BACKGROUND Despite growing concern about the potential impact of managed care on the physician-patient relationship, efforts to enhance the quality of communication between practicing clinicians and their patients have been limited. OBJECTIVE To determine the effectiveness of a 1-day educational workshop. DESIGN Clinician self-assessment of interviewing skills measured immediately before an...

1 Partnering with your CEO will put you on the path to success Maintaining a strong relationship with the hospital CEO has always been important for an OR leader. In the coming year, good relations with the executive suite will be critical. Hospital executives are under greater pressure now than at any time in the last 30 years. Changes in the healthcare market are creating unprecedented challe...

OBJECTIVE Hepatitis B vaccination (HBV) is unlike any other immunization series because it can be initiated in the hospital nursery. The objective of this study was to describe how hospital nurseries develop HBV policies and to describe the sources of information used for learning about national HBV recommendations. METHODS A cross-sectional telephone survey was conducted on a national random...

From the Wright State University Boonshoft School of Medicine, Dayton, Ohio (Dr Burke); Department of Internal Medicine and Pediatrics, University of Minnesota Medical School, Minneapolis, Minn (Dr Benson); Association of American Medical Colleges, Washington, DC (Dr Englander); Competency-Based Assessment, The American Board of Pediatrics, Chapel Hill, NC (Dr Carraccio); and Department of Pedi...

Pooling resources, knowledge and technologies is a necessity in the health sector. Many hospitals do so through alliances with compatible establishments, which have been studied from the organizational perspective for many years. However, many alliances are reported to fail and the conditions which could foster their success are still not well known. The aim of this exploratory study was to ide...

From the Department of Pediatrics, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA The views expressed in this report are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education, the American Board of Pediatrics, the Association of Pediatric Program Directors, or th...

PURPOSE AND OBJECTIVES Case management directors are in a dynamic position to affect the transition of care for patients across the continuum, work with all levels of providers, and support the financial well-being of a hospital. Most importantly, they can drive good patient outcomes. Although the position is critical on many different levels, there is little to help guide a new director in att...

Infections are common in long-term care facilities (LTCFs) and lead to increased morbidity and mortality among LTCF residents. On average, LTCF residents will have one or more infections requiring antibiotic therapy during a year and residents with presumed infections account for one quarter of all hospital transfers from LTCFs. For medical directors, infection control programs in LTCFs need to...

The Concise Communication by M'ikanatha et al in this issue of Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology, "Child Care Center Exclusion Policies and Directors' Opinions on the Use of Antibiotics," is a useful window into child care policies and child care directors' opinions about the use of antibiotics in child care. Given our knowledge that infectious disease is more common among children in...

From the Office of Graduate Medical Education and Student Affairs, and Department of Pediatrics, Winthrop University Hospital, Mineola, NY (Dr Guralnick); Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, and Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pa (Dr Ludwig); and Association of American Medical Colleges, Washington, DC (Dr Englander) The views expressed in this report are...