Faculty Bibliography

BACKGROUND:While Medicare is a federal health insurance program, managed Medicare limits access to healthcare services to networks within states or territories. However, if a natural disaster requires evacuation, displaced patients are at risk of losing coverage for their benefits. Previous literature has discussed the quality of managed Medicare plans within Puerto Rico but has not addressed the adequacy of this coverage if residents are displaced to the continental United States. We explore Hurricane Maria's impact on a resident of Puerto Rico with chronic health problems, and the challenges he faces seeking healthcare in New York. CASE PRESENTATION/METHODS:A 59-year-old male with a history of diabetes mellitus type II, coronary artery disease, peripheral vascular disease status post right foot amputation, and end-stage kidney disease on hemodialysis was admitted in October of 2017 for chest pain and swelling of legs for 5 days. The patient had missed his last three dialysis sessions after Hurricane Maria forced him to leave Puerto Rico. In examining this patient's treatment, we observe the effect of Hurricane Maria on the medical management of Puerto Rican residents and identify challenges managed Medicare may pose to patients who cross state or territory lines. CONCLUSIONS:We employ this patient's narrative to frame a larger discussion of Puerto Rican managed Medicare and provide additional recommendations for healthcare providers. Moreover, we consider this case in the context of disaster-related continuity of care for patients with complex medical conditions or treatment regimens. To address the gaps in the care of these patients, this article proposes (1) developing system-based approaches for screening displaced patients, (2) increasing the awareness of Special Enrollment Periods related to Medicare among healthcare providers, and (3) creating policy solutions to assure access to care for patients with complex medical conditions.

Statement of Problem Or Question (One Sentence): As communication among patient care team members is often dangerously fragmented and effective collaboration becomes essential to provide safe hospital care for patients, we implemented the Daily Medicine Rounding Tool (DMeRT) that improved collaboration between the physician and nurse. Objectives of Program/Intervention (No More Than Three Objectives): 1. We aimed to promote a patient-centered, highly reliable rounding tool to reduce hospital adverse events by streamlining real time communication between nurses and physicians. 2. We hypothesize that this tool will decrease the need for frequent calls throughout the day, ultimately improving team productivity and overall staff satisfaction. Description of Program/Intervention, Including Organizational Context (E.G. Inpatient Vs. Outpatient, Practice or Community Characteristics): In our institution, the Epic's default patient dashboard columns included patient name, venous thromboemboli (VTE) prophylaxis, Medical Orders for Life Sustaining Treatment (MOLST) completion, glycemic control, and medication reconciliation completion. Expanding upon these prior default columns, we partnered with information technology and nursing to create a customized dashboard that included additional informational columns extracted from the documentation in the charts, to include the administration of intravenous fluids, oxygen supplementation, last bowel movement recorded and high risk medications (anti-coagulants, anti-epileptics, furosemide, opioids, and benzo-diazepines). We then trained the physicians and nurses to discuss each patient using the customized DMeRT dashboard during interdisciplinary rounds. The average time spent on the DMeRT is 15 minutes for a total 10 patients. This helps as a reminder and the identification of potential pitfalls and safety concerns. The DMeRT was instituted on a 30 bed medical unit (5500) on June 1, 2018 with iterative improvements to content. Measures of Success (Discuss Qualitative And/Or Quantitative Metrics Which Will Be Used To Evaluate Program/Intervention): We will analyze data pre and post intervention to assess for impact on reducing medication errors during hospitalization, hospital acquired VTE events and improvement in glycemic control. Finally we will track MOLST completion, medication reconciliation compliance, constipation and fluid overload events added to the patient's problem list 48 hours prior to discharge. Findings To Date (It Is Not Sufficient To State Findings Will Be Discussed): To date, the unit which implemented the intervention had an improvement in the Quality Hyperglycemia Scores (method used to evaluate inpatient glycemic management) from 56 in 4/2018 to 95 in 12/2018. There was an improved MOLST completion from 14% in 4/2018 to 83% in 12/2018. A Preliminary survey of 15 nurses on unit 5500 showed that 80% reported that they rarely need to call house staff within 2 hours of completing the rounding tool and 66% of nurses were satisfied with the DMeRT. Key Lessons For Dissemination (What Can Others Take Away For Implementation To Their Practice Or Community?): During hospitalization, multiple aspects of patient care are overlooked while we focus on the admitting diagnosis, necessary diagnostics and treatments. Medication errors during hospitalization are commonly caused by breakdowns in communication and associated with substantial risk. This is a simple tool that utilizes information technology to efficiently and systematically review standardized aspects of care

Statement of Problem Or Question (One Sentence): The increasing complexity of admitted patients, shorter hospital stays and post-acute care adverse events demand a more sophisticated and effective coordination of care between hospitalists and Primary care providers (PCPS). Objectives of Program/Intervention (No More Than Three Objectives): 1. Standardizing communication between Hospitalist and PCP during hospitalization will lower the rate of readmission due to lack of PCP follow up and post-acute care adverse events. 2. Implementing this practice into our daily workflow will improve PCP satisfaction and increase referrals to our institution. Description of Program/Intervention, Including Organizational Context (E.G. Inpatient Vs. Outpatient, Practice or Community Characteristics): We reviewed a root-cause survey of 30 day readmissions between 1/2018-4/2018 as well as readmission rates for each of our hospitalists. We surveyed our PCPS' satisfaction with communication experiences with our hospitalist group. Finally, we conducted a semi-structured interview of the hospitalist with the lowest readmission (8% vs 12% average for other hospitalists) and highest PCP satisfaction rates, Dr. A, to develop best practices for closed loop communication. Based on this data, we designed a protocol and piloted on 5/1/2018, where the hospitalist contacts the PCP via phone call on admission and delivers a discharge narrative to the PCP via our EMR's routing capability. We used a trackable smart phrase to document the communication. For the prospective phase, we will operationalize these best practices in a study group, Family Health Center PCPS. A control group (community PCPS) will receive usual practice. Measures of Success (Discuss Qualitative And/Or Quantitative Metrics Which Will Be Used To Evaluate Program/Intervention): We will compare readmission rates between the study group and control group, monitoring the proportion and absolute number of readmissions attributed to no PCP follow up or medication errors. Follow up satisfaction surveys will be sent to the PCPS 6 months after our revised communication practice. Finally, we will monitor the hospitalists' compliance with the smart phrase. Findings To Date (It Is Not Sufficient To State Findings Will Be Discussed): A review of our institution's 30 day readmissions between 1/2018-4/2018 found that 19% were attributed to lack of PCP/outpatient provider follow-up. Surveys of our community PCPS showed 70% reported being contacted by the hospitalist group in less than 25% of the time. Results from Dr. A's interview revealed that after her encounter with the patient, she calls the patient's PCP highlighting the admitting diagnosis, significant events, pertinent labs, imaging and medications. Dr. A then delivers a discharge narrative to the PCP on the day of discharge highlighting any medication changes, incidental findings and follow up. On a random audit of 100 charts between 5/1/2018-10/30/2018 our preliminary data show that there was 88% compliance with using the smart phrase by the hospitalists. Key Lessons For Dissemination (What Can Others Take Away For Implementation To Their Practice Or Community?): Using a "positive deviance" approach, we identified best practices for hospitalist-PCP closed loop communication to develop an intervention to improve this aspect of care. If we are successful in reducing readmission rates and improving PCP satisfaction, we will expand to all of our PCPS and ultimately expand to other services to implement this program as best practice

Learning Objective #1: Recognize vitamin deficiencies in a gastric bypass patient Learning Objective #2: Treat copper deficiency CASE: A 61 year old female with a past medical history of depression, hypothyroidism, dementia, profound insomnia, and remote history of gastric bypass presented with chronic dizziness and orthostatic hypotension with recurrent falls. She had multiple hospital admissions for dizziness, gait instability and falls. Associated symptoms included nausea and vomiting, fatigue, weakness, hypotension, hypoglycemia with low insulin levels, and worsening tingling and numbness in both legs. She denied using zinc containing denture cream or cold tablets. In the ED, her vital signs were stable and blood work was significant for pancytopenia, with a WBC count of 2.2, hemoglobin of 9.4 and platelets of 137. The levels of many vitamins and minerals were checked given her history of gastric bypass and she was found to have a normal iron level with transferrin saturation of 33%, normal levels of vitamins B1, B6, B9, B12, and selenium (58) and low levels of copper, ceruloplasmin, zinc, and vitamin D. CT and MRI of the brain were negative for acute pathology but significant for severe left temporal atrophy and overall global volume loss. Following admission, she was given intravenous fluids for persistent hypotension with eventual resolution after increasing her home dose of fludrocortisone and starting her on vitamin supplementation for her noted deficiency. She was discharged on a multivitamin with minerals daily, 50,000 units of Vitamin D weekly, 220mg of zinc sulfate twice daily, and 4mg of copper three times a day with close bariatric specialist follow up. IMPACT/DISCUSSION: Copper plays an essential role in the synthesis of many proteins and its deficiency can cause a variety different symptoms. Symptomatic copper deficiency is rare but can be seen in patients with a remote history of bariatric surgeries. In these patients, absorption of many minerals, including copper, is disrupted and supplementation may be necessary to prevent deficiency. This patient had been suffering from pancytopenia with a normal iron panel, which can be due to copper deficiency. Copper is a required cofactor in iron oxidation during hematopoiesis and its deficiency therefore Results in anemia. Patients with hypocupremia may present with gait abnormalities from myelopathy, as noted in our patient. Additionally, imaging showed cerebral atrophy, possibly related to demyelination, which can be seen in patients with Menkes Disease, a mutation causing defects in copper absorption. Despite having these symptoms for years, her copper levels had not been checked prior, which delayed the diagnosis of copper deficiency.
Conclusion(s): Many of the symptoms of copper deficiency are nonspecific, which may delay diagnosis until after many hospital re-admissions. It is essential to always consider copper deficiency in a patient with chronic neurologic symptoms and anemia with a remote history of gastric bypass surgery

Statement of Problem Or Question (One Sentence): As the lack of a 'face-to-face' interaction between the full team and the patient led to a downtrend in patient experience scores, we were inspired to design a patient centered communication tool that standardizes the multi-disciplinary bedside rounds. Objectives of Program/Intervention (No More Than Three Objectives): 1. To improve our patients' hospital experience in regards to care transitions and discharge planning by implementing standard bedside rounds that center around the patient's health care needs. 2. To create a daily scheduled opportunity for the patient to be involved in medical decisions and discharge planning which enhances patients' understanding of their own care plan. Description of Program/Intervention, Including Organizational Context (E.G. Inpatient Vs. Outpatient, Practice or Community Characteristics): Our medical-surgical units did not have a standardized approach to ensure clear communication from a patient's multidisciplinary team, comprised of physicians, nurses, case managers and social workers. To this end, we implemented a communication plan based on the acronym "WE CARE" 1) Who was present (who was at bedside in addition to the patient); 2) Everyone on same page (language and literacy barriers); 3) Connect with patient and family (promote patient-centeredness and compassionate care through eye contact, introducing the full team); 4) Assessing understanding (explanation of changes to medications, key lab and test Results, and post-discharge plans); 5) Response from patient and/or caregivers (ensuring understanding); 6) Educate/empathy/end of conversation. Centered on the WE CARE model, we gathered all members of the care team and visited each patient at a standardized time every day. The intervention was started on one medical-surgical, unit 5600 on July 2018. Measures of Success (Discuss Qualitative And/Or Quantitative Metrics Which Will Be Used To Evaluate Program/Intervention): HCAPS (Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems) scores for care transitions and discharge information pre and post intervention will be evaluated for the study group (unit 5600). We will also compare these scores to med/surg units who did not receive the intervention. Findings To Date (It Is Not Sufficient To State Findings Will Be Discussed): We compared our pre-intervention 1/1/2018-4/31/2018 (approximately 54 surveys) and post-intervention (approximately 42 surveys) scores. In the domain of care transitions, e. g., patient had a good understanding of things patient was responsible for in managing his/her health; patient had a good understanding of purpose of each medication; staff consideration of patient and caregiver preferences post-discharge, there was an increase from 28% in our top-box (an answer of always) composite HCAHPS score to 58%. Scores for "discharge information delivered" remained high with a top-box response above 85% both pre-and post-intervention. In addition, during the post-intervention time, the study group unit had the highest "care transition" and "discharge information" top box responses compared to all control units. Key Lessons For Dissemination (What Can Others Take Away For Implementation To Their Practice Or Community?): A focused, structured communication tool WE CARE, implemented as a part of daily standardized multidisciplinary bedside rounds led to an improvement in patient satisfaction scores around care transitions and discharge information delivered

The mainstay treatment of Clostridium difficile infections (CDI) is antimicrobials with growing support for fecal microbiota transplants. We report the first case of an elderly man with severe refractory NAP-1 pseudomembranous CDI who failed all medical therapy and two fecal transplants with response only seen after administration of intravenous immunoglobulin.

A 49-year-old woman with cholangiocarcinoma metastatic to the lungs presented with new-onset unrelenting headaches. A lumbar puncture revealed malignant cells consistent with leptomeningeal metastasis from her cholangiocarcinoma. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the brain revealed leptomeningeal enhancement. An intrathecal (IT) catheter was placed and IT chemotherapy was initiated with methotrexate. Her case is notable for the rarity of cholangiocarcinoma spread to the leptomeninges, the use of IT chemotherapy with cytologic and potentially symptomatic response, and a possible survival benefit in comparison to previously reported cases of leptomeningeal carcinomatosis secondary to cholangiocarcinoma.

Anomalies of the membranous portion of the interventricular septum include perimembranous ventricular septal defect and/or membranous septal aneurysm (MSA). In congenitally corrected transposition of the great arteries (L-TGA in sinus solitus), the combination of ventricular inversion and arterial transposition creates a unique anatomic substrate that fosters subpulmonic left ventricular outflow tract obstruction by an MSA. The combination of an L-TGA with subpulmonic obstruction by an MSA is referred to as the windsock syndrome. We report a case of windsock syndrome in a 25-year-old man which is to our knowledge the first three-dimensional echocardiographic description of this congenital entity.