RESUMEN
Like all healthcare professionals, hospitalists are at risk for burnout, and COVID-19 has made burnout symptoms worse, according to survey data of hospitalists at Mayo Clinic sites.1 Burnout is destructive;it is associated with shorter lifespan, depression, staff turnover, medical errors, and high costs to healthcare systems.2-6 Hospitalists, as leaders of healthcare teams in the hospital setting, also face personal risk in caring for hospitalized patients during the pandemic. At one New York City health system, hospital leaders fostered the emotional well-being of staff with individual and group counseling sessions, respite rooms, wellness rounds, assistance with transportation, childcare, and temporary lodging.7 A culture committee at Stanford University created several initiatives to address the needs of healthcare workers, including obtaining donations of masks and gift cards, providing snacks, and creating safe social interactions through podcasts and virtual gatherings.8 Others have offered workshops on mind-body practices.9 We report on a simple, low-cost effort led by wellness physician champions to directly support the well-being of frontline hospitalists at a large academic medical center: the personal interview. With the backing of the larger Health System Wellness Committee, which had identified wellness champion leaders early in the pandemic, we embarked on a variety of hospital medicine wellness activities. Hospitalists are accustomed to talking on the phone;they respond to pages by contacting patient care nurses and other staff by phone;they discuss patient care with consultants via phone;they update patients' families by phone;and, importantly, they sign out to oncoming teammates by phone. Because of the severe restrictions placed on social interactions, these essential exchanges with hospitalist teammates were now, at times, taking place between teammates who had never met.
RESUMEN
The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has had harmful effects on the opioid epidemic. While a negative effect was predicted, we report on this reality in the hospital setting. We have seen a sharp rise in hospitalized patients with opioid use disorder (OUD). Our data should encourage ongoing efforts to reduce barriers in accessing medications for treatment, harm reduction interventions and additional education for trainees, primary care providers, and hospitalists alike. In the current climate, these interventions are critical to save the lives of patients with OUD.