Timely Delivery of Discharge Medications to Patients' Bedsides: A Patient-centered Quality Improvement Project.

Introduction: Patients who are unable to fill prescriptions after discharge are at risk of hospital readmission. Ensuring that patients have prescriptions in hand at the time of discharge is a critical component of a safe and effective discharge process. Using a "Meds to Beds" program, we aimed to increase the percentage of patients discharged from Holtz Children's Hospital with medications in hand from 49% to 80%, reduce turnaround time (TAT) from electronic prescription signature to bedside delivery from 4.

Possible Contribution of PTSD to Altered Cortisol Activity in Young Adult Obese African-American Women.

Objective: African-Americans have been found to experience increased rates of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), obesity, and flatter diurnal cortisol slopes compared to other demographic groups. Further exploration, however, is needed to understand how PTSD impacts diurnal cortisol activity in obese African-American women. The purpose of the current study is to examine the relationship between salivary cortisol levels and PTSD in a sample of obese young adult African-American women and to examine how depression and insomnia influence the relationship.

Is laparoscopy a risk factor for bile duct injury during cholecystectomy?

Background And Objectives: Previously, risk factors for bile duct injury have been identified as acute cholecystitis, male gender, older age, aberrant biliary anatomy, and laparoscopic cholecystectomy.

Methods: A retrospective analysis of the Nationwide Inpatient Sample from 1998 to 2006 was performed with an inclusion criterion of cholecystectomy performed on hospital day 0 or 1. Patient- and hospital-level factors potentially associated with bile duct injury were examined by logistic regression.