Handoffs causing patient harm: a survey of medical and surgical house staff.

Background: Communication lapses at the time of patient handoffs are believed to be common, and yet the frequency with which patients are harmed as a result of problematic handoffs is unknown. Resident physicians were surveyed about their handoffpractices and the frequency with which they perceive problems with handoffs lead to patient harm.

Methods: A survey was conducted in 2006 of all resident physicians in internal medicine and general surgery at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) concerning the quality and effects of handoffs during their most recent inpatient rotations.

Physician specialty societies and the development of physician performance measures.

Efforts to increase accountability in the delivery of care include attempts to measure performance of individual doctors. Although physician specialty societies may be best positioned to define best practices, they have not yet played a major role in the development of measures. We examined specialty society involvement in measure development through interviews and review of Web sites.

A novel immune-based therapy for stroke induces neuroprotection and supports neurogenesis.

The ability of the central nervous system to cope with stressful conditions was shown to be dependent on proper T-cell-mediated immune response. Because the therapeutic window for neuroprotection after acute insults such as stroke is relatively narrow, we searched for a procedure that would allow the relevant T cells to be recruited rapidly. Permanent middle cerebral artery occlusion was induced in adult rats.