Publications by authors named "Constance Hwang"
Background: Cardiac specialty hospitals assert better patient outcomes and efficiency, whereas general hospitals contend they attract healthier patients.
Objectives: To ascertain whether increased cardiac specialization of a hospital's services is associated with improved outcomes for coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery and whether patients with and without comorbid disease have equivalent outcomes to their counterparts at general hospitals.
Methods: We conducted a retrospective cohort study of a 5% sample of Medicare beneficiaries undergoing CABG procedures from 2001 to 2003.
Objectives: To systematically review evidence on definitions of the periodic health evaluation (PHE), its associated benefits and harms, and system-level interventions to improve its delivery.
Data Sources: Electronic searches in MEDLINE, and other databases; hand searching of 24 journals and bibliographies through February 2006.
Review Methods: Paired investigators abstracted data and judged study quality using standard criteria.
Background: The periodic health evaluation (PHE) has been a fundamental part of medical practice for decades despite a lack of consensus on its value.
Purpose: To synthesize the evidence on benefits and harms of the PHE.
Data Sources: Electronic searches of such databases as MEDLINE and the Cochrane Library, review of reference lists, and hand- searching of journals through September 2006.
Little is known about the attitudes of physicians-in-training on patient safety, although success in error reduction strategies requires their support. We surveyed house staff and fourth-year medical students from 1 academic institution about their perceptions of adverse patient events. Three hundred twenty-one trainees (41%) completed the survey.
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