In an effort to meet the needs of adults with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) while hospitalized, a team of experts and providers from Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), MGH for Children as well as parents of individuals with ASD was sparked in 2013. This became a multidisciplinary collaborative, the MGH Autism Care Collaborative, to improve…

The aim of this study was to assess the effect of physiotherapy on ventilator dependency and lengths of intensive care unit (ICU) stay. Patients were divided into two groups. The control group, which received standard nursing care, was a retrospective chart review. The data of control patients who were not receiving physiotherapy were obtained…

After identifying four medical specialty services in a hospital where patient lengths of stay were excessive, two educational interventions to decrease the time were developed. In meetings with each physician data on lengths of stay were discussed, and then a continuing education meeting was held. Improved efficiency resulted. (Author/MLW)

A three-hour, two-stage workshop for staff nurses on providing education and psychological support to 148 patients who had abdominal surgery. After the workshop the patients used fewer sedatives or antiemetics, fewer hypnotics, and were discharged from the hospital on the average half a day sooner. (Author/BJV)

The implementation of a model internal medicine group practice at the University of Colorado Medical Center is described, and the first 19 months of its operation are reported. It was formed to improve house staff experience in ambulatory internal medicine, allowing six residents to participate with two faculty internists in full-time continuous…

At the Milton S. Hershey Medical Center of Penn State an internal medicine consulting resident sees all medical consultation requests not directed to a specific subspecialty division. A survey indicates that consulting residents are exposed to a quantitatively and qualitatively different spectrum of medical problems than on ward service.…

Internal medicine residency programs that put increasing emphasis on outpatient experience and continuity of care place demands on residents that conflict with inpatient responsibilities. The development and implementation at the University of Virginia Hospital of a rotational scheduling system aimed at alleviating the conflict is described.…