Marion County Medical Center Implements Hospitalist Program

05/16/2007

Hospitalists are the fastest growing specialty in medicine, with more than 7,000 hospitalists today, the number is expected to nearly triple by the year 2010. In an effort to improve the efficiency and quality of care for patients potentially requiring admission, hospitals all over the U.S. have developed and recognized a newly designated ‘hospitalist’ position. A hospitalist is a physician with special skills and interest in the management of patients who require inpatient care. Their role is to visit the patient in the ER, determine the need for admission, provide primary care for that patient during the period of hospitalization and plan the transition of care following discharge. Depending on the complexity and services needed, one hospitalist has the ability to provide care for up to 20 inpatients. For patients, these innovative programs are used successfully in hundreds of American hospitals to help allow constant care and communication. Thus, improving the quality and efficiency of care and reducing the amount of time the patient has to receive inpatient care.  Studies have shown that hospitalist programs can reduce the lengths of stay by more than 30 percent and hospital costs by up to 20 percent. Dr. Robert M. Wachter coined the term “hospitalist”.  According to Dr. Wachter, “advantages to the hospitalist role include increased availability to hospitalized patients, greater hospital experience and expertise and an increased commitment to hospital quality improvement projects as compared with primary physicians.” A new organization, the National Association of Inpatient Physicians (NAIP), co founded by Drs. Winthrop Whitcomb and John Nelson, estimates that up to 30,000 hospitalist may be employed nationally over time.  At this time, 35 percent of hosptalist are employed by a medical group, 23 percent by a hospital and 14 percent by a managed care organization.   Hospitalists have become increasingly popular in regions with high levels of managed care.  The American Medical News, September 4, 2000, quoted Arnold Milstein, MD, “using hospitalist results in ‘actual, measurable quality gains’.” Marion County Medical Center continues to establish themselves as one of the leading local hospitals for innovation and technology.  Plans for a hospitalist program are currently in development at Marion County Medical Center and implementation is planned to begin in the next few months. “Here at Marion County Medical Center, we feel that the implementation of the hospitalist program will help us continue our efforts in providing the highest quality of for our patients,” said Gene Tucker, CEO of Marion County Medical Center.