Expanding the roles of hospitalist physicians to include public health.
Several years after the inception of the hospitalist movement, hospitalist roles have evolved in breadth and sophistication. Although public health is not formally recognized or previously described as an arena for hospitalists, hospitalists are often engaged in public health practice. This article attempts to alert hospitalists to the potential to make contributions to the field of public health and defines the public health skills that can positively affect the lives of their patients and the communities they serve. In a public health role, hospitalists may improve the quality of inpatient care. This article reviews how public health and hospital-based practices have already intersected and proposes further development within this discipline. In our ever-changing health care system, hospitalists play key roles in the central public health domains of assessment, assurance, and policy development. Insightful hospitalists will recognize and embrace these responsibilities in caring for patients and society.
Kisuule
Flora
F
Department of Medicine, Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21224, USA. fkisuul1@jhmi.edu
Minter-Jordan
Myechia
M
Zenilman
Jonathan
J
Wright
Scott M
SM
D004189:Disaster Planning; D019468:Disease Management; D020445:Hospitalists; D006801:Humans; D017053:Infection Control; D016134:Organizational Policy; D010166:Palliative Care; D010819:Physician's Role; D011315:Preventive Medicine; D015980:Public Health Practice; D011785:Quality Assurance, Health Care; D017751:Safety Management