Physician views on caring for hospitalized patients and the hospitalist model of inpatient care.
We surveyed 241 board-certified internists affiliated with a large teaching hospital (Boston, Mass) before implementing a hospitalist service to determine attitudes towards providing inpatient care and the hospitalist model. Of physicians surveyed, 66% responded. Most disagreed that inpatient care is "an inefficient use of my time," only 10% felt a hospitalist service would improve patient satisfaction, and 54% felt it would hurt patient-doctor relationships. Multivariable analyses suggest that physicians physically furthest from their inpatient site were had more favorable attitudes toward the hospitalist model; more experienced and busier physicians were more negative. Future investigations should determine strategies for implementing the hospitalist model which address physicians' concerns.
Department of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, CA 94143-0120, USA. ada@medicine.ucsf.edu
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Auerbach
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Davis
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Phillips
D000046:Academic Medical Centers; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D001900:Boston; D003625:Data Collection; D005260:Female; D020445:Hospitalists / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006760:Hospitalization / Q000639:trends*; D006801:Humans; D007388:Internal Medicine; D008297:Male; D008505:Medical Staff, Hospital / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D017146:Models, Organizational; D010817:Physician-Patient Relations