A multidisciplinary teamwork training program: the Triad for Optimal Patient Safety (TOPS) experience.

Introduction: Communication and teamwork failures are a common cause of adverse events. Residency programs, with a mandate to teach systems-based practice, are particularly challenged to address these important skills.

Aim: To develop a multidisciplinary teamwork training program focused on teaching teamwork behaviors and communication skills.

Postdischarge follow-up visits for medical and pharmacy students on an inpatient medicine clerkship.

Background: Teaching medical and pharmacy students to collaborate on discharge planning for chronically ill patients may facilitate their ability to provide quality care.

Objective: To determine whether a discharge curriculum would improve students' attitudes and self-assessed skills in interdisciplinary collaboration and transitional care for chronically ill patients.

Design: The discharge curriculum of an inpatient medicine clerkship focused on safe patient transitions after hospitalization.

Gabapentin-induced neurologic toxicities.

Gabapentin is an antiepileptic drug approved for the treatment of postherpetic neuralgia and as adjunctive therapy for partial seizures. The drug has been shown to be safe and nontoxic. The current literature has limited reports of neurologic toxicity associated with gabapentin therapy in patients with or without renal dysfunction.

Content on end-of-life care in major pharmacy textbooks.

The quantity and quality of end-of-life-care (EOLC) information in commonly used pharmacy textbooks were studied. EOLC content in each of eight best-selling pharmacy textbooks was assigned to 1 of 13 domains; there were a total of 104 possible domains for all eight books. Every mention of EOLC was given a score of 2 for "helpful content present" or 1 for "minimal content present.

The impact of follow-up telephone calls to patients after hospitalization.

We studied whether pharmacists involved in discharge planning can improve patient satisfaction and outcomes by providing telephone follow-up after hospital discharge. We conducted a randomized trial at the General Medical Service of an academic teaching hospital. We enrolled General Medical Service patients who received pharmacy-facilitated discharge from the hospital to home.