DOI: 10.1097/01.idc.0000139182.14963.d1

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Issn Print: 1056-9103

Publication Date: 2004/09/01


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Value of Hospital Medicine in the Inpatient Management of Community-Acquired Pneumonia

Alpesh Amin

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Excerpt

The hospitalist specialty is one of the fastest growing medical specialties today. The hospitalist movement began in response to rising health care costs and has been fueled by the increasing complexity of the health care system, the demand for better physician availability, and concerns about medical errors, patient safety, and quality of care.
Hospitalists, who focus primarily on the general medical care of hospitalized patients, can be instrumental in improving the outcomes and efficiency of inpatient care for commonly seen diseases such as community-acquired pneumonia (CAP). A hospitalist-who may see 20 to 40 cases of hospitalized pneumonia per year, compared with a family physician who may see only 3 cases-is more likely to predict pneumonia complications and effectively deal with clinical variations.
Hospitalists facilitate both compensated and uncompensated care, help with unassigned patients and emergency department triage, coordinate care with nurses and case managers, establish and maintain outpatient follow-up procedures, and serve as liaisons between the inpatient and outpatient settings. They also contribute to the development and implementation of guidelines and pathways in the hospital, coordinate education for residents and medical students, serve on committees, assist hospital administration, and provide coverage to other services. Because they are engaged in so many facets of hospital operations in addition to delivering clinical care, hospitalists are well positioned to improve the structure, process, and outcomes that will help facilitate high quality of care.
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