scholarly journals The Boston Medical Center Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Procedure Team: Optimizing the surgeon’s role in pandemic care at a safety-net hospital

Surgery ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 168 (3) ◽  
pp. 404-407
Author(s):  
Sherif Aly ◽  
Stephanie D. Talutis ◽  
Aaron P. Richman ◽  
Donald T. Hess ◽  
David McAneny ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Medical Center ◽  
Safety Net ◽  
Safety Net Hospital ◽  
Boston Medical

scholarly journals 3532 Vitamin D assay utilization and outcomes in pregnant women in an urban safety net medical center: a retrospective cohort study

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (s1) ◽  
pp. 30-30
Author(s):  
Grace Hyojung Yoon ◽  
Michael Holick ◽  
Arash Hossein
Keyword(s):  
Vitamin D ◽  
Pregnant Women ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Medical Center ◽  
Safety Net ◽  
Vitamin D Supplementation ◽  
Vitamin D Levels ◽  
Urban Safety ◽  
Study Population ◽  
Boston Medical

OBJECTIVES/SPECIFIC AIMS: The goals of this retrospective cohort study is threefold: 1) to assess how many pregnant women at Boston Medical Center from 2012 to 2017 have had their vitamin D status checked prior to and during pregnancy, 2) determine associations between vitamin D levels, birth outcomes and demographics and 3) assess how many of those found to have lower than satisfactory vitamin D levels (<30ng/mL) received interventions, including receiving vitamin D supplementation and/or being referred to an appropriate specialist such as an endocrinologist or a nutritionist. METHODS/STUDY POPULATION: Our study population is mothers over age 18 who received care at Boston Medical Center during their pregnancy from 2012 to 2017. Our primary outcomes are vitamin D utilization rates and associations between vitamin D levels with clinical outcomes during pregnancy and at birth. Secondary outcomes are demographic predictors of mothers who receive vitamin D testing and those who have complications associated with low vitamin D. We will conduct multiple linear regressions to check for associations between vitamin D levels, birth outcomes and demographic variables. We will adjust vitamin D levels with maternal BMI. De-identified clinical data was gathered from Boston University Medical Center’s (BUMC) Clinical Data Warehouse. This retrospective study was approved with a HIPAA waiver by the BUMC Institutional Data Warehouse. All statistical analysis was completed using SAS version 9.4 and was primarily done by the student PI and reviewed by Dr. Hossein, the co-investigator who is trained as a statistician and geneticist. The team also utilized Boston University’s Biostatistics, Epidemiology & Research Design (BERD) team to check the feasibility of the statistical methods. RESULTS/ANTICIPATED RESULTS: We anticipate that our descriptive demographic data will reflect the medical center’s predominantly black/Hispanic and low-income profile. Based on previous literature, we expect low vitamin D levels to have positive associations with gestational diabetes, pre-eclampsia, and preterm birth. Analyses are currently actively in progress and we expect to have results before the ACTS conference date in March, 2019. DISCUSSION/SIGNIFICANCE OF IMPACT: Vitamin D is an essential part of the human body system. It is well documented in current literature that vitamin D is correlated with bone health, mental health and maternal health. Moreover, there is evidence that maternal vitamin D supplementation prevents vitamin D deficiency in newborns. Previous literature suggests that low vitamin D may be associated with gestational diabetes, pre-eclampsia, and pre-term births. Boston Medical Center is Massachusetts’ largest urban medical center and acts as its only safety-net hospital, serving predominantly low-income and socially marginalized patient populations. There is limited existing research on assessment of maternal vitamin D in urban hospital settings. Pregnant women rarely receive vitamin D screenings as part of their prenatal checkups as current national and regional guidelines do not require pregnant women to be screened for vitamin D deficiency or insufficiency. The results will demonstrate the potential effects vitamin D supplementation, or lack thereof, in expectant mothers living in urban, safety net communities. We hope to inform prenatal care practices and attitudes of vitamin D supplementation in maternal health with the results of our study.

Calcium and magnesium infusions for prevention of oxaliplatin-induced peripheral neuropathy.

2011 ◽  
Vol 29 (4_suppl) ◽  
pp. 387-387
Author(s):  
M. Bupathi ◽  
G. Mahmud ◽  
J. Kovar ◽  
E. Wang ◽  
T. E. O'Brien
Keyword(s):  
Peripheral Neuropathy ◽  
Cumulative Dose ◽  
Medical Center ◽  
Demographic Data ◽  
Performance Status ◽  
Safety Net ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Minority Population ◽  
Tumor Type ◽  
Safety Net Hospital

387 Background: Oxaliplatin plays an important role in chemotherapy regimens for colorectal and other GI malignancies. Debilitating peripheral neuropathy (PN) often develops with use of this drug. One study (Grothey A et al, ASCO 2009, abst #4025) has shown that pre- and post-oxaliplatin infusions with calcium (Ca) and magnesium (Mg) may reduce this toxicity. To confirm this in an unselected indigent minority population, a retrospective review was performed comparing development of PN in oxaliplatin exposed patients treated with or without Ca/Mg. Methods: Records of patients who received oxaliplatin from 1/2008 to 12/2009 at MetroHealth Medical Center, a large safety net hospital in Cleveland, OH, were reviewed. 47 patients received Ca/Mg + oxaliplatin and 46 oxaliplatin alone. Data collected included age, race, gender, insurance status, performance status, tumor type, stage, concomitant diseases (DM and EtOH), number of cycles and cumulative dose of oxaliplatin. PN was determined using the Common Terminology Criteria of Adverse Events (CTCAE) version 3.0. Patients were followed 6 months after completion of oxaliplatin. Results: Demographic data was similar between the two groups. Colorectal cancer compromised 77% of the treatment group and 85% of control group. Patients who received Ca/Mg had significantly less PN in all three grades (1-3) compared with the control group (grade 1 89.4% vs. 71.7%, grade II 10.6% vs. 19.6%, grade 3 0% vs. 8.7%, respectively). The cumulative dose of oxaliplatin did not differ between the two groups (Ca/Mg median 1,143 range 260-2,169; control median 1,425 range 137-2,635). The combined total grades 2 and 3 in both the treatment and control (10.6% vs. 28.3%, p = 0.038) favored use of Ca/Mg. Conclusions: This small, retrospective study confirms that Ca/Mg infusions reduce the incidence of clinically significant (grade 2/3) PN in pts receiving oxaliplatin. No significant financial relationships to disclose.

scholarly journals 3220 Can you read me now? Clinician variations in managing and responding to secure messages from patients

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (s1) ◽  
pp. 59-59
Author(s):  
Joy Li-Yueh Lee ◽  
Michael Weiner ◽  
Marianne Matthias
Keyword(s):  
Primary Care ◽  
Medical Center ◽  
Safety Net ◽  
Patient Centeredness ◽  
Cognitive Approach ◽  
Electronic Communications ◽  
Secure Messaging ◽  
Safety Net Hospital ◽  
Primary Care Clinicians

OBJECTIVES/SPECIFIC AIMS: To identify areas of variation in primary care clinician responses to secure messaging and to assess the quality of secure messages by clinicians. METHODS/STUDY POPULATION: This mixed-methods study included twenty one primary care clinicians from a Midwestern safety net hospital and Veterans Affairs medical center. Participants were presented with five short clinical vignettes and corresponding secure messages from hypothetical patients and asked to compose responses. Participants were interviewed about their cognitive approach to the responses as well as perspectives on quality of care as related to electronic communications. RESULTS/ANTICIPATED RESULTS: Every participant recalled having patients who misused secure messaging for urgent issues, suggesting the need for more patient education and the possible adverse consequences of overlooked messages. The study also uncovered key differences in several areas, include clinician timeliness, message management, the circumstances in which they would use messaging, and the content of the messages (including patient-centeredness). While participants agreed that messages about clinical issues should not be resolved via secure messaging, there was a lack of consensus regarding emotionally charged messages and messages dealing with medication adjustments. Some participants spoke of the need for more guidance in knowing when best to use secure messaging. “Sometimes,” one physician said, “it feels like we’re just making up [rules for secure messaging].” Although clinician responses were uniformly respectful, the patient-centeredness varied in the use of jargon and social talk, as well as clarity for patients. DISCUSSION/SIGNIFICANCE OF IMPACT: This study revealed variations in provider approaches to secure messaging, and the content of responses. These variations reflect lack of consensus about how care is delivered via secure messaging, and reveal the need for clinician guidance. They also suggest possible negative patient consequences if secure messaging is used ineffectively. The extent to which variations are undesirable remains unknown. Future work will explore the consequences of such variations.

scholarly journals Predicting diabetes-related hospitalizations based on electronic health records

2018 ◽  
Vol 28 (12) ◽  
pp. 3667-3682 ◽  
Author(s):  
Theodora S Brisimi ◽  
Tingting Xu ◽  
Taiyao Wang ◽  
Wuyang Dai ◽  
Ioannis Ch Paschalidis
Keyword(s):  
New England ◽  
Medical Center ◽  
Computational Cost ◽  
Safety Net ◽  
New Method ◽  
Supervised Machine Learning ◽  
Support Vector ◽  
Large Set ◽  
Machine Learning Classification ◽  
Safety Net Hospital

Objective: To derive a predictive model to identify patients likely to be hospitalized during the following year due to complications attributed to Type II diabetes. Methods: A variety of supervised machine learning classification methods were tested and a new method that discovers hidden patient clusters in the positive class (hospitalized) was developed while, at the same time, sparse linear support vector machine classifiers were derived to separate positive samples from the negative ones (non-hospitalized). The convergence of the new method was established and theoretical guarantees were proved on how the classifiers it produces generalize to a test set not seen during training. Results: The methods were tested on a large set of patients from the Boston Medical Center – the largest safety net hospital in New England. It is found that our new joint clustering/classification method achieves an accuracy of 89% (measured in terms of area under the ROC Curve) and yields informative clusters which can help interpret the classification results, thus increasing the trust of physicians to the algorithmic output and providing some guidance towards preventive measures. While it is possible to increase accuracy to 92% with other methods, this comes with increased computational cost and lack of interpretability. The analysis shows that even a modest probability of preventive actions being effective (more than 19%) suffices to generate significant hospital care savings. Conclusions: Predictive models are proposed that can help avert hospitalizations, improve health outcomes and drastically reduce hospital expenditures. The scope for savings is significant as it has been estimated that in the USA alone, about $5.8 billion are spent each year on diabetes-related hospitalizations that could be prevented.

ChemoPalRx: Development and implementation of a chemotherapy mobile provider order entry system in a safety net hospital.

2019 ◽  
Vol 37 (15_suppl) ◽  
pp. e18071-e18071
Author(s):  
Kin Wai (Tony) Hung ◽  
Natasha Banerjee
Keyword(s):  
Los Angeles ◽  
Mobile Application ◽  
Medical Center ◽  
Hospital Setting ◽  
Safety Net ◽  
Quality Improvement Initiative ◽  
Order Entry ◽  
Development Environment ◽  
Safety Net Hospital ◽  
Safety Parameters

e18071 Background: Computerized provider order entry (CPOE) systems have been shown to enhance the safety and efficiency of prescribing chemotherapy over the handwritten ordering process. However, many institutions lack the financial ability, technological capability, or operational flexibility to invest in and implement such a system. In particular, Olive View-UCLA Medical Center (OVMC), a Los Angeles County safety net hospital, is among these institutions with unique restrictions that preclude the use of chemotherapy CPOE and mandate handwritten orders. Methods: In an effort to bridge the gap for safe chemotherapy prescribing, we aimed to develop and implement an effective, scalable, and sustainable chemotherapy provider order entry solution that was operationally sensitive to institutions without a chemotherapy CPOE. The solution was designed as a mobile application using Xcode, the integrative development environment of Apple Inc., with the Swift programing language. Results: On September 5th, 2018, we launched a free, chemotherapy provider order entry solution on the worldwide Apple App Store – ChemoPalRx. Using ChemoPalRx, providers can search, customize, and print common chemotherapy regimens in prescription format. Along with a reference library of over 120 order set and 450 medications, ChemoPalRx is equipped with the functions to automate dosage calculation, suggest pre-medications and safety parameters, and trigger alerts for missing prescribing information. As a quality improvement initiative, we implemented ChemoPalRx at OVMC. Implementation stages include obtaining administrative buy-in, consulting with multidisciplinary staffs, investing $100 USD for a prescription printer, and encouraging providers to download ChemoPalRx on their own mobile devices. An ongoing prospective cohort study is being conducted to determine ChemoPalRx effectiveness in reducing errors compared to handwritten orders. Conclusions: ChemoPalRx is developed to enhance the safety and efficiency of chemotherapy prescribing. Implementation of this mobile application is feasible in the safety-net hospital setting and has the potential to transform oncology practices globally.

Identifying Actionable Causes of Potentially Avoidable Readmissions to an Oncology Service at a Safety Net Hospital

2020 ◽  
pp. OP.20.00593
Author(s):  
Vishal K. Gupta ◽  
Michael Dennis ◽  
Emily Mann ◽  
Joseph O. Jacobson ◽  
Naomi Y. Ko
Keyword(s):  
Pleural Fluid ◽  
Cancer Progression ◽  
Medical Center ◽  
Hospital Readmissions ◽  
Retrospective Chart Review ◽  
Safety Net ◽  
Outpatient Setting ◽  
Oncology Service ◽  
Safety Net Hospital ◽  
Avoidable Readmissions

PURPOSE: Hospital readmissions occur commonly in those receiving cancer care and result in impaired quality of life and increased costs. Causes of readmission in safety net hospitals that serve vulnerable populations are not well understood. The primary goal of this project was to identify potentially avoidable and intervenable causes of readmissions to an urban safety net hospital. METHODS: A retrospective chart review was performed on patients who were readmitted within 30 days of discharge from the hematology and oncology service at Boston Medical Center over the 6-month period between October 2018 and March 2019. Charts were reviewed by three internal medicine residents and discussed under the supervision of an attending oncologist. RESULTS: Two hundred ninety-one patient encounters involving 203 unique patients were identified in the 6-month study period. Of these 291 encounters, 80 encounters (27.5%) were followed by a readmission within 30 days and occurred in 61 (30.0%) unique patients. Nineteen (31.1%) of these 61 patients experienced two readmissions within 30 days of discharge. Twenty-five readmissions (31.3%) were classified as potentially avoidable, with the most common cause of potentially avoidable readmissions attributed to ascitic or pleural fluid reaccumulation (8, 32%). The majority of presumed nonpreventable readmissions were due to expected complications of cancer progression and treatment-related side effects. DISCUSSION: In conclusion, readmissions were common, and a modifiable reason for 30-day readmissions was identified. Addressing recurrent ascitic and pleural fluid reaccumulation in the outpatient setting could help to reduce inpatient hospital readmission on an inpatient oncology service.

Themes of Worry Among Psychiatric Inpatients That Persist Through Acute Hospitalization

2020 ◽  
pp. 107839032097376
Author(s):  
Pia Engstrom ◽  
Matthew Bolton ◽  
Cynthia Bautista ◽  
Todd Barnes
Keyword(s):  
Quality Improvement ◽  
Behavioral Health ◽  
Medical Center ◽  
Academic Medical Center ◽  
Psychiatric Inpatient ◽  
Safety Net ◽  
Health Staff ◽  
Improvement Project ◽  
Safety Net Hospital ◽  
Psychiatric Units

INTRODUCTION Problems that worry patients throughout hospitalization are complex and varied, but they fall within the scope of safe, effective, patient-centered care. To our knowledge, there is no evidence describing the problems that worry patients in inpatient psychiatric units. AIM The purpose of this quality improvement project was to describe common themes of worry experienced by individuals in psychiatric inpatient units in order to improve patient experience. METHOD This project took place at an urban, safety net hospital at an academic medical center in the northeastern United States between March and December 2019. All patients across five inpatient psychiatric units were offered the Combined Assessment of Psychiatric Environments (CAPE) survey as they approached the end of their stay. RESULTS A total of 1,800 patients took the survey. Of these patients, 36% (650/1,800) patients responded never/sometimes to “During my hospitalization, I found solutions to problems that worried me,” and 46% (297/650) patients provided a response to the follow-up question “What are the problems that worry you the most?” Common themes of worry for inpatient behavioral health patients include (a) life in the hospital, (b) self, and (c) outside life. CONCLUSION Each of these worry themes that emerged from this thematic analysis has implications for behavioral health staff who are preparing the psychiatric/behavioral health inpatient for discharge. These themes can also be used to focus on a variety of quality improvement initiatives to improve the patients experience while in an inpatient psychiatric/behavioral health unit.

scholarly journals Partnering with State Health Departments to Address Injection-Related Infections during the Opioid Epidemic: Experience at a Safety Net Hospital

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rebecca H Burns ◽  
Cassandra M Pierre ◽  
Jai G Marathe ◽  
Glorimar Ruiz-Mercado ◽  
Jessica L Taylor ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Bacterial Infections ◽  
Medical Center ◽  
Safety Net ◽  
Opioid Use Disorder ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Opioid Epidemic ◽  
Opioid Use ◽  
Persons Who Inject Drugs ◽  
Curative Therapy ◽  
Safety Net Hospital

Abstract Massachusetts is one of the epicenters of the opioid epidemic and has been severely impacted by injection-related viral and bacterial infections. A recent increase in newly diagnosed human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infections among persons who inject drugs in the state highlights the urgent need to address and bridge the overlapping epidemics of opioid use disorder (OUD) and injection-related infections. Building on an established relationship between the Massachusetts Department of Public Health (MDPH) and Boston Medical Center (BMC), the Infectious Diseases section has contributed to the development and implementation of a cohesive response involving ambulatory, inpatient, emergency department and community-based services. We describe this comprehensive approach including the rapid delivery of antimicrobials for the prevention and treatment of HIV, sexually transmitted diseases, systemic infections such as endocarditis, bone and joint infections, as well as curative therapy for chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) in a manner that is accessible to patients on the addiction-recovery continuum. We also provide an overview of programs that provide access to medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD), harm reduction services including overdose education and distribution of naloxone. Finally, we outline lessons learned to inform initiatives in other settings.

scholarly journals ChemoPalRx: Development and implementation of a chemotherapy mobile provider order entry system in a safety net hospital.

2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (suppl) ◽  
pp. 73-73
Author(s):  
Kin Wai (Tony) Hung ◽  
Natasha Banerjee
Keyword(s):  
Los Angeles ◽  
Mobile Application ◽  
Medical Center ◽  
Hospital Setting ◽  
Safety Net ◽  
Quality Improvement Initiative ◽  
Order Entry ◽  
Development Environment ◽  
Safety Net Hospital ◽  
Safety Parameters

73 Background: Computerized provider order entry (CPOE) systems have been shown to enhance the safety and efficiency of prescribing chemotherapy over the handwritten ordering process. However, many institutions lack the financial ability, technological capability, or operational flexibility to invest in and implement such a system. In particular, Olive View-UCLA Medical Center (OVMC), a Los Angeles County safety net hospital, is among these institutions with unique restrictions that preclude the use of chemotherapy CPOE and mandate handwritten orders. Methods: In an effort to bridge the gap for safe chemotherapy prescribing, we aimed to develop and implement an effective, scalable, and sustainable chemotherapy provider order entry solution that was operationally sensitive to institutions without a chemotherapy CPOE. The solution was designed as a mobile application using Xcode, the integrative development environment of Apple Inc., with the Swift programing language. Results: On September 5th, 2018, we launched a free, chemotherapy provider order entry solution on the worldwide Apple App Store – ChemoPalRx. Using ChemoPalRx, providers can search, customize, and print common chemotherapy regimens in prescription format. Along with a reference library of over 120 order set and 450 medications, ChemoPalRx is equipped with the functions to automate dosage calculation, suggest pre-medications and safety parameters, and trigger alerts for missing prescribing information. As a quality improvement initiative, we implemented ChemoPalRx at OVMC. Implementation stages include obtaining administrative buy-in, consulting with multidisciplinary staffs, investing $100 USD for a prescription printer, and encouraging providers to download ChemoPalRx on their own mobile devices. An ongoing prospective cohort study is being conducted to determine ChemoPalRx effectiveness in reducing errors compared to handwritten orders. Conclusions: ChemoPalRx is developed to enhance the safety and efficiency of chemotherapy prescribing. Implementation of this mobile application is feasible in the safety-net hospital setting and has the potential to transform oncology practices globally.

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