JAMA internal medicine
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JAMA internal medicine · Jun 2013
Effects of an acute care for elders unit on costs and 30-day readmissions.
Providing high-quality care while containing cost is essential for the economic stability of our health care system. The United States is experiencing a rapidly growing elderly population. The Acute Care for Elders (ACE) unit interdisciplinary team model of care has been shown to improve outcomes in hospitalized older adults. The University of Alabama at Birmingham ACE unit incorporates evidence-based care processes. We hypothesized that the ACE model would also reduce costs. ⋯ The ACE unit team model reduces costs and 30-day readmissions. In an era when improving care processes while reducing costs is a vital objective for the Medicare program and our nation as a whole, the ACE model meets these goals.
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JAMA internal medicine · May 2013
Multicenter StudyReferral of patients with pulmonary hypertension diagnoses to tertiary pulmonary hypertension centers: the multicenter RePHerral study.
Pulmonary hypertension (PH) is a fatal disease. Although the prognosis of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) has improved with targeted therapies, the outcome is dependent on early detection and an accurate diagnosis. ⋯ Patients referred to PH centers for diagnosis and treatment are often referred late (with functional class III or IV disease), receive misdiagnoses, and are inappropriately prescribed medications. A reevaluation of educational efforts is required to improve awareness and the care and outcome of patients diagnosed as having PH.
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JAMA internal medicine · May 2013
Barriers to reducing urinary catheter use: a qualitative assessment of a statewide initiative.
Preventing catheter-associated urinary tract infection (CAUTI), a common health care-associated infection, is important for improving the care of hospitalized patients and in meeting the goals for reduction of health care-associated infections set by the US Department of Health and Human Services. ⋯ The Bladder Bundle program provides a model for implementing strategies to reduce CAUTI. These findings provide actionable information to inform CAUTI prevention-related activities in hospitals throughout the country.