Hospital Medicine
Josiah Halm, M.D.
Department Chair Ad Interim
As the largest inpatient service at MD Anderson, the Hospital Medicine department serves on the front line, treating and managing acutely ill hospitalized cancer patients and survivors. Our department also provides care for nearly all COVID-positive and COVID rule-out inpatients at our institution.
Our team consists of physicians, advanced practice providers, pharmacists, onco-hospital fellow, internal medicine residents and administrative staff. We work collaboratively with our oncologists, consultants, case managers, social workers and other ancillary services to deliver exceptional care that is coordinated across departments and disciplines.
Our goal is to provide patient-centered care that is safe, timely, efficient, effective and equitable for the hospitalized cancer patient and survivor while also excelling at educating medical students, residents, fellows and advance practice providers.
We strive to be a world leader in onco-hospital medicine through advancing our specialty in areas of patient care, quality improvement, education and research in the care of the hospitalized cancer patient and survivor.
Who we serve
Hospitalist Medicine is the largest inpatient service at MD Anderson, serving largely the solid tumor services including:
- Thoracic/Head and Neck Medical Oncology
- Gastrointestinal Medical Oncology
- Endocrine Neoplasia and Hormonal Disorders
- Dermatology
- New patients with suspected cancer
- Radiation-only patients
- Complicated medical patients from surgical services
- Breast Medical Oncology
- Myeloma
- Nocturnal Services
- COVID-19 patients
Plans are underway for the department to expand its inpatient care to patients with breast cancer, primary brain tumors with medical problems and transfers from our Houston-area locations.
Programs and initiatives
Clinical programs
- Geographic Rounding Initiative
- Medication Reconciliation Initiatives: Hospital Medicine and Institution
- I-PASS Handoff Initiative
- Institutional Taskforce on COVID Care
- Goals of Care
- Program to implement ultrasound in clinical care and education
- Observation (short stays)
- High Length of Stay
- End-of-Life Care
Research: Outcomes, support and collaboration
- Multiple collaborative studies in COVID patients:
- Impact on hospitalization outcomes
- Convalescent plasma
- Tocilizumab (anti-IL-6 monoclonal)
- Anakinra (IL-1 receptor antagonist)
- Risk scoring for hospital readmissions
- Optimizing transitions in care (e.g. I-PASS)
- IOTOX management algorithms
Quality and safety
- Improving safety and quality of care for hospitalized patients
- Utilizing the Safety Culture Survey to drill down to specific areas of improvement
- Developing specific quality improvement initiatives
- Awarded the 2020 Internal Medicine division Excellence in Quality Award for collaboration with the MD Anderson Track PGY-2 class on their quality project, “Implementation of Handoff Tool I-Pass in the General Internal Medicine Hospitalist Group”
- Clinical Safety and Effectiveness participation and certification
- Development of metrics/dashboard to track key metrics
- Multiple projects done and ongoing:
- VTE
- Glycemic control
- Readmissions
- Improving discharge time and handoffs
- Patient experience - HCAHPS
Education
The Hospitalist Medicine department is dedicated to teaching and career development of medical students, fellows, and other graduate students. Efforts in these areas include:
- Onco-Hospitalist Fellowship Program
- Inpatient rotation for MDA-Baylor residency Program and UT resident evening swing shift rotation
In addition, the department actively participates in:
- Educational lecture Series
- Challenging Cases
- Journal Club Series
- Monthly “Value” Morning Report
- Internal Medicine division Grand Rounds
Contact Information
Academic Office
Unit 1465
1400 Pressler St.
Houston, TX 77030
Phone: 713-745-4516
Fax: 713-563-4491
Onco-Hospitalist Fellowship
This one- to two-year training program is focused on developing the skills necessary for a successful career as an Academic Oncology Hospitalist.