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.
Auerbach
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Department of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, CA 94143-0120, USA. ada@medicine.ucsf.edu
Davis
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Phillips
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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