Description

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The first book designed specifically for hospitalists and other hospital-based staff who need concise, evidence-based guidance on the vital topic of caring for older hospitalized patients

Hospitalists' Guide to the Care of Older Patients is an up-to-date, practical reference in geriatric medicine for hospitalists, as well as other physicians and nurses working in the hospital setting. The book uses numerous tables, figures, and images to highlight the areas of geriatric medicine that are most relevant to hospitalists.

Written by nationally recognized experts, chapters broadly follow the course of hospitalization, from admission through daily care and active management of the transition to post-hospital settings, providing practical, evidence-based guidance at each point. Contents include:

• A systematic approach to the care of older patients, emphasizing clinical skills and daily activities that can be implemented in today's hospital environment
• Techniques for effective communication with patients and their caregivers
• Tools and "pearls" for quickly and accurately assessing the whole patient, including risk for in-hospital complications, function, decision-making capacity, and home support
• Best practices for prevention and management of the complications of hospitalization, including delirium, falls, pressure ulcers, and hip fractures
• Specific recommendations in areas with wide practice variation, such as psychopharmacology and nutrition in older hospitalized patients
• Practical guidance on complex issues, such as establishing goals of care, managing patients who lack decision-making capacity, and managing the discharge transition
• Methods to improve the daily work and communication of the whole hospital team, including physicians, nurses, and other healthcare providers

As the population ages, hospitalists are caring for an increasing number of older patients. This book helps hospitalists expand their knowledge, incorporate key clinical skills into daily practice, build more efficient patient care teams, and teach more effectively in today's fast-paced, complex hospital environment.

About the Author

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Brent C. Williams, MD, MPH, is an Associate Professor in the Divisions of Geriatric Medicine and General Medicine in the Department of Internal Medicine at the University of Michigan. A practicing general internist and geriatrician, Dr. Williams' research and publications relate to medical education, faculty development, and health care for older adults. Author of over 50 peer-reviewed publications, he has served as Deputy Editor of the Journal of General Internal Medicine. Dr. Williams is currently Medical Director of the University of Michigan Complex Care Management Program. Preeti N. Malani, MD, MSJ, is an Associate Professor of Medicine in the Divisions of Geriatric Medicine and Infectious Diseases at the University of Michigan and a Research Scientist at the Veterans Affairs Ann Arbor Healthcare System's Geriatric Research Education and Clinical Center. Dr. Malani's clinical and research interests include infections in older adults and inpatient geriatric consultation. She serves as an Associate Editor of the journal Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology as well as Deputy Editor of Clinical Infectious Diseases. Dr. Malani is also a coeditor of the recently published 3rd edition of Practical Healthcare Epidemiology. David H. Wesorick, MD, FHM, is an Assistant Professor in the Division of General Medicine in the Department of Internal Medicine at the University of Michigan. He is a practicing hospitalist and a clinical educator. He has written several practical articles and textbook chapters, directed at a hospitalist audience, on topics including diabetes management and perioperative management. He has also been active in hospitalist quality improvement at the national level with the Society of Hospital Medicine.