“I am in the operating room for 5 hours at a time. If a nurse calls to report that one of my patients has developed post-op dizziness or chest pain, I might not be able to see him for 2 hours,” he says. Hospitalists have both the expertise and the availability to address medical issues in a timelier manner and expedite recovery time.
Additionally, Trousdale admits that, although he is quite familiar with the intricacies of the musculoskeletal system, he is less certain of the necessary tests a patient might need post-operatively. “We might take a ‘shotgun’ approach and order 15 expensive tests, which is an unnecessary use of the hospital’s resources,” he says (4).
Jeanne Huddleston, MD, director of the Inpatient Internal Medicine Program at Mayo Clinic and assistant professor of medicine at the Mayo College of Medicine, led a study to determine the impact hospitalists have on the co-management of patients having hip and knee surgery. The findings, published in 2004, reveal that of 526 patients in the study, more of those managed by hospitalist-orthopedic teams were discharged with no complications (61.6% for hospitalist-orthopedic teams vs. 48.8% for traditional orthopedic surgical teams). Only 30.2% of patients co-managed by hospitalists experienced minor complications, while 44.3% of patients managed by traditional orthopedic surgical teams had similar difficulties. Huddleston notes also that most orthopedic surgeons and nurses responding to a satisfaction survey preferred the hospitalist orthopedic model (5).
click for large version
click for large version
Hospitalists and Emergency Department Physicians
Brent R. Asplin, MD, MPH, research director in the department of emergency medicine at Regions Hospital in St. Paul, Minnesota, cites three ways in which hospitalists positively affect the emergency department (ED): through extraordinary availability, consistent and reliable care, and their focus on the hospital. “Hospitalists are available 24 hours a day,” he says. “It’s nice to know when you send a patient to the floor, there is an experienced physician in-house to take care of them. You do not have to try to reach a PCP on the phone.” He reports that capacity is a major problem for EDs. Bottlenecks result when there are patients who are ready to be admitted from the ED but must wait for other patients to be discharged. Hospitalists are always available to maintain a smooth patient flow and facilitate throughput, according to Asplin.
As a group, hospitalists adhere to a consistent approach to patient care. Once a patient is admitted, efficient, reliable in-house care will ensure a quick recovery and discharge. Asplin says, “Hospitalists are more likely to embrace clinical pathways for the most common clinical diagnoses. This reduces variability across the board and increases patient outcome and flow.” Also, hospitalists focus exclusively on inpatient care, enabling them to devote all their attention to servicing the patient while they are hospitalized without the distractions that might divert a PCP’s concentration. Asplin says, “Regarding clinical care, operations, and quality improvement, it helps to have a group dedicated and focused on the hospital” (6).
In teaching hospitals, residents also benefit from the presence of hospitalists. According to Barbara LeTourneau, MD, an ED physician and professional physician executive consultant also based at Regions, residents have the continuous supervision of experienced practitioners who can answer questions and teach on an ongoing basis. “With hospitalists there is much quicker and better patient care,” she says.
In her role as administrator, LeTourneau has an historical perspective on the delivery of inpatient care at her hospital. Prior to the implementation of hospital medicine programs, positive changes took a longer period of time to reach agreement and execution, she reports. “Having hospitalists here provides one group of experienced physicians who see a large percentage of patients,” says LeTourneau. Managing a significant caseload enables the hospitalist to understand the system in depth. “Hospitalists can provide good feedback and make it easier to implement necessary changes,” LeTourneau says (7) (Table 1, page 26).