Improving medication safety through the use of metrics.

Purpose: Describe medication safety metrics used at University HealthSystem Consortium (UHC) institutions and recommend a meaningful way to report and communicate medication safety information across an organization.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted using an electronically distributed, open-ended survey instrument.

Results: Twenty percent of the UHC institutions responded to our survey.

Effect of switching medically vulnerable patients with uncontrolled diabetes from isophane insulin human to insulin glargine.

Purpose: The purpose of this observational study was to determine if switching from isophane insulin human (NPH) to insulin glargine would improve glycemic control in a medically vulnerable population with uncontrolled diabetes.

Methods: A retrospective cohort review of patients' medical records was performed that recorded events occurring between January 1, 2001, and December 31, 2003. The cohort consisted of patients with diabetes in an adult medicine clinic at a county hospital.

Awareness of, knowledge of and attitudes to nonmelanoma skin cancer (NMSC) and actinic keratosis (AK) among physicians.

Background: Nonmelanoma skin cancer (NMSC) is the most common type of cancer that affects the Caucasian population. Approximately 80% of NMSCs are basal cell carcinoma (BCC) and 20% are squamous cell carcinoma (SCC). Actinic keratosis (AK) is a precancerous lesion that may develop into SCC.