In this excerpt from a recent issue of our Health After 50 newsletter, Leonard Feldman, M.D., Assistant Professor and Hospitalist, discusses the role of the hospitalist – a physician employed by the hospital who spends most of his or her time treating hospitalized patients.
Health After 50: Why was the hospitalist specialty system created?
Dr. Feldman: It's very difficult for primary care physicians (PCPs) to keep up with office visits and still provide rigorous care to their sickest patients who are hospitalized. This is even more challenging when patients have multiple medical conditions.
One of the most important functions of a hospitalist is transitioning patients between healthcare settings. This transfer requires coordinating tests tests, lab work, and medicines and conferring with other doctors, specialists, social workers, and case managers. For instance, many of our patients at Johns Hopkins need physical rehabilitation or nursing-home care. Ideally, the hospitalist system is designed to deal with these transitions in a timely and seamless manner.
Health After 50: How do patients know if they are going to be treated by a hospitalist?
Dr. Feldman: Patients should ask their PCPs. Doctors often have different arrangements with various hospitals. At Johns Hopkins, for instance, very few local physicians have practice privileges at the hospital unless they're also employed by Hopkins. If you are treated here, then, you most likely will be cared for by a hospitalist. Some hospitals do not have any hospitalists, while others have a hybrid system in which both hospitalists and outside physicians provide care.
Health After 50: Can the quality of care suffer when patients are treated by someone other than their regular physician?
Dr. Feldman: Many people are initially concerned when they first encounter a hospitalist, but concern usually subsides once they see the level of care we provide to our patients.
Hospitalists are typically on-site 24 hours a day and can respond immediately to any new problems that may arise. Often when you are in the care of your PCP, you must wait for him or her to come in during afternoon rounds. Hospitalists see patients first thing every morning, so your needs are addressed sooner, and if you are getting better, the discharge process can often begin earlier. Overall, I think that hospitalists are able to respond to the acute needs of patients at a much faster pace.
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
- Society of Hospital Medicine
www.hospitalmedicine.org
800-843-3360
- The Johns Hopkins Hospitalist Program
www.hopkinsmedicine.org/gim/training/hospitalist.html
410-955-5000
