BACKGROUND It is considered standard practice to use disposable or patient-dedicated stethoscopes to prevent cross-contamination between patients in contact precautions and others in their vicinity. The literature offers very little information regarding the quality of currently used stethoscopes. This study assessed the fidelity with which acoustics were perceived by a broad range of health ca...

Objective: Although many institutions in the United States have incorporated palliative care practices in their emergency departments, very little has occurred in Puerto Rico. Information regarding palliative care training of emergency medicine physicians in Puerto Rico is unclear and most physicians have poor or no access to palliative care services for their patients. This study explores the ...

Background The existing training pathways to become a pediatric cardiac intensivist are very variable with physicians coming from varied training backgrounds of pediatric critical care, pediatric cardiology, neonatology, or pediatric anesthesia. Aim To evaluate the impact of cardiac Intensive Care Unit (ICU) attending physician training background on outcomes in children undergoing heart oper...

Incomplete vaccination for patients with type 2 diabetes attending non-communicable diseases (NCD) clinics is an issue that could affect patient's health and wellness negatively and puts patients at high risk of serious diseases. We aimed to improve physicians adherence to complete vaccination schedule for patients with type 2 diabetes attending NCD clinics in west bay health center according t...

BACKGROUND The objective of this study is to determine the effect of day of the week, holiday, team admission and rotation schedules, individual attending physicians and their length of coverage on daily team discharge rates. METHODS We conducted a retrospective analysis of the General Internal Medicine (GIM) inpatient service at our institution for years 2005 and 2006, which included 5088 pa...

background: diabetes is a leading cause of cardiovascular disease (cvd). moreover, cvd accounts for primary cause of death among diabetic patients. physicians, especially in the primary care setting, have effective role in the management of cardiovascular risk factors. therefore, we aimed to compare the prevalence of modifiable cardiovascular risk factors in type 2 diabetic patients attending t...

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE Increasingly, academic hospitals have adopted hospitalist-based systems of inpatient pediatric care. Some studies comparing hospitalists with other attending physicians have suggested trainees are more satisfied with education from hospitalists. However, there are published concerns that the increased presence of hospitalists may reduce residents' autonomy. The objectiv...