develop a common sense of purpose inside and outside of the hospital; and
- Structure compensation to reflect your values.
“Everyone in your group has to have an opportunity to grow,” he says. “They need to know that you, the group leaders … and the system care about them.” TH
Reference
1. Hinami K, Whelan CT, Miller JA, Wolosin RJ, Wetterneck TB, Society of Hospital Medicine Career Satisfaction Task Force. Job characteristics, satisfaction, and burnout across hospitalist practice models. J Hosp Med. 2012;7(5):402-410.
Studies show nearly one in three hospitalists will experience long-term exhaustion or diminished interest in their work.1 Burned out physicians have low empathy, don’t communicate well, and provide poor quality of care. Not only does burnout lower quality of care, it is also costly and affects physicians’ personal lives. Unfortunately, despite more than a decade of research and effort to improve burnout, there seems to be no secret formula.
“We see burnout in our quality metrics. We see it in increased medical errors. Patient compliance can be tied to burnout and poor patient satisfaction, as well,” said Jerome C. Siy, MD, CHIE, SFHM, during his HM15 session last month at the Gaylord National Resort and Conference Center in National Harbor, Md. “What is really important to understand is that burnout results in high turnover and early retirement. Conservative estimates tell us a burned out physician can cost the hospital system $250,000.”
Dr. Siy’s talk, “Preventing Hospitalist Burnout through Engagement,” went beyond the basics of burnout (higher rates of substance abuse, depression, suicidal ideation, and family conflicts) and explored the systematic reasons for its occurrence in hospital medicine. The 2009 winner of SHM’s Award for Clinical Excellence also outlined a handful of ways HM groups can engage and combat burnout.
“What is interesting is that the rate that our profession has burnout is inversely proportional to the rate of the U.S. general population,” said Dr. Siy, assistant professor of medicine at the University of Minnesota Medical School and department head of hospital medicine at HealthPartners Medical Group in Minneapolis. “In the general U.S. population, the higher your level of education, the lower the rates of burnout. And yet we, physicians, have a remarkably high rate of burnout compared with those at our education level.
“And when they broke it out by specialty, it was front-line physicians that have the highest rates of burnout.”
Dr. Siy says burnout is partly the fault of the “system,” in terms of workload and performance pressures. His hospitalist group has implemented mindfulness training with a guru and empathy training with age simulators. They employ geographic-based teams and bedside rounds with nursing. They’ve even hired scribes on the observation unit.
“Not only are we trying to address burnout from the individual physician perspective, but we’re trying to address the causes of burnout,” he says.
Dr. Siy also showed attendees a video on engagement by best-selling author Daniel Pink. The three factors Pink believes lead to better performance and personal satisfaction are autonomy, mastery, purpose. And Pink encourages business leaders to “take compensation off the table.”
“He talks about how compensation is important and drives things, but actually, if you are fair with your compensation, it no longer incents your workforce,” Dr. Siy reiterates. “So if compensation is a big issue for you, you should know that.”
Most important, he says, “It’s about creating a culture.” He provided this list of ways to engage hospitalists:
- Add a measure of physician engagement to your scorecard;
- Translate engagement data by having presence in the workspace, even when off service;
- Employ individualized and group time to provide feedback and mentoring, develop relationships, learn new skills, and grow;
- Have physicians lead and partner in quality improvement efforts;
- Have regular, formal meetings with opportunities for open discussion;
- Incorporate professional development into your culture;
- Develop a common sense of purpose inside and outside of the hospital; and
- Structure compensation to reflect your values.
“Everyone in your group has to have an opportunity to grow,” he says. “They need to know that you, the group leaders … and the system care about them.” TH
Reference
1. Hinami K, Whelan CT, Miller JA, Wolosin RJ, Wetterneck TB, Society of Hospital Medicine Career Satisfaction Task Force. Job characteristics, satisfaction, and burnout across hospitalist practice models. J Hosp Med. 2012;7(5):402-410.
Studies show nearly one in three hospitalists will experience long-term exhaustion or diminished interest in their work.1 Burned out physicians have low empathy, don’t communicate well, and provide poor quality of care. Not only does burnout lower quality of care, it is also costly and affects physicians’ personal lives. Unfortunately, despite more than a decade of research and effort to improve burnout, there seems to be no secret formula.
“We see burnout in our quality metrics. We see it in increased medical errors. Patient compliance can be tied to burnout and poor patient satisfaction, as well,” said Jerome C. Siy, MD, CHIE, SFHM, during his HM15 session last month at the Gaylord National Resort and Conference Center in National Harbor, Md. “What is really important to understand is that burnout results in high turnover and early retirement. Conservative estimates tell us a burned out physician can cost the hospital system $250,000.”
Dr. Siy’s talk, “Preventing Hospitalist Burnout through Engagement,” went beyond the basics of burnout (higher rates of substance abuse, depression, suicidal ideation, and family conflicts) and explored the systematic reasons for its occurrence in hospital medicine. The 2009 winner of SHM’s Award for Clinical Excellence also outlined a handful of ways HM groups can engage and combat burnout.
“What is interesting is that the rate that our profession has burnout is inversely proportional to the rate of the U.S. general population,” said Dr. Siy, assistant professor of medicine at the University of Minnesota Medical School and department head of hospital medicine at HealthPartners Medical Group in Minneapolis. “In the general U.S. population, the higher your level of education, the lower the rates of burnout. And yet we, physicians, have a remarkably high rate of burnout compared with those at our education level.
“And when they broke it out by specialty, it was front-line physicians that have the highest rates of burnout.”
Dr. Siy says burnout is partly the fault of the “system,” in terms of workload and performance pressures. His hospitalist group has implemented mindfulness training with a guru and empathy training with age simulators. They employ geographic-based teams and bedside rounds with nursing. They’ve even hired scribes on the observation unit.
“Not only are we trying to address burnout from the individual physician perspective, but we’re trying to address the causes of burnout,” he says.
Dr. Siy also showed attendees a video on engagement by best-selling author Daniel Pink. The three factors Pink believes lead to better performance and personal satisfaction are autonomy, mastery, purpose. And Pink encourages business leaders to “take compensation off the table.”
“He talks about how compensation is important and drives things, but actually, if you are fair with your compensation, it no longer incents your workforce,” Dr. Siy reiterates. “So if compensation is a big issue for you, you should know that.”
Most important, he says, “It’s about creating a culture.” He provided this list of ways to engage hospitalists:
- Add a measure of physician engagement to your scorecard;
- Translate engagement data by having presence in the workspace, even when off service;
- Employ individualized and group time to provide feedback and mentoring, develop relationships, learn new skills, and grow;
- Have physicians lead and partner in quality improvement efforts;
- Have regular, formal meetings with opportunities for open discussion;
- Incorporate professional development into your culture;
- Develop a common sense of purpose inside and outside of the hospital; and
- Structure compensation to reflect your values.
“Everyone in your group has to have an opportunity to grow,” he says. “They need to know that you, the group leaders … and the system care about them.” TH
Reference
1. Hinami K, Whelan CT, Miller JA, Wolosin RJ, Wetterneck TB, Society of Hospital Medicine Career Satisfaction Task Force. Job characteristics, satisfaction, and burnout across hospitalist practice models. J Hosp Med. 2012;7(5):402-410.
Society of Hospital Medicine (SHM)-American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) Joint Statement on Hospitalists Trained in Family Medicine
Hospitalists are physicians whose primary professional focus is the general medical care of hospitalized patients. Both the Society of Hospital Medicine (SHM) and the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) hold that the opportunity to participate as a Hospitalist should be granted to all physicians commensurate with their documented training and/or experience, demonstrated abilities and current competencies.
During their training Family Physicians acquire the necessary attitudes, skills, and knowledge that enable them to provide continuing and comprehensive medical care across the spectrum of care settings, including the inpatient setting. Education in the primary management of hospitalized patients occurs during the required general inpatient ward and intensive care unit experiences. In addition, Family Physicians are required to train with general surgeons and surgical subspecialists, enhancing recognition and understanding of surgical disease states upon which Hospitalists are frequently asked to consult or co-manage. Family Medicine training also encompasses additional skills essential to the practice of Hospital Medicine, including participation in quality improvement, addressing the psychosocial needs of patients, coordinating across levels of care, and functioning as members of interdisciplinary teams.
Given this training, many Family Physicians effectively manage their patients in an inpatient setting after the completion of their residency.
Demand for Hospitalists continues to outweigh supply in the United States, including needs in underserved and rural areas. Hospitalists Trained in Family Medicine (HTFM) fulfill an important public health need by providing frontline inpatient services in a variety of geographic settings. In addition, while many HTFM focus exclusively on the care of adults, others are providing inpatient care across the spectrum of ages, as well as providing obstetric services. More than two-thirds of HTFM are also involved in the training of residents and medical students, enhancing the skills of our future physicians.
Recognition of achievement by HTFM from the SHM is available by meeting standards set for all Hospitalists, regardless of residency training, in the form of the designation of Fellow of Hospital Medicine. HTFM also have the opportunity to professionally qualify and sit for the Recognition of Focused Practice in Hospital Medicine board examination. This examination is administered and recognized jointly by the American Board of Family Medicine and the American Board of Internal Medicine.
In consideration of the above factors, both the Society of Hospital Medicine and the American Academy of Family Physicians endorse and encourage the growing contribution of Hospitalists Trained in Family Medicine.
Hospitalists are physicians whose primary professional focus is the general medical care of hospitalized patients. Both the Society of Hospital Medicine (SHM) and the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) hold that the opportunity to participate as a Hospitalist should be granted to all physicians commensurate with their documented training and/or experience, demonstrated abilities and current competencies.
During their training Family Physicians acquire the necessary attitudes, skills, and knowledge that enable them to provide continuing and comprehensive medical care across the spectrum of care settings, including the inpatient setting. Education in the primary management of hospitalized patients occurs during the required general inpatient ward and intensive care unit experiences. In addition, Family Physicians are required to train with general surgeons and surgical subspecialists, enhancing recognition and understanding of surgical disease states upon which Hospitalists are frequently asked to consult or co-manage. Family Medicine training also encompasses additional skills essential to the practice of Hospital Medicine, including participation in quality improvement, addressing the psychosocial needs of patients, coordinating across levels of care, and functioning as members of interdisciplinary teams.
Given this training, many Family Physicians effectively manage their patients in an inpatient setting after the completion of their residency.
Demand for Hospitalists continues to outweigh supply in the United States, including needs in underserved and rural areas. Hospitalists Trained in Family Medicine (HTFM) fulfill an important public health need by providing frontline inpatient services in a variety of geographic settings. In addition, while many HTFM focus exclusively on the care of adults, others are providing inpatient care across the spectrum of ages, as well as providing obstetric services. More than two-thirds of HTFM are also involved in the training of residents and medical students, enhancing the skills of our future physicians.
Recognition of achievement by HTFM from the SHM is available by meeting standards set for all Hospitalists, regardless of residency training, in the form of the designation of Fellow of Hospital Medicine. HTFM also have the opportunity to professionally qualify and sit for the Recognition of Focused Practice in Hospital Medicine board examination. This examination is administered and recognized jointly by the American Board of Family Medicine and the American Board of Internal Medicine.
In consideration of the above factors, both the Society of Hospital Medicine and the American Academy of Family Physicians endorse and encourage the growing contribution of Hospitalists Trained in Family Medicine.
Hospitalists are physicians whose primary professional focus is the general medical care of hospitalized patients. Both the Society of Hospital Medicine (SHM) and the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) hold that the opportunity to participate as a Hospitalist should be granted to all physicians commensurate with their documented training and/or experience, demonstrated abilities and current competencies.
During their training Family Physicians acquire the necessary attitudes, skills, and knowledge that enable them to provide continuing and comprehensive medical care across the spectrum of care settings, including the inpatient setting. Education in the primary management of hospitalized patients occurs during the required general inpatient ward and intensive care unit experiences. In addition, Family Physicians are required to train with general surgeons and surgical subspecialists, enhancing recognition and understanding of surgical disease states upon which Hospitalists are frequently asked to consult or co-manage. Family Medicine training also encompasses additional skills essential to the practice of Hospital Medicine, including participation in quality improvement, addressing the psychosocial needs of patients, coordinating across levels of care, and functioning as members of interdisciplinary teams.
Given this training, many Family Physicians effectively manage their patients in an inpatient setting after the completion of their residency.
Demand for Hospitalists continues to outweigh supply in the United States, including needs in underserved and rural areas. Hospitalists Trained in Family Medicine (HTFM) fulfill an important public health need by providing frontline inpatient services in a variety of geographic settings. In addition, while many HTFM focus exclusively on the care of adults, others are providing inpatient care across the spectrum of ages, as well as providing obstetric services. More than two-thirds of HTFM are also involved in the training of residents and medical students, enhancing the skills of our future physicians.
Recognition of achievement by HTFM from the SHM is available by meeting standards set for all Hospitalists, regardless of residency training, in the form of the designation of Fellow of Hospital Medicine. HTFM also have the opportunity to professionally qualify and sit for the Recognition of Focused Practice in Hospital Medicine board examination. This examination is administered and recognized jointly by the American Board of Family Medicine and the American Board of Internal Medicine.
In consideration of the above factors, both the Society of Hospital Medicine and the American Academy of Family Physicians endorse and encourage the growing contribution of Hospitalists Trained in Family Medicine.
Society of Hospital Medicine Welcomes New Fellows Class
Last month, more than 230 hospitalists were inducted as Fellows in Hospital Medicine (FHM), Senior Fellows in Hospital Medicine (SFHM), and Masters in Hospital Medicine (MHM) by SHM at the 2015 annual meeting at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center in National Harbor, Md.
This year represents the largest fellows class in history, with 175 FHM and 61 SFHM honorees.
“Through their commitment to the specialty, through education and self-improvement, hospitalists earning the Fellow and Senior Fellow designations represent the very best of the hospital medicine movement and its goal to improve the care of hospitalized patients,” says SHM President Bob Harrington, MD, SFHM. “I hope you will join me in congratulating them in this professional milestone.”
Fellows and Senior Fellows have earned the right to use the “FHM” and “SFHM” designation.
SHM also inducted two new Masters in Hospital Medicine, the highest honor from SHM: Bradley Flansbaum, DO, MPH, MHM, and Larry Wellikson, MD, MHM.
Dr. Flansbaum was a founding member of SHM and served as a board member and officer; today, he is a hospitalist at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City and physician editor for SHM’s blog, The Hospital Leader.
Dr. Wellikson joined SHM in January 2000 and serves as SHM’s chief executive officer.
Drs. Flansbaum and Wellikson join 16 other leaders in the specialty, including co-founders Win Whitcomb, MD, MHM, and John Nelson, MD, MHM, along with Bob Wachter, MD, MHM, who published the seminal article for the hospitalist movement in a 1996 New England Journal of Medicine article.
Brendon Shank is SHM’s associate vice president of communications.
Last month, more than 230 hospitalists were inducted as Fellows in Hospital Medicine (FHM), Senior Fellows in Hospital Medicine (SFHM), and Masters in Hospital Medicine (MHM) by SHM at the 2015 annual meeting at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center in National Harbor, Md.
This year represents the largest fellows class in history, with 175 FHM and 61 SFHM honorees.
“Through their commitment to the specialty, through education and self-improvement, hospitalists earning the Fellow and Senior Fellow designations represent the very best of the hospital medicine movement and its goal to improve the care of hospitalized patients,” says SHM President Bob Harrington, MD, SFHM. “I hope you will join me in congratulating them in this professional milestone.”
Fellows and Senior Fellows have earned the right to use the “FHM” and “SFHM” designation.
SHM also inducted two new Masters in Hospital Medicine, the highest honor from SHM: Bradley Flansbaum, DO, MPH, MHM, and Larry Wellikson, MD, MHM.
Dr. Flansbaum was a founding member of SHM and served as a board member and officer; today, he is a hospitalist at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City and physician editor for SHM’s blog, The Hospital Leader.
Dr. Wellikson joined SHM in January 2000 and serves as SHM’s chief executive officer.
Drs. Flansbaum and Wellikson join 16 other leaders in the specialty, including co-founders Win Whitcomb, MD, MHM, and John Nelson, MD, MHM, along with Bob Wachter, MD, MHM, who published the seminal article for the hospitalist movement in a 1996 New England Journal of Medicine article.
Brendon Shank is SHM’s associate vice president of communications.
Last month, more than 230 hospitalists were inducted as Fellows in Hospital Medicine (FHM), Senior Fellows in Hospital Medicine (SFHM), and Masters in Hospital Medicine (MHM) by SHM at the 2015 annual meeting at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center in National Harbor, Md.
This year represents the largest fellows class in history, with 175 FHM and 61 SFHM honorees.
“Through their commitment to the specialty, through education and self-improvement, hospitalists earning the Fellow and Senior Fellow designations represent the very best of the hospital medicine movement and its goal to improve the care of hospitalized patients,” says SHM President Bob Harrington, MD, SFHM. “I hope you will join me in congratulating them in this professional milestone.”
Fellows and Senior Fellows have earned the right to use the “FHM” and “SFHM” designation.
SHM also inducted two new Masters in Hospital Medicine, the highest honor from SHM: Bradley Flansbaum, DO, MPH, MHM, and Larry Wellikson, MD, MHM.
Dr. Flansbaum was a founding member of SHM and served as a board member and officer; today, he is a hospitalist at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City and physician editor for SHM’s blog, The Hospital Leader.
Dr. Wellikson joined SHM in January 2000 and serves as SHM’s chief executive officer.
Drs. Flansbaum and Wellikson join 16 other leaders in the specialty, including co-founders Win Whitcomb, MD, MHM, and John Nelson, MD, MHM, along with Bob Wachter, MD, MHM, who published the seminal article for the hospitalist movement in a 1996 New England Journal of Medicine article.
Brendon Shank is SHM’s associate vice president of communications.