The fastest-growing medical specialists in the United States are not dermatologists or weight loss surgeons. They are what is known as "hospitalists," a type of Dr. Marcus Welby for the managed-care age. If you find yourself in an emergency room and need long-term care during your stay, hospitalists step in to make your life easier.
"Our mission is to care for those patients who have had disjointed care," says Dr. Bradley Flansbaum, a hospitalist from New York City. "Many patients who come in our emergency room are indigent and do not have their own doctors."
Hospitalists are board certified doctors who perform a range of duties, from helping to explain complex medical procedures to communicating on a patient's behalf to a busy hospital staff.
"We keep our colleagues well informed about their patients' health conditions throughout their hospital stays," says Dr. Sally Petito, a hospitalist at St. John's Mercy Hospital in St. Louis, Missouri.
The idea to create a group of separate hospital-based physicians began to take shape during the early 1990s, as managed care health insurers put greater demands on physicians. With the decision by hospitals to reduce high costs by cutting back on personnel and services, there were increasing concerns about patient safety and communication lapses that impacted the continuity of care.
But hospitalists are quickly filling the gap. According to the Society of Hospital Medicine, there are currently 12,000 board-certified hospitalists with the amount expected to rise.
Recent studies by universities in California and Iowa show hospitalists have made a positive influence on health. They focus their attention on caring for patients who do not have their own doctors, producing good results at lower costs.
Health
Patient satisfaction is improved, and communication with the family is also better. In addition, hospitalists have reduced the length of hospital stays, as they oversee discharge planning and act as the lead contact between hospitals and home care agencies.
From groups of doctors who began a new medical specialty within community hospitals less than ten years ago, hospitalists are well established among medical communities and are familiar to some consumer groups across the country. A viable and needed group of medical professionals, hospitalists have arrived—and they are here to stay.
