A hospitalist is a medical professional who specializes in hospital medicine, which means they are trained to provide comprehensive care to patients. Hospitalists also work as administrators who strive to improve efficiency, quality of care and the health care consumer satisfaction levels.
Hospital Medicine
Hospital medicine is a unique type of medical practice within internal medicine that concentrates on clinically caring for hospitalized patients. Most physician internists are referred to as hospitalists, but hospitalists are not required to be internists. The field of hospital medicine was developed because of the increasing number of patients who require long-term hospital care. Without hospital medicine management, physician workloads are high and care systems are overloaded.
The traditional model of temporarily caring for hospitalized patients limits the ability of physicians to provide the comprehensive care that is often required by patients. By focusing their practice on a select group of patients, hospitalists gain highly specialized knowledge in niche areas, which means they are able to provide efficient and evidence-based patient and family-centered care. The most important aspect of hospital medicine is that physicians must collaborate and communicate with each other to ensure continuity of care.
Hospital Medicine Models
There are actually many hospital medicine practice models. One of the most common models involves physicians working for one to two weeks straight, which is followed by a similar amount of time off. This allows for the continuity of patient care through alternating dedicated physicians, while also allowing them adequate time to decompress from providing intensive inpatient care for extended periods of time. The only drawback is that the quality of care may slip when physicians approach the two-week mark.
Depending on the hospital, there are other practice variations available for hospitalists. Some hospitalists categorize hospital medicine based on their preferences. For instance, some hospitalists primarily work overnight, who are referred to as nocturnists, while others only care for critically ill patients, who are referred to as intensivists. Some hospitalists provide inpatient services, but others only work with referred patients from within the practice.
Job Description
Hospitalists may be assigned to work in admission, care or discharge departments. They must promote high quality and cost effective care that is based on the best medical research. Some hospitalists are expected to teach intern or residency programs, but this generally only takes six to eight hours a week. They will be expected to maintain departmental standards, utilize care management initiatives and participate in hospital committees as needed. Hospitalists also support data collection activities that assess patient care and satisfaction.
Senior hospitalists may act as academic chiefs for their hospital division. These physicians will work as members of the executive leadership team. They must have demonstrated clinical, research, teaching, administrative and quality improvement skills. They are responsible to lead and oversee their division through teaching and mentoring residents as well as promoting development. Senior hospitalists will be expected to be graduates of nationally ranked medical school with active state medical licenses. Most hospitalists are board eligible or board certified in internal medicine.
Those who want to become a hospitalist can learn more through popular professional societies, such as the American College of Physicians, Society of Hospital Medicine or the Society of General Internal Medicine.
