Implementation of a voluntary hospitalist service at a community teaching hospital: improved clinical efficiency and patient outcomes.
BACKGROUND
Previous investigations of the effect of the hospitalist model on resource use and patient outcomes have focused on academic medical centers or have used short follow-up periods.


OBJECTIVE
To determine the effects of hospitalist care on resource use and patient outcomes and whether these effects change over time.


METHODS
Retrospective cohort study.


METHODS
Community-based, urban teaching hospital.


METHODS
5308 patients cared for by community or hospitalist physicians in the 2 years after implementation of a voluntary hospitalist service.


METHODS
Length of stay, costs, 10-day readmission rates, use of consultative services, in-hospital mortality rate, and mortality rate at 30 and 60 days.


RESULTS
Patients of hospitalists were younger than those of community physicians (65 years vs. 74 years; P < 0.001) and were more likely to be of black than of white ethnicity (33.3% vs. 17.9%; P < 0.001), have Medicaid insurance (25.1% vs. 10.2%; P < 0.001), and receive intensive care (19.9% vs. 15.8%; P < 0.001). After adjustment in multivariable models, length of stay and costs were not different in the first year of the study. In year 2, patients of hospitalists had shorter stays (0.61 day shorter; P = 0.002) and lower costs ($822 lower; P = 0.002). Over the 2 years of this study, patients of hospitalists had lower risk for death in the hospital (adjusted relative hazard, 0.71 [95% CI, 0.54 to 0.93]) and at 30 and 60 days of follow-up.


CONCLUSIONS
A voluntary hospitalist service at a community-based teaching hospital produced reductions in length of stay and costs that became statistically significant in the second year of use. A mortality benefit extending beyond hospitalization was noted in both years. Future investigations are needed to understand the ways in which hospitalists increase clinical efficiency and appear to improve the quality of care.
Auerbach
Andrew D
AD
Department of Medicine, Box 0120, 505 Parnassus Avenue, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94143-0936, USA. ada@medicine.ucsf.edu
Wachter
Robert M
RM
Katz
Patricia
P
Showstack
Jonathan
J
Baron
Robert B
RB
Goldman
Lee
L
D000368:Aged; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003953:Diagnosis-Related Groups; D005260:Female; D017721:Hospital Costs; D017052:Hospital Mortality; D020445:Hospitalists / Q000191:economics / Q000592:standards*; D006764:Hospitals, Community / Q000191:economics / Q000592:standards* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006784:Hospitals, Teaching / Q000191:economics / Q000592:standards* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006786:Hospitals, Urban / Q000191:economics / Q000592:standards / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D007902:Length of Stay; D008297:Male; D010043:Outcome and Process Assessment, Health Care; D010359:Patient Readmission; D012017:Referral and Consultation / Q000639:trends; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012495:San Francisco