Caring for patients in a hospitalist-run clinical decision unit is associated with decreased length of stay without increasing revisit rates.

Background: Observation medicine is a growing field with increasing involvement by hospitalists. Little has been written regarding clinical outcomes in hospitalist-run clinical decision units (CDUs).

Objective: To determine the impact of a hospitalist-run geographic CDU on length of stay (LOS) for observation patients.

Implementation of a pharmacy technician-centered medication reconciliation program at an urban teaching medical center.

Purpose: An inpatient medication reconciliation (MR) program emphasizing pharmacy technicians' role in the MR process is described.

Summary: As part of quality-improvement (QI) efforts focused on MR-related adverse drug events, an urban academic medical center in New Jersey implemented a pharmacy technician-centered MR (PTMR) program targeting patients on its internal medicine, oncology, and clinical decision units. The program is staffed by five full- or part-time technicians who are trained in MR methods and work under direct pharmacist supervision, interviewing newly admitted patients and using other information sources (e.