The March issue of ACP Internist is online and coming to your mailbox

The March issue of ACP Internist features the following stories:

Start with bloodwork to diagnose anemia. Anemia is fairly common, but its many etiologies complicate diagnosis. It affects more than one in five black and Hispanic people, one in 10 seniors and one in five of those over the age of 85. Learn how to fine-tune the diagnosis to best help patients.

New research links empathy to outcomes. Everyone wants to have a physician who understands what he or she is feeling, but it's not just about human contact; better clinical outcomes can result from physician empathy.

Decision-making rules for diagnosing PE may save lives. Early detection of pulmonary embolism is critical, which puts the primary care internist on the front lines of preventing a patient's continual deterioration that culminates in death. Patients are as likely to present in the office with symptoms as they are at the emergency department.

Take our poll on what factors are the primary driver of patient readmissions to the hospital within 30 days. And Test Yourself with the MKSAP Quiz on the most appropriate diagnostic test for a 45-year-old woman evaluated in the emergency department for headache and impaired consciousness.