The field of medicine is a wide umbrella. There are many practice areas, and medical doctors study a variety of specialties.
Hospitalists are unique medical doctors who bring many benefits to the hospitals they practice in and the patients they treat.
Keep reading to learn what a hospitalist is, what training they go through, what they do, the advantages they bring, and more.
Related: Meet OptiMed’s Hospitalists!
So, What Is a Hospitalist?
Hospitalists are licensed physicians who treat a variety of conditions while working in a hospital. These doctors treat patients that are staying in a hospital due to an array of illnesses and injuries.
As far as the term goes, hospitalist is relatively new; it was first coined in 1996.
This model of care showed that it could improve efficiency and patient outcomes. Some studies have shown that hospitalists can help reduce the overall length of patient stays.
The growing need for more hospitalists emerged from the increasingly complex cases and hospitals worldwide. Organizations need dedicated physicians who can manage various clinical obligations and ambulatory care. Hospitalists cover the gaps in the medical workforce, leading to the rise of this area of specialized medicine.
Do Hospitalists Need a Medical Degree?
Hospitalists require an advanced medical degree to practice. Becoming one is quite complex. They go through many years of training, certification, and education to pursue this challenging endeavor. Hospitalists must first get accepted into medical school, which requires either completion of prerequisite courses or a formal degree before applying.
In addition to medical school, hospitalists must also hold leadership positions, Shadow physicians, and pass the MCAT board exam.
Like other types of medical doctors, people wishing to become a hospitalist must attend a residency at a teaching hospital. In addition, most hospitalists must complete three years of residency for internal medicine.
What Does a Hospitalist Do?
Hospitalists are the central leader of their medical team and oversee inpatient care. These doctors take care of and help manage conditions by themselves, including diabetes, pneumonia, congestive heart failure, etc. However, hospitalists also consult with other physicians on matters like cardiology, pulmonary, and infectious disease when their patient requires a more directed service of care. In addition, some hospitalists also provide perioperative care.
Because some patients require multiple medical services, it’s a hospitalist’s job to request consultations with other medical branches to coordinate patient care with specialists. A patient’s condition can change quickly during their hospital stay, leaving hospitalists to monitor new results continually. These healthcare professionals also meet with patients’ family members, coordinate care with other doctors, answer nurses’ questions, work with nutritionists, order follow-up tests, perform patient education, and more.
Related: Learn About OptiMed’s Hospitalist Services
How Do They Differ from Internists and Primary Physicians?
Hospitalists do not have office hours, unlike primary physicians. For hospitalists, the hospital is their office, and their typical shifts can vary drastically. However, the primary difference between hospitalists and physicians lies in the doctor-patient relationship.
While patients might visit their primary physician once a year or more over the long term, they might only see a hospitalist once. Rather than maintaining long-term professional relationships with patients, hospitalists’ relationships are tied to the hospital. They also have strong collaboration and associations with the other medical professionals in that hospital.
Many people often confuse hospitalists with internists. While many hospitalists train as internists because the scope of training correlates with their duties, all hospitalists are not internists.
Internists practice in outpatient and hospital settings, while hospitalists do not work in an outpatient environment. Another significant difference between the two is how long they are involved with patients; as mentioned above, a patient is only likely to visit the hospitalist once.
Why Having a Hospitalist Is an Advantage for Hospital Patients
Hospitalists are the people who take over a patient’s care in the hospital. As a result, hospitalists consult previous diagnoses and health records taken by their primary care physician. However, hospitalists also serve as patients’ sole providers during their hospital stay.
While a hospitalist might not be the only doctor in your room, they are responsible for coordinating your care. Doctors and nurses communicate with the hospitalist, and they serve as your medical contact while you’re in the hospital.
Additionally, hospitalists are the doctors responsible for updating the family members of the hospital’s patients.
Patient Advocacy
Hospitalists are patient advocates, and while you don’t have the time to get to know them like you would your family doctor, they are there to help you. Hospitalists often serve on various hospital committees and have first-hand knowledge of the organization’s policies.
Their presence in the hospital serves to enhance the patient experience. They have expertise in various conditions that commonly land patients in a hospital, and they frequently treat people with similar conditions repeatedly.
And while you likely won’t get overnight treatment from your primary physician, hospitalists will address concerns as soon as they arise and work closely with hospital staff, their patients, and anyone else necessary to assess their condition. This includes prescribing medications, ordering tests, and recommending treatments.
Hospitalists have unique qualifications to treat a variety of complicated health issues, and most of them love what they do.
Does Every Hospital Have Hospitalists?
Hospitalist medicine practices have grown over the years to become standard in almost every hospital. These medical professionals let other doctors spend time without patients by reducing how long they need to manage and take care of those in the hospital.
Essentially, they take the place of outpatient primary care doctors but only practice in hospitals. Having a large breadth of knowledge about many medical conditions is a requirement for hospitalists, which is a significant advantage for any hospital. Because of their knowledge to treat unique conditions and handle a variety of treatment challenges, almost every hospital employs hospitalists.
Final Words
Hospitalists have a broad range of duties, and they must be comfortable enough to treat a variety of patients. It’s a critical and challenging practice, but the benefits they bring to hospitals and patients are unrivaled.
OptiMed provides the best hospitalists around—contact us today to learn how we can help.
Related: Learn More About OptiMed