Unintentional medication discrepancies are common and more often due to errors taking an accurate medication history than errors reconciling this history with patient orders. Focusing on accurate medication histories, on potential medication errors at discharge, and on identifying high-risk patients for more intensive interventions may improve medication safety during and after hospitalization.

A computerized medication reconciliation tool and process redesign were associated with a decrease in unintentional medication discrepancies with potential for patient harm. Software integration issues are likely important for successful implementation of computerized medication reconciliation tools.

We summarized the recently published, peer-reviewed literature that examined the impact of investments in social services or investments in integrated models of health care and social services on health outcomes and health care spending. Of 39 articles that met criteria for inclusion in the review, 32 (82%) reported some significant positive effects on either health outcomes (N = 20), health care costs (N = 5), or both (N = 7). Of the remaining 7 (18%) studies, 3 had non-significant results, 2 had mixed results, and 2 had negative results in which the interventions were associated with poorer health outcomes. Our analysis of the literature indicates that several interventions in the areas of housing, income support, nutrition support, and care coordination and community outreach have had positive impact in terms of health improvements or health care spending reductions. These interventions may be of interest to health care policymakers and practitioners seeking to leverage social services to improve health or reduce costs. Further testing of models that achieve better outcomes at less cost is needed.

Although spending rates on health care and social services vary substantially across the states, little is known about the possible association between variation in state-level health outcomes and the allocation of state spending between health care and social services. To estimate that association, we used state-level repeated measures multivariable modeling for the period 2000-09, with region and time fixed effects adjusted for total spending and state demographic and economic characteristics and with one- and two-year lags. We found that states with a higher ratio of social to health spending (calculated as the sum of social service spending and public health spending divided by the sum of Medicare spending and Medicaid spending) had significantly better subsequent health outcomes for the following seven measures: adult obesity; asthma; mentally unhealthy days; days with activity limitations; and mortality rates for lung cancer, acute myocardial infarction, and type 2 diabetes. Our study suggests that broadening the debate beyond what should be spent on health care to include what should be invested in health-not only in health care but also in social services and public health-is warranted.

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BACKGROUND:Inpatient hyperglycemia is associated with poor patient outcomes. It is unknown how best to implement glycemic management strategies in the non–intensive care unit (ICU) setting.OBJECTIVE:To determine the effects of a multifaceted quality improvement intervention on the management of medical inpatients with diabetes mellitus or hyperglycemia.DESIGN:Before‐after trial.SETTING:Geographically localized general medical service staffed by physician's assistants (PAs) and hospitalists.PATIENTS:Consecutively enrolled patients with type 2 diabetes or inpatient hyperglycemia.INTERVENTION:A detailed subcutaneous insulin protocol, an admission order set built into the hospital's computerized order entry system, and case‐based educational workshops and lectures to nurses, physicians, and PAs.MEASUREMENTS:Mean percent of glucose readings per patient between 60 and 180 mg/dL; percent patient‐days with hypoglycemia; insulin use patterns; and hospital length of stay.RESULTS:The mean percent of readings per patient between 60 and 180 mg/dL was 59% prior to the intervention and 65% afterward (adjusted effect size 9.7%; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.6%‐18.8%). The percent of patient days with any hypoglycemia was 5.5% preintervention and 6.1% afterward (adjusted odds ratio 1.1; 95% CI, 0.6–2.1). Use of scheduled nutritional insulin increased from 40% to 75% (odds ratio 4.5; 95% CI, 2.0–9.9) and adjusted length of stay decreased by 25% (95% CI, 9%‐44%). Daily insulin adjustment did not improve, nor did glucose control beyond hospital day 3.CONCLUSIONS:This multifaceted intervention, which was easy to implement and required minimal resources, was associated with improvements in both insulin ordering practices and glycemic control among non‐ICU medical patients. Journal of Hospital Medicine 2009;4:16–27. © 2009 Society of Hospital Medicine.

Interactive discussion groups focused on lifestyle modification and disease management should be created for patients to learn more about their diseases. Future research evaluating the effectiveness of interactive diabetes and hypertension groups that apply patient racial/ethnic traditions should be considered.

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