Brendon Shank

Disney's Yacht Club Resort, Lake Buena Vista: Florida Resorts

Mark Your Calendar for Pediatric Hospital Medicine 2014, July 24-27

Pediatric hospitalists: It’s not too early to register for the only national conference dedicated to pediatric hospital medicine.

The PHM14 theme, “Keep Moving Forward,” focuses on the future of pediatric hospital medicine and improving the care provided to children. The largest meeting of pediatric hospitalists of the year, the conference is co-sponsored by the Society of Hospital Medicine (SHM), the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), the AAP Section on Hospital Medicine (SOHM), and the Academic Pediatric Association (APA).

PHM14 is July 24-27, and this year’s setting—Disney’s Yacht and Beach Club Resorts in Lake Buena Vista, Fla.—makes it the perfect destination for a family vacation. Make plans now to meet with the best in pediatric hospital medicine—and bring the family.

For more information, visit www.hospitalmedicine.org/phm14.

Disney's Yacht Club Resort, Lake Buena Vista: Florida Resorts

Mark Your Calendar for Pediatric Hospital Medicine 2014, July 24-27

Pediatric hospitalists: It’s not too early to register for the only national conference dedicated to pediatric hospital medicine.

The PHM14 theme, “Keep Moving Forward,” focuses on the future of pediatric hospital medicine and improving the care provided to children. The largest meeting of pediatric hospitalists of the year, the conference is co-sponsored by the Society of Hospital Medicine (SHM), the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), the AAP Section on Hospital Medicine (SOHM), and the Academic Pediatric Association (APA).

PHM14 is July 24-27, and this year’s setting—Disney’s Yacht and Beach Club Resorts in Lake Buena Vista, Fla.—makes it the perfect destination for a family vacation. Make plans now to meet with the best in pediatric hospital medicine—and bring the family.

For more information, visit www.hospitalmedicine.org/phm14.

Disney's Yacht Club Resort, Lake Buena Vista: Florida Resorts

Mark Your Calendar for Pediatric Hospital Medicine 2014, July 24-27

Pediatric hospitalists: It’s not too early to register for the only national conference dedicated to pediatric hospital medicine.

The PHM14 theme, “Keep Moving Forward,” focuses on the future of pediatric hospital medicine and improving the care provided to children. The largest meeting of pediatric hospitalists of the year, the conference is co-sponsored by the Society of Hospital Medicine (SHM), the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), the AAP Section on Hospital Medicine (SOHM), and the Academic Pediatric Association (APA).

PHM14 is July 24-27, and this year’s setting—Disney’s Yacht and Beach Club Resorts in Lake Buena Vista, Fla.—makes it the perfect destination for a family vacation. Make plans now to meet with the best in pediatric hospital medicine—and bring the family.

For more information, visit www.hospitalmedicine.org/phm14.

Should I check out “Attending 101” or the session on clinical problem solving? Wait, are they even at the same time? OK, great, they’re not, but I’ll just have to remember to get to both—and the session on medication reconciliation. I don’t have the presentations for them, so I’ll have to print them out beforehand for my notes and pack them.

That was life three years ago, before SHM launched its groundbreaking annual meeting mobile app. And, this month, the HM14 mobile app will pack even more power into hospitalists’ hands.

Now available at www.hm14athand.org, the HM14 At Hand mobile app is designed for all smartphones and tablets with wi-fi or wireless data access. It launches more than a month ahead of the meeting, allowing HM14 attendees to download the app at home and plan their meeting before they depart for Las Vegas—or on the plane en route.

The app includes all of the features hospitalists have come to expect, with some new surprises:

• Full program schedule, with the ability to schedule and set reminders for selected sessions;
• Options for presenters and conference-goers to provide contact information to other attendees;
• Presentation notes from speakers;
• The “Scan-to-Win” prize game, with even more locations to scan;
• Real-time program alerts for breaking news about the conference;
• Links to other resources for hospitalists;
• NEW: Integration with social media to help you connect with other conference bloggers, tweeters, and posters; and
• NEW: A section for job seekers and career networkers to connect with recruiters.

SHM has said farewell to the antiquated bulletin board that connected hospitalists and recruiters and replaced it with a mobile job board for hospitalists exploring new career opportunities at the conference. The mobile job board, available in the HM14 At Hand app, will include contact information for recruiters, so candidates and recruiters can connect virtually and then meet up in real life in a matter of minutes.

Brendon Shank is SHM’s associate vice president of communications.

Should I check out “Attending 101” or the session on clinical problem solving? Wait, are they even at the same time? OK, great, they’re not, but I’ll just have to remember to get to both—and the session on medication reconciliation. I don’t have the presentations for them, so I’ll have to print them out beforehand for my notes and pack them.

That was life three years ago, before SHM launched its groundbreaking annual meeting mobile app. And, this month, the HM14 mobile app will pack even more power into hospitalists’ hands.

Now available at www.hm14athand.org, the HM14 At Hand mobile app is designed for all smartphones and tablets with wi-fi or wireless data access. It launches more than a month ahead of the meeting, allowing HM14 attendees to download the app at home and plan their meeting before they depart for Las Vegas—or on the plane en route.

The app includes all of the features hospitalists have come to expect, with some new surprises:

• Full program schedule, with the ability to schedule and set reminders for selected sessions;
• Options for presenters and conference-goers to provide contact information to other attendees;
• Presentation notes from speakers;
• The “Scan-to-Win” prize game, with even more locations to scan;
• Real-time program alerts for breaking news about the conference;
• Links to other resources for hospitalists;
• NEW: Integration with social media to help you connect with other conference bloggers, tweeters, and posters; and
• NEW: A section for job seekers and career networkers to connect with recruiters.

SHM has said farewell to the antiquated bulletin board that connected hospitalists and recruiters and replaced it with a mobile job board for hospitalists exploring new career opportunities at the conference. The mobile job board, available in the HM14 At Hand app, will include contact information for recruiters, so candidates and recruiters can connect virtually and then meet up in real life in a matter of minutes.

Brendon Shank is SHM’s associate vice president of communications.

Should I check out “Attending 101” or the session on clinical problem solving? Wait, are they even at the same time? OK, great, they’re not, but I’ll just have to remember to get to both—and the session on medication reconciliation. I don’t have the presentations for them, so I’ll have to print them out beforehand for my notes and pack them.

That was life three years ago, before SHM launched its groundbreaking annual meeting mobile app. And, this month, the HM14 mobile app will pack even more power into hospitalists’ hands.

Now available at www.hm14athand.org, the HM14 At Hand mobile app is designed for all smartphones and tablets with wi-fi or wireless data access. It launches more than a month ahead of the meeting, allowing HM14 attendees to download the app at home and plan their meeting before they depart for Las Vegas—or on the plane en route.

The app includes all of the features hospitalists have come to expect, with some new surprises:

• Full program schedule, with the ability to schedule and set reminders for selected sessions;
• Options for presenters and conference-goers to provide contact information to other attendees;
• Presentation notes from speakers;
• The “Scan-to-Win” prize game, with even more locations to scan;
• Real-time program alerts for breaking news about the conference;
• Links to other resources for hospitalists;
• NEW: Integration with social media to help you connect with other conference bloggers, tweeters, and posters; and
• NEW: A section for job seekers and career networkers to connect with recruiters.

SHM has said farewell to the antiquated bulletin board that connected hospitalists and recruiters and replaced it with a mobile job board for hospitalists exploring new career opportunities at the conference. The mobile job board, available in the HM14 At Hand app, will include contact information for recruiters, so candidates and recruiters can connect virtually and then meet up in real life in a matter of minutes.

Brendon Shank is SHM’s associate vice president of communications.

A new feature installed on HMX, LinkedIn Connect, makes it easier for you to fill out your member profile by pulling pieces of your LinkedIn profile into HMX. How does it work exactly?

Login at www.hmxchange.org and click “My Profile.” Midway down the page, you will see a section that reads, “Grab Profile Info from LinkedIn.” Click the link and follow the onscreen instructions. HMX will connect with your LinkedIn profile, pulling information like your photo, bio, education, and job history information.

It makes filling out your profile just a little bit easier.

A new feature installed on HMX, LinkedIn Connect, makes it easier for you to fill out your member profile by pulling pieces of your LinkedIn profile into HMX. How does it work exactly?

Login at www.hmxchange.org and click “My Profile.” Midway down the page, you will see a section that reads, “Grab Profile Info from LinkedIn.” Click the link and follow the onscreen instructions. HMX will connect with your LinkedIn profile, pulling information like your photo, bio, education, and job history information.

It makes filling out your profile just a little bit easier.

A new feature installed on HMX, LinkedIn Connect, makes it easier for you to fill out your member profile by pulling pieces of your LinkedIn profile into HMX. How does it work exactly?

Login at www.hmxchange.org and click “My Profile.” Midway down the page, you will see a section that reads, “Grab Profile Info from LinkedIn.” Click the link and follow the onscreen instructions. HMX will connect with your LinkedIn profile, pulling information like your photo, bio, education, and job history information.

It makes filling out your profile just a little bit easier.

Here are three simple steps to register for the FPHM MOC, according to the ABIM.

1. Click “Physician Login” at www.abim.org and enter your ABIM ID and your password. The default password is your six-digit date of birth (MMDDYY).
2. Under “My Maintenance of Certification Program,” click on “Enter Focused Practice in Hospital Medicine MOC Program.”
3. There you will begin the entry process, which requires you to complete a Web-based self-attestation, as well as the submission of the Senior Hospital Officer attestation to your eligibility. The attestations must be submitted and approved prior to entry into the program.

You can track your status in this process via the “View Status of Entry into Focused Practice in Hospital Medicine MOC Program” on your home page.

Here are three simple steps to register for the FPHM MOC, according to the ABIM.

1. Click “Physician Login” at www.abim.org and enter your ABIM ID and your password. The default password is your six-digit date of birth (MMDDYY).
2. Under “My Maintenance of Certification Program,” click on “Enter Focused Practice in Hospital Medicine MOC Program.”
3. There you will begin the entry process, which requires you to complete a Web-based self-attestation, as well as the submission of the Senior Hospital Officer attestation to your eligibility. The attestations must be submitted and approved prior to entry into the program.

You can track your status in this process via the “View Status of Entry into Focused Practice in Hospital Medicine MOC Program” on your home page.

Here are three simple steps to register for the FPHM MOC, according to the ABIM.

1. Click “Physician Login” at www.abim.org and enter your ABIM ID and your password. The default password is your six-digit date of birth (MMDDYY).
2. Under “My Maintenance of Certification Program,” click on “Enter Focused Practice in Hospital Medicine MOC Program.”
3. There you will begin the entry process, which requires you to complete a Web-based self-attestation, as well as the submission of the Senior Hospital Officer attestation to your eligibility. The attestations must be submitted and approved prior to entry into the program.

You can track your status in this process via the “View Status of Entry into Focused Practice in Hospital Medicine MOC Program” on your home page.

The Hospital Medicine MOC secure exams are offered every spring and fall. Although the dates might seem far off now, hospitalists interested in taking the Hospital Medicine MOC exam must complete the entry process for the FPHM program at least two weeks before the exam registration deadline. For the spring MOC exam, this means hospitalists must complete the FPHM program entry process by Feb. 14, 2014, for the Spring 2014 exam, and Aug. 1, 2014, for the Fall 2014 exam.

To complete the entry process, hospitalists must:

• Be licensed and in good standing.
• Hold current or previous ABIM certification in Internal Medicine and current Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS) certification.
• Complete at least three years of unsupervised hospital medicine practice experience prior to entry into the Focused Practice in Hospital Medicine MOC program. Formal fellowship training in a hospital medicine fellowship program can be counted toward the three-year practice experience criteria.
• Electronically submit a self-attestation and an attestation from a Senior Hospital Officer (SHO) that they meet the patient encounter thresholds for internal medicine practice in the hospital setting.

Once enrolled, hospitalists will be eligible to schedule a seat for the Hospital Medicine MOC exam during the registration period; however, the ABIM stipulates that hospitalists must be entered into the program at least two weeks prior to the exam date.

At the same time, hospitalists must have completed 100 points of self-evaluation within the last 10 years. Twenty of the points in Self-Evaluation of Medical Knowledge and 40 points in Self-Evaluation of Practice Performance must have been completed in the last three years.

The Hospital Medicine MOC secure exams are offered every spring and fall. Although the dates might seem far off now, hospitalists interested in taking the Hospital Medicine MOC exam must complete the entry process for the FPHM program at least two weeks before the exam registration deadline. For the spring MOC exam, this means hospitalists must complete the FPHM program entry process by Feb. 14, 2014, for the Spring 2014 exam, and Aug. 1, 2014, for the Fall 2014 exam.

To complete the entry process, hospitalists must:

• Be licensed and in good standing.
• Hold current or previous ABIM certification in Internal Medicine and current Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS) certification.
• Complete at least three years of unsupervised hospital medicine practice experience prior to entry into the Focused Practice in Hospital Medicine MOC program. Formal fellowship training in a hospital medicine fellowship program can be counted toward the three-year practice experience criteria.
• Electronically submit a self-attestation and an attestation from a Senior Hospital Officer (SHO) that they meet the patient encounter thresholds for internal medicine practice in the hospital setting.

Once enrolled, hospitalists will be eligible to schedule a seat for the Hospital Medicine MOC exam during the registration period; however, the ABIM stipulates that hospitalists must be entered into the program at least two weeks prior to the exam date.

At the same time, hospitalists must have completed 100 points of self-evaluation within the last 10 years. Twenty of the points in Self-Evaluation of Medical Knowledge and 40 points in Self-Evaluation of Practice Performance must have been completed in the last three years.

The Hospital Medicine MOC secure exams are offered every spring and fall. Although the dates might seem far off now, hospitalists interested in taking the Hospital Medicine MOC exam must complete the entry process for the FPHM program at least two weeks before the exam registration deadline. For the spring MOC exam, this means hospitalists must complete the FPHM program entry process by Feb. 14, 2014, for the Spring 2014 exam, and Aug. 1, 2014, for the Fall 2014 exam.

To complete the entry process, hospitalists must:

• Be licensed and in good standing.
• Hold current or previous ABIM certification in Internal Medicine and current Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS) certification.
• Complete at least three years of unsupervised hospital medicine practice experience prior to entry into the Focused Practice in Hospital Medicine MOC program. Formal fellowship training in a hospital medicine fellowship program can be counted toward the three-year practice experience criteria.
• Electronically submit a self-attestation and an attestation from a Senior Hospital Officer (SHO) that they meet the patient encounter thresholds for internal medicine practice in the hospital setting.

Once enrolled, hospitalists will be eligible to schedule a seat for the Hospital Medicine MOC exam during the registration period; however, the ABIM stipulates that hospitalists must be entered into the program at least two weeks prior to the exam date.

At the same time, hospitalists must have completed 100 points of self-evaluation within the last 10 years. Twenty of the points in Self-Evaluation of Medical Knowledge and 40 points in Self-Evaluation of Practice Performance must have been completed in the last three years.

While the program is just a few years old, changes to the Focused Practice in Hospital Medicine (FPHM) Maintenance of Certification (MOC) from the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) make it more attractive to hospitalists, bringing it in line with other MOC programs. And now is the time to act for 2014.

Not only do the changes to the FPHM MOC streamline the process, it remains the only ABIM certification designed exclusively for the growing ranks of hospitalists, according to hospitalists who have already earned the new certification. The hospitalist-centric program makes their board certification more applicable to their everyday practice and emphasizes their expertise in the specialty.

The alignment with the hospital medicine specialty has both practical and ideological benefits for hospitalists. On the practical side, the hospital medicine focused medical knowledge modules and preparation for the Hospital Medicine MOC exam are more focused, as the content better matches the day-to-day life of a hospitalist.

“From a content perspective, both for studying and the updates, it allows the hospitalist to focus on content that’s most relevant to their practice,” says hospitalist Jennifer Myers, MD, associate professor of clinical medicine and associate designated institutional official for graduate medical education at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia.

Dr. Myers earned the FPHM certification in 2011. Compared to the internal medicine MOC, she says “the standard questions focused on ambulatory medicine do not always apply,” and the likelihood that hospitalists kept up on those topics was slim. Rather, “hospitalists will be better prepared to take the Focused Practice in Hospital Medicine. And as they’re updating and studying, they can focus on relevant topics for their practice,” she says.

For hospitalist and former SHM president Jeffrey Wiese, MD, MHM, the FPHM MOC program helps define his work in ways other than just the physical space of the hospital.

“If I am to have public accountability as a hospitalist, it has to be more than just geography. Intrinsic to a true hospitalist is systems architecture…improving the quality and patient safety delivered by the hospital system,” says Dr. Wiese, professor of medicine and senior associate dean of graduate medical education at Tulane University in New Orleans.

Dr. Wiese is intimately familiar with the process: He served on the ABIM’s Hospital Medicine MOC Exam Writing ABIM test writing committee for the FPHM pathway MOC program. He now serves on the new ABIM Council.

“This is a way to distinguish the ideals of the specialty,” he says. “What hospitalists do is more than just deliver inpatient care. … It’s about advancing the quality and safety of the system, and the FPHM MOC track ensures fidelity to that standard.”

FPHM’s ability to differentiate hospitalists resonates with Daniel Brotman, MD, director of the hospitalist program at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore and chair of SHM’s Annual Meeting Committee and Education Committee. And that differentiation extends from the individual hospitalist to the movement as a whole.

“If you’re a hospitalist and you’re invested in the field, this is an important statement to make on behalf of your specialty,” he says. “It can give you some added respect within your institution when people ask you about specialized training in hospital medicine.”

Even if hospitalists didn’t have specialized training, the FPHM MOC demonstrates that they “did have to pass a specialized certification process that gives different credentials,” Dr. Brotman says. “This is the best way to do that.”

He also sees it as an individual benefit for hospitalists—both for their career advancement and their peace of mind—knowing that they are more up to date with their clinical practice.

“You practice hospital medicine. If you want an exam that hits the ball to your forehand, this is it,” he says. “If you’re nervous about the board exam, I’d be more nervous about taking a generalized exam.”

Brendon Shank is SHM’s associate vice president of communications.

While the program is just a few years old, changes to the Focused Practice in Hospital Medicine (FPHM) Maintenance of Certification (MOC) from the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) make it more attractive to hospitalists, bringing it in line with other MOC programs. And now is the time to act for 2014.

Not only do the changes to the FPHM MOC streamline the process, it remains the only ABIM certification designed exclusively for the growing ranks of hospitalists, according to hospitalists who have already earned the new certification. The hospitalist-centric program makes their board certification more applicable to their everyday practice and emphasizes their expertise in the specialty.

The alignment with the hospital medicine specialty has both practical and ideological benefits for hospitalists. On the practical side, the hospital medicine focused medical knowledge modules and preparation for the Hospital Medicine MOC exam are more focused, as the content better matches the day-to-day life of a hospitalist.

“From a content perspective, both for studying and the updates, it allows the hospitalist to focus on content that’s most relevant to their practice,” says hospitalist Jennifer Myers, MD, associate professor of clinical medicine and associate designated institutional official for graduate medical education at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia.

Dr. Myers earned the FPHM certification in 2011. Compared to the internal medicine MOC, she says “the standard questions focused on ambulatory medicine do not always apply,” and the likelihood that hospitalists kept up on those topics was slim. Rather, “hospitalists will be better prepared to take the Focused Practice in Hospital Medicine. And as they’re updating and studying, they can focus on relevant topics for their practice,” she says.

For hospitalist and former SHM president Jeffrey Wiese, MD, MHM, the FPHM MOC program helps define his work in ways other than just the physical space of the hospital.

“If I am to have public accountability as a hospitalist, it has to be more than just geography. Intrinsic to a true hospitalist is systems architecture…improving the quality and patient safety delivered by the hospital system,” says Dr. Wiese, professor of medicine and senior associate dean of graduate medical education at Tulane University in New Orleans.

Dr. Wiese is intimately familiar with the process: He served on the ABIM’s Hospital Medicine MOC Exam Writing ABIM test writing committee for the FPHM pathway MOC program. He now serves on the new ABIM Council.

“This is a way to distinguish the ideals of the specialty,” he says. “What hospitalists do is more than just deliver inpatient care. … It’s about advancing the quality and safety of the system, and the FPHM MOC track ensures fidelity to that standard.”

FPHM’s ability to differentiate hospitalists resonates with Daniel Brotman, MD, director of the hospitalist program at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore and chair of SHM’s Annual Meeting Committee and Education Committee. And that differentiation extends from the individual hospitalist to the movement as a whole.

“If you’re a hospitalist and you’re invested in the field, this is an important statement to make on behalf of your specialty,” he says. “It can give you some added respect within your institution when people ask you about specialized training in hospital medicine.”

Even if hospitalists didn’t have specialized training, the FPHM MOC demonstrates that they “did have to pass a specialized certification process that gives different credentials,” Dr. Brotman says. “This is the best way to do that.”

He also sees it as an individual benefit for hospitalists—both for their career advancement and their peace of mind—knowing that they are more up to date with their clinical practice.

“You practice hospital medicine. If you want an exam that hits the ball to your forehand, this is it,” he says. “If you’re nervous about the board exam, I’d be more nervous about taking a generalized exam.”

Brendon Shank is SHM’s associate vice president of communications.

While the program is just a few years old, changes to the Focused Practice in Hospital Medicine (FPHM) Maintenance of Certification (MOC) from the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) make it more attractive to hospitalists, bringing it in line with other MOC programs. And now is the time to act for 2014.

Not only do the changes to the FPHM MOC streamline the process, it remains the only ABIM certification designed exclusively for the growing ranks of hospitalists, according to hospitalists who have already earned the new certification. The hospitalist-centric program makes their board certification more applicable to their everyday practice and emphasizes their expertise in the specialty.

The alignment with the hospital medicine specialty has both practical and ideological benefits for hospitalists. On the practical side, the hospital medicine focused medical knowledge modules and preparation for the Hospital Medicine MOC exam are more focused, as the content better matches the day-to-day life of a hospitalist.

“From a content perspective, both for studying and the updates, it allows the hospitalist to focus on content that’s most relevant to their practice,” says hospitalist Jennifer Myers, MD, associate professor of clinical medicine and associate designated institutional official for graduate medical education at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia.

Dr. Myers earned the FPHM certification in 2011. Compared to the internal medicine MOC, she says “the standard questions focused on ambulatory medicine do not always apply,” and the likelihood that hospitalists kept up on those topics was slim. Rather, “hospitalists will be better prepared to take the Focused Practice in Hospital Medicine. And as they’re updating and studying, they can focus on relevant topics for their practice,” she says.

For hospitalist and former SHM president Jeffrey Wiese, MD, MHM, the FPHM MOC program helps define his work in ways other than just the physical space of the hospital.

“If I am to have public accountability as a hospitalist, it has to be more than just geography. Intrinsic to a true hospitalist is systems architecture…improving the quality and patient safety delivered by the hospital system,” says Dr. Wiese, professor of medicine and senior associate dean of graduate medical education at Tulane University in New Orleans.

Dr. Wiese is intimately familiar with the process: He served on the ABIM’s Hospital Medicine MOC Exam Writing ABIM test writing committee for the FPHM pathway MOC program. He now serves on the new ABIM Council.

“This is a way to distinguish the ideals of the specialty,” he says. “What hospitalists do is more than just deliver inpatient care. … It’s about advancing the quality and safety of the system, and the FPHM MOC track ensures fidelity to that standard.”

FPHM’s ability to differentiate hospitalists resonates with Daniel Brotman, MD, director of the hospitalist program at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore and chair of SHM’s Annual Meeting Committee and Education Committee. And that differentiation extends from the individual hospitalist to the movement as a whole.

“If you’re a hospitalist and you’re invested in the field, this is an important statement to make on behalf of your specialty,” he says. “It can give you some added respect within your institution when people ask you about specialized training in hospital medicine.”

Even if hospitalists didn’t have specialized training, the FPHM MOC demonstrates that they “did have to pass a specialized certification process that gives different credentials,” Dr. Brotman says. “This is the best way to do that.”

He also sees it as an individual benefit for hospitalists—both for their career advancement and their peace of mind—knowing that they are more up to date with their clinical practice.

“You practice hospital medicine. If you want an exam that hits the ball to your forehand, this is it,” he says. “If you’re nervous about the board exam, I’d be more nervous about taking a generalized exam.”

Brendon Shank is SHM’s associate vice president of communications.

HMX in 3 Minutes or Less

More than 2,500 hospitalists have logged into HMX to share their experiences and ask questions on a wide variety of topics, from HM group practice management to clinical details about glycemic control.

New communities are being added regularly, so be sure to set up your account, sign up for customizable e-mail notifications, and check back regularly to follow your favorite discussions.

Have a question or idea for other hospitalists? Share it today.

Here’s how to get started. All you need are your SHM login credentials.

1. Go to www.hmxchange.org.
2. In the top right-hand corner, click the link that reads, “Login to see members only content.”
3. Enter your SHM login credentials and click login.
4. Now you’re logged in. On the right-hand side, you will find a box with a list of the various communities. Click on the community you would like to view and/or post in.
5. Click the “Discussions” tab and, on the right, click the square button that says “+ Post New Message.”
6. Compose your message with subject and body (and you can include an attachment if you want).
7. Click “Send.”

Hospitalists can now follow their favorite discussions on the go with the Member Centric app for HMX.

1. Go to your preferred app store and download “MemberCentric.”
2. Search for “Society of Hospital Medicine” in the list of organizations.
3. Log in with your SHM/HMX username and password.
4. Get access to your discussions, contacts, private message inbox, and events calendar.

HMX in 3 Minutes or Less

More than 2,500 hospitalists have logged into HMX to share their experiences and ask questions on a wide variety of topics, from HM group practice management to clinical details about glycemic control.

New communities are being added regularly, so be sure to set up your account, sign up for customizable e-mail notifications, and check back regularly to follow your favorite discussions.

Have a question or idea for other hospitalists? Share it today.

Here’s how to get started. All you need are your SHM login credentials.

1. Go to www.hmxchange.org.
2. In the top right-hand corner, click the link that reads, “Login to see members only content.”
3. Enter your SHM login credentials and click login.
4. Now you’re logged in. On the right-hand side, you will find a box with a list of the various communities. Click on the community you would like to view and/or post in.
5. Click the “Discussions” tab and, on the right, click the square button that says “+ Post New Message.”
6. Compose your message with subject and body (and you can include an attachment if you want).
7. Click “Send.”

Hospitalists can now follow their favorite discussions on the go with the Member Centric app for HMX.

1. Go to your preferred app store and download “MemberCentric.”
2. Search for “Society of Hospital Medicine” in the list of organizations.
3. Log in with your SHM/HMX username and password.
4. Get access to your discussions, contacts, private message inbox, and events calendar.

HMX in 3 Minutes or Less

More than 2,500 hospitalists have logged into HMX to share their experiences and ask questions on a wide variety of topics, from HM group practice management to clinical details about glycemic control.

New communities are being added regularly, so be sure to set up your account, sign up for customizable e-mail notifications, and check back regularly to follow your favorite discussions.

Have a question or idea for other hospitalists? Share it today.

Here’s how to get started. All you need are your SHM login credentials.

1. Go to www.hmxchange.org.
2. In the top right-hand corner, click the link that reads, “Login to see members only content.”
3. Enter your SHM login credentials and click login.
4. Now you’re logged in. On the right-hand side, you will find a box with a list of the various communities. Click on the community you would like to view and/or post in.
5. Click the “Discussions” tab and, on the right, click the square button that says “+ Post New Message.”
6. Compose your message with subject and body (and you can include an attachment if you want).
7. Click “Send.”

Hospitalists can now follow their favorite discussions on the go with the Member Centric app for HMX.

1. Go to your preferred app store and download “MemberCentric.”
2. Search for “Society of Hospital Medicine” in the list of organizations.
3. Log in with your SHM/HMX username and password.
4. Get access to your discussions, contacts, private message inbox, and events calendar.

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SHM asked leaders of the Hospital-Based Quality Improvement in Stroke Prevention for Patients with Atrial Fibrillation (AF) Project, Hiren Shah, MD, MBA, SFHM, and Andrew Masica, MD, SFHM, to provide an overview of the program.

“AF is a disease state that is highly prevalent, and the numbers are rising yearly. We also know that it is one of the most common inpatient diagnoses,” Dr. Shah says. “However, when you look at the quality of care provided to our AF patients, it is quite variable and has implications for other hospital performance metrics such as 30-day readmission rates. This makes AF a high-impact target for inpatient quality improvement initiatives.”

Dr. Shah is assistant professor of medicine at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine and medical director at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago. Dr. Masica is vice president of clinical effectiveness at Baylor Health Care System in Dallas.

The implementation guide for SHM’s AF project will be available later in December at www.hospitalmedicine.org/afib.

Question: What is the scope of your project?

Dr. Masica

Dr. Masica: That is a question we wrestled with. Numerous care processes related to AF are amenable to inpatient quality improvement. We chose to focus our efforts on stroke prevention in AF and the development of a toolkit to help hospital-based practitioners to assess stroke and bleeding risk consistently and, if indicated, to initiate antithrombotic therapy.

Dr. Shah: Along those lines, we know that at least 25% of AF-related strokes are potentially preventable with adherence to evidence-based care; however, current data indicate that only 50% to 60% of patients with AF who are eligible to receive antithrombotic therapy are on active stroke prophylaxis.

Q: Why do you think there are such large gaps in stroke prophylaxis for AF patients?

Dr. Masica: The prophylaxis decision requires the clinician to do an anticoagulation net-benefit and risk assessment, and although there are validated tools to do this type of assessment, use of these tools hasn’t yet become hardwired into daily hospital practice. Empiric clinical assessments often overestimate the bleed risk and underestimate stroke risk, so the ultimate result can be underuse of antithrombotic therapy.

“Ideally, we would like to start anticoagulation during the hospital stay or on discharge, if indicated, but even if we clearly communicate a patient’s stroke and bleed risk to the PCP on discharge, we can help ensure that this issue will be addressed on outpatient follow-up.”

–Dr. Shah

Dr. Shah: Another barrier is that in many hospitals, there are not reminders in place in our workflow for this assessment to happen at all. Hospitalists may think that the anticoagulation decision is an outpatient issue, better addressed by their primary care doctor, so it is sometimes even intentionally bypassed. Another barrier is that it takes time to discuss a patient’s values and preferences in the anticoagulation decision.

Q: But isn’t stroke prevention in AF more of an outpatient issue?

Dr. Shah: We think the hospital is a great place to start this evaluation and to make the anticoagulation decision. Of course, we should discuss these issues with the primary care doctor. Ideally, we would like to start anticoagulation during the hospital stay or on discharge, if indicated, but even if we clearly communicate a patient’s stroke and bleed risk to the PCP on discharge, we can help ensure that this issue will be addressed on outpatient follow-up.

Q: What specific tools for stroke and bleed risk are you referring to?

Dr. Shah: The CHADS2 scoring system is a well-validated tool for estimating the risk of stroke in AF patients, one that most clinicians may be aware of. The CHA2DS2-VASc is a slightly more refined scoring system. When it comes to bleeding, however, fewer clinicians are aware of the HAS-BLED bleeding risk assessment method.

Dr. Masica: The scoring systems represent a consistent, reproducible approach by which to evaluate inpatients with AF. Of course, there is some discretion for other patient-specific factors (e.g. fall risk) that are not captured in the scoring systems, but they are good starting points in the decision-making process. Finally and most importantly, although it is often overlooked, shared decision-making should take place with the patients, because their values in facing the risk of stroke versus bleeding often tip the balance one way or the other.

Q: How will the project help hospitals in this process?

Dr. Shah: We have written a QI Implementation Guide for hospitals with tools intended to improve the care of patients with AF in the hospital setting. This book will be similar to SHM’s VTE Prevention Implementation Guide, published a few years ago. We also will have an upcoming AF QI resource room within the SHM website. Additionally, similar to VTE, there are likely to be future mentored implementation projects where we will be working directly with hospitals and coaching them in this initiative.

Dr. Masica: We also have given a recent SHM-sponsored webinar that outlines some content of the guide. It can be accessed on the SHM website. This webinar reviews how to start a QI project in AF, assess your current state of care, build an interdisciplinary team, use validated tools, and deploy interventions to help make the stroke risk assessment and prophylaxis decision. I would note that the intended audience for these tools is broad and includes frontline hospitalists, QI directors, CMOs, and COOs, as well as nursing leadership, NPs, PAs, pharmacists, and other care providers.

Q: Does healthcare reform impact your efforts in this area?

Dr. Shah: Value-based purchasing, preventing readmissions, accountable care organizations, and bundled payments are all aspects of reform that will involve this therapeutic area, as their scope will impact the quality of care we deliver, how our cost structures are, and how we improve fragmentation of care across care transitions.

Dr. Masica: In addition, market forces, healthcare legislation, conceptual shifts regarding the need for systematic approaches to healthcare improvement, and new rules that may impact hospital reimbursement will continue to make AF an important healthcare quality issue. Thus, we think the discussion around delivering patient-centered care in AF is really just beginning.

Brendon Shank is SHM’s associate vice president of communications.

SHM asked leaders of the Hospital-Based Quality Improvement in Stroke Prevention for Patients with Atrial Fibrillation (AF) Project, Hiren Shah, MD, MBA, SFHM, and Andrew Masica, MD, SFHM, to provide an overview of the program.

“AF is a disease state that is highly prevalent, and the numbers are rising yearly. We also know that it is one of the most common inpatient diagnoses,” Dr. Shah says. “However, when you look at the quality of care provided to our AF patients, it is quite variable and has implications for other hospital performance metrics such as 30-day readmission rates. This makes AF a high-impact target for inpatient quality improvement initiatives.”

Dr. Shah is assistant professor of medicine at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine and medical director at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago. Dr. Masica is vice president of clinical effectiveness at Baylor Health Care System in Dallas.

The implementation guide for SHM’s AF project will be available later in December at www.hospitalmedicine.org/afib.

Question: What is the scope of your project?

Dr. Masica

Dr. Masica: That is a question we wrestled with. Numerous care processes related to AF are amenable to inpatient quality improvement. We chose to focus our efforts on stroke prevention in AF and the development of a toolkit to help hospital-based practitioners to assess stroke and bleeding risk consistently and, if indicated, to initiate antithrombotic therapy.

Dr. Shah: Along those lines, we know that at least 25% of AF-related strokes are potentially preventable with adherence to evidence-based care; however, current data indicate that only 50% to 60% of patients with AF who are eligible to receive antithrombotic therapy are on active stroke prophylaxis.

Q: Why do you think there are such large gaps in stroke prophylaxis for AF patients?

Dr. Masica: The prophylaxis decision requires the clinician to do an anticoagulation net-benefit and risk assessment, and although there are validated tools to do this type of assessment, use of these tools hasn’t yet become hardwired into daily hospital practice. Empiric clinical assessments often overestimate the bleed risk and underestimate stroke risk, so the ultimate result can be underuse of antithrombotic therapy.

“Ideally, we would like to start anticoagulation during the hospital stay or on discharge, if indicated, but even if we clearly communicate a patient’s stroke and bleed risk to the PCP on discharge, we can help ensure that this issue will be addressed on outpatient follow-up.”

–Dr. Shah

Dr. Shah: Another barrier is that in many hospitals, there are not reminders in place in our workflow for this assessment to happen at all. Hospitalists may think that the anticoagulation decision is an outpatient issue, better addressed by their primary care doctor, so it is sometimes even intentionally bypassed. Another barrier is that it takes time to discuss a patient’s values and preferences in the anticoagulation decision.

Q: But isn’t stroke prevention in AF more of an outpatient issue?

Dr. Shah: We think the hospital is a great place to start this evaluation and to make the anticoagulation decision. Of course, we should discuss these issues with the primary care doctor. Ideally, we would like to start anticoagulation during the hospital stay or on discharge, if indicated, but even if we clearly communicate a patient’s stroke and bleed risk to the PCP on discharge, we can help ensure that this issue will be addressed on outpatient follow-up.

Q: What specific tools for stroke and bleed risk are you referring to?

Dr. Shah: The CHADS2 scoring system is a well-validated tool for estimating the risk of stroke in AF patients, one that most clinicians may be aware of. The CHA2DS2-VASc is a slightly more refined scoring system. When it comes to bleeding, however, fewer clinicians are aware of the HAS-BLED bleeding risk assessment method.

Dr. Masica: The scoring systems represent a consistent, reproducible approach by which to evaluate inpatients with AF. Of course, there is some discretion for other patient-specific factors (e.g. fall risk) that are not captured in the scoring systems, but they are good starting points in the decision-making process. Finally and most importantly, although it is often overlooked, shared decision-making should take place with the patients, because their values in facing the risk of stroke versus bleeding often tip the balance one way or the other.

Q: How will the project help hospitals in this process?

Dr. Shah: We have written a QI Implementation Guide for hospitals with tools intended to improve the care of patients with AF in the hospital setting. This book will be similar to SHM’s VTE Prevention Implementation Guide, published a few years ago. We also will have an upcoming AF QI resource room within the SHM website. Additionally, similar to VTE, there are likely to be future mentored implementation projects where we will be working directly with hospitals and coaching them in this initiative.

Dr. Masica: We also have given a recent SHM-sponsored webinar that outlines some content of the guide. It can be accessed on the SHM website. This webinar reviews how to start a QI project in AF, assess your current state of care, build an interdisciplinary team, use validated tools, and deploy interventions to help make the stroke risk assessment and prophylaxis decision. I would note that the intended audience for these tools is broad and includes frontline hospitalists, QI directors, CMOs, and COOs, as well as nursing leadership, NPs, PAs, pharmacists, and other care providers.

Q: Does healthcare reform impact your efforts in this area?

Dr. Shah: Value-based purchasing, preventing readmissions, accountable care organizations, and bundled payments are all aspects of reform that will involve this therapeutic area, as their scope will impact the quality of care we deliver, how our cost structures are, and how we improve fragmentation of care across care transitions.

Dr. Masica: In addition, market forces, healthcare legislation, conceptual shifts regarding the need for systematic approaches to healthcare improvement, and new rules that may impact hospital reimbursement will continue to make AF an important healthcare quality issue. Thus, we think the discussion around delivering patient-centered care in AF is really just beginning.

Brendon Shank is SHM’s associate vice president of communications.

SHM asked leaders of the Hospital-Based Quality Improvement in Stroke Prevention for Patients with Atrial Fibrillation (AF) Project, Hiren Shah, MD, MBA, SFHM, and Andrew Masica, MD, SFHM, to provide an overview of the program.

“AF is a disease state that is highly prevalent, and the numbers are rising yearly. We also know that it is one of the most common inpatient diagnoses,” Dr. Shah says. “However, when you look at the quality of care provided to our AF patients, it is quite variable and has implications for other hospital performance metrics such as 30-day readmission rates. This makes AF a high-impact target for inpatient quality improvement initiatives.”

Dr. Shah is assistant professor of medicine at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine and medical director at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago. Dr. Masica is vice president of clinical effectiveness at Baylor Health Care System in Dallas.

The implementation guide for SHM’s AF project will be available later in December at www.hospitalmedicine.org/afib.

Question: What is the scope of your project?

Dr. Masica

Dr. Masica: That is a question we wrestled with. Numerous care processes related to AF are amenable to inpatient quality improvement. We chose to focus our efforts on stroke prevention in AF and the development of a toolkit to help hospital-based practitioners to assess stroke and bleeding risk consistently and, if indicated, to initiate antithrombotic therapy.

Dr. Shah: Along those lines, we know that at least 25% of AF-related strokes are potentially preventable with adherence to evidence-based care; however, current data indicate that only 50% to 60% of patients with AF who are eligible to receive antithrombotic therapy are on active stroke prophylaxis.

Q: Why do you think there are such large gaps in stroke prophylaxis for AF patients?

Dr. Masica: The prophylaxis decision requires the clinician to do an anticoagulation net-benefit and risk assessment, and although there are validated tools to do this type of assessment, use of these tools hasn’t yet become hardwired into daily hospital practice. Empiric clinical assessments often overestimate the bleed risk and underestimate stroke risk, so the ultimate result can be underuse of antithrombotic therapy.

“Ideally, we would like to start anticoagulation during the hospital stay or on discharge, if indicated, but even if we clearly communicate a patient’s stroke and bleed risk to the PCP on discharge, we can help ensure that this issue will be addressed on outpatient follow-up.”

–Dr. Shah

Dr. Shah: Another barrier is that in many hospitals, there are not reminders in place in our workflow for this assessment to happen at all. Hospitalists may think that the anticoagulation decision is an outpatient issue, better addressed by their primary care doctor, so it is sometimes even intentionally bypassed. Another barrier is that it takes time to discuss a patient’s values and preferences in the anticoagulation decision.

Q: But isn’t stroke prevention in AF more of an outpatient issue?

Dr. Shah: We think the hospital is a great place to start this evaluation and to make the anticoagulation decision. Of course, we should discuss these issues with the primary care doctor. Ideally, we would like to start anticoagulation during the hospital stay or on discharge, if indicated, but even if we clearly communicate a patient’s stroke and bleed risk to the PCP on discharge, we can help ensure that this issue will be addressed on outpatient follow-up.

Q: What specific tools for stroke and bleed risk are you referring to?

Dr. Shah: The CHADS2 scoring system is a well-validated tool for estimating the risk of stroke in AF patients, one that most clinicians may be aware of. The CHA2DS2-VASc is a slightly more refined scoring system. When it comes to bleeding, however, fewer clinicians are aware of the HAS-BLED bleeding risk assessment method.

Dr. Masica: The scoring systems represent a consistent, reproducible approach by which to evaluate inpatients with AF. Of course, there is some discretion for other patient-specific factors (e.g. fall risk) that are not captured in the scoring systems, but they are good starting points in the decision-making process. Finally and most importantly, although it is often overlooked, shared decision-making should take place with the patients, because their values in facing the risk of stroke versus bleeding often tip the balance one way or the other.

Q: How will the project help hospitals in this process?

Dr. Shah: We have written a QI Implementation Guide for hospitals with tools intended to improve the care of patients with AF in the hospital setting. This book will be similar to SHM’s VTE Prevention Implementation Guide, published a few years ago. We also will have an upcoming AF QI resource room within the SHM website. Additionally, similar to VTE, there are likely to be future mentored implementation projects where we will be working directly with hospitals and coaching them in this initiative.

Dr. Masica: We also have given a recent SHM-sponsored webinar that outlines some content of the guide. It can be accessed on the SHM website. This webinar reviews how to start a QI project in AF, assess your current state of care, build an interdisciplinary team, use validated tools, and deploy interventions to help make the stroke risk assessment and prophylaxis decision. I would note that the intended audience for these tools is broad and includes frontline hospitalists, QI directors, CMOs, and COOs, as well as nursing leadership, NPs, PAs, pharmacists, and other care providers.

Q: Does healthcare reform impact your efforts in this area?

Dr. Shah: Value-based purchasing, preventing readmissions, accountable care organizations, and bundled payments are all aspects of reform that will involve this therapeutic area, as their scope will impact the quality of care we deliver, how our cost structures are, and how we improve fragmentation of care across care transitions.

Dr. Masica: In addition, market forces, healthcare legislation, conceptual shifts regarding the need for systematic approaches to healthcare improvement, and new rules that may impact hospital reimbursement will continue to make AF an important healthcare quality issue. Thus, we think the discussion around delivering patient-centered care in AF is really just beginning.

Brendon Shank is SHM’s associate vice president of communications.

For more information, visit www.hospitalmedicine.org/leadership.

This issue of The Hospitalist features many hospitalists who have honed their leadership skills and ascended to leadership levels within their hospitals. Now is the time for aspiring hospitalists everywhere to make plans for the 2014 Leadership Academy.

SHM’s intensive series of four-day courses in effective leadership sold out early in 2013, and next year’s Leadership Academy will be presented in Honolulu in November, so it’s not too early to register and make travel arrangements.

The three courses presented in SHM’s Leadership Academy are:

• Foundations of Effective Leadership
• Advanced Leadership: Personal Leadership Excellence
• Advanced Leadership: Strengthening Your Organization

For more information, visit www.hospitalmedicine.org/leadership.

This issue of The Hospitalist features many hospitalists who have honed their leadership skills and ascended to leadership levels within their hospitals. Now is the time for aspiring hospitalists everywhere to make plans for the 2014 Leadership Academy.

SHM’s intensive series of four-day courses in effective leadership sold out early in 2013, and next year’s Leadership Academy will be presented in Honolulu in November, so it’s not too early to register and make travel arrangements.

The three courses presented in SHM’s Leadership Academy are:

• Foundations of Effective Leadership
• Advanced Leadership: Personal Leadership Excellence
• Advanced Leadership: Strengthening Your Organization

For more information, visit www.hospitalmedicine.org/leadership.

This issue of The Hospitalist features many hospitalists who have honed their leadership skills and ascended to leadership levels within their hospitals. Now is the time for aspiring hospitalists everywhere to make plans for the 2014 Leadership Academy.

SHM’s intensive series of four-day courses in effective leadership sold out early in 2013, and next year’s Leadership Academy will be presented in Honolulu in November, so it’s not too early to register and make travel arrangements.

The three courses presented in SHM’s Leadership Academy are:

• Foundations of Effective Leadership
• Advanced Leadership: Personal Leadership Excellence
• Advanced Leadership: Strengthening Your Organization