How to design a hospitalist service. An academic health system case study.
Medical centers throughout the country are employing hospitalists--dedicated inpatient specialists--to care for patients during hospitalization in place of their primary care provider. There has been expansive growth of hospitalist programs as the number of practicing hospitalists has doubled in two years from approximately 1,500 to over 3,000. In July 1997, the department of medicine at University Hospitals of Cleveland, the primary teaching affiliate of Case Western Reserve University, created a hospitalist service. This paper will discuss the design of a hospitalist service at a major academic medical center, the factors that were considered during the design stage and financial feasibility.
Creighton
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Department of Medicine, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, USA. fcreighton@aol.com
Bailey
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RH
D000046:Academic Medical Centers / Q000191:economics / Q000458:organization & administration*; D002017:Budgets; D005240:Feasibility Studies; D006746:Hospital Bed Capacity, 500 and over; D020445:Hospitalists / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006801:Humans; D007325:Institutional Practice / Q000191:economics / Q000458:organization & administration; D009820:Ohio; D019982:Organizational Case Studies; D009937:Organizational Objectives; D010560:Personnel Selection; D016730:Program Development; D012017:Referral and Consultation; D012456:Salaries and Fringe Benefits