I watch in amazement at the many physician groups who are deciding that they will just let the hospitalists care for the patients. This observer assumes that they see the hospitalists doing the H&P and D/C summary, allowing them to just do their procedure.
Too often we see patients return after a procedure and have the proceduralist refuse readmission, deferring instead to the hospitalist group.
This attitude has impacted our teaching services also. We function as a hospitalist type service and have seen an increasing number of patients that traditionally would have gone to other services.
I commented thus:
Great post. That is exactly what's happening. There are multiple reasons, but the leadership of organized hospital medicine is largely to blame. They are promoting hospitalists as utility players. The trend will not reverse without a change in the direction of hospitalist leadership.
1 comment:
I am not certain that I agree with your assessment of leadership of organized hospital medicine on this issue.
There is an ongoing and very robust debate about the role and value of co-management of surgical and other "non-medical" patients by hospitalists.
I have absolutely been to national meetings for hospital medicine where the "hospital as utility infielder" paradigm is reported as happening; however, I have not observed any consensus of approval of this use of hospitalists.
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