Associations between hospitalist physician workload, length of stay, and return to the hospital.

Background: Hospitalist physicians' workload-the total number of patients they care for daily-is rising in the U.S. Hospitalists report that increased workload negatively affects patients care.

SaliVISION: a rapid saliva-based COVID-19 screening and diagnostic test with high sensitivity and specificity.

The Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic-caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)- has posed a global threat and presented with it a multitude of economic and public-health challenges. Establishing a reliable means of readily available, rapid diagnostic testing is of paramount importance in halting the spread of COVID-19, as governments continue to ease lockdown restrictions. The current standard for laboratory testing utilizes reverse transcription quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR); however, this method presents clear limitations in requiring a longer run-time as well as reduced on-site testing capability.

The acceptability of a novel procedure service run by PAs and NPs.

Background: Hospitalist physicians are performing fewer procedures because of multiple reasons, including expanded responsibilities beyond their patient panel. A procedure service that offloads hospitalists could expedite these necessary services. An opportunity exists for physician assistants (PAs) and NPs to fill this gap.

Conversion of a Conference Room into a Low-Acuity Inpatient Medical Unit: A Creative Response to Influenza-Related Surge.

The 2017-2018 influenza season was associated with high demand for both emergency department (ED) care and inpatient acute care for influenza-like illness (ILI). This high demand resulted in increased numbers of inpatients and ED patients, including prolonged ED length of stay. A large, urban, academic medical center in a cold-weather region was limited in its ability to expand its footprint to create de novo locations of care, such as temporary outbuildings or tents.

An institution-wide handoff task force to standardise and improve physician handoffs.

Background: Transfers of care have become increasingly frequent and complex with shorter inpatient stays and changes in work hour regulations. Potential hazards exist with transfers. There are few reports of institution-wide efforts to improve handoffs.