Arch Intern Med
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Management of acute coronary syndromes (ACS) should be guided by an estimate of patient risk. ⋯ Across the entire spectrum of ACS and in general clinical practice, this model provides excellent ability to assess the risk for death and can be used as a simple nomogram to estimate risk in individual patients.
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To determine whether internists' attitudes toward the hospitalist model change after implementation of a new inpatient service. ⋯ Following experience with a hospitalist system, physician attitude, including concerns regarding career satisfaction and relationships with patients, toward a voluntary hospitalist model improved. Future research should investigate whether the hospitalist model affects patient satisfaction and quality of care.
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Do-not-resuscitate (DNR) orders are commonly found in treatment plans for patients near the end of life. Orders for partial resuscitation (eg, "do not intubate") have evolved from DNR orders. Although the ethics of DNR orders have been widely examined in the medical literature, little has been written about the ethics of partial resuscitation. This article explores the ethical implications of partial DNR orders and identifies the need to develop care plans addressing life-threatening conditions for patients with DNR orders.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study Clinical Trial
The impact of dedicated medication nurses on the medication administration error rate: a randomized controlled trial.
Concerns about hospital medication safety mount as the pace of new drug releases accelerates. ⋯ This trial suggests that use of dedicated medication nurses does not reduce medication error rates. However, subgroup analysis indicates that medication nurses might be useful in some settings. The differences in findings at the 2 hospitals and their differences in medication-use processes reinforce the concept that medication errors are usually related to systems design issues.