
Sharif Vakili, MD, MBA, MS
Clinical Assistant Professor, Medicine - Primary Care and Population Health
Bio
Sharif Vakili, MD, MBA, MS, (pronouns: he/him), is an internal medicine physician and educator. He practices at Stanford Los Altos Primary Care.
Dr. Vakili has a background in chronic disease management and health systems delivery, believing strongly in a teamwork approach to patient care that empowers patients to navigate the health system as part of their clinical care.
He is active in the research and business communities. His research has been in peer-reviewed journals including the Annals of Emergency Medicine, Quality Management in Healthcare, and Journal of Clinical Rheumatology.
Clinical Focus
- Internal Medicine
Professional Education
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Residency: Stanford University Internal Medicine Residency (2022) CA
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MD, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
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Board Certification: American Board of Internal Medicine, Internal Medicine (2022)
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MBA, Harvard Business School
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MS, Yale University
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BS, Yale University
All Publications
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The Inpatient Discharge Lounge as a Potential Mechanism to Mitigate Emergency Department Boarding and Crowding.
Annals of emergency medicine
2020
Abstract
Delayed access to inpatient beds for admitted patients contributes significantly to emergency department (ED) boarding and crowding, which have been associated with deleterious patient safety effects. To expedite inpatient bed availability, some hospitals have implemented discharge lounges, allowing discharged patients to depart their inpatient rooms while awaiting completion of the discharge process or transportation. This conceptual article synthesizes the evidence related to discharge lounge implementation practices and outcomes. Using a conceptual synthesis approach, we reviewed the medical and gray literature related to discharge lounges by querying PubMed, Google Scholar, and Google and undertaking backward reference searching. We screened for articles either providing detailed accounts of discharge lounge implementations or offering conceptual analysis on the subject. Most of the evidence we identified was in the gray literature, with only 3 peer-reviewed articles focusing on discharge lounge implementations. Articles generally encompassed single-site descriptive case studies or expert opinions. Significant heterogeneity exists in discharge lounge objectives, features, and apparent influence on patient flow. Although common barriers to discharge lounge performance have been documented, including underuse and care team objections, limited generalizable solutions are offered. Overall, discharge lounges are widely endorsed as a mechanism to accelerate access to inpatient beds, yet the limited available evidence indicates wide variation in design and performance. Further rigorous investigation is required to identify the circumstances under which discharge lounges should be deployed, and how discharge lounges should be designed to maximize their effect on hospitalwide patient flow, ED boarding and crowding, and other targeted outcomes.
View details for DOI 10.1016/j.annemergmed.2019.12.002
View details for PubMedID 31983501