The Fight to Prove the Value of Hospitalists

Previous studies have shown that hospitalists do, in fact, shorten patient length of stay, adhere to treatment guidelines, and give better follow up care. But are they really the ones to improve quality of care?

Yes, if they are good hospitalists, according to Robert Centor, MD, associate dean for the Huntsville Regional Medical Campus of the University of Alabama, School of Medicine, in Birmingham.

Hospitalists have been traditionally known for their consistency of care because they "live" in the hospital with varying work schedules and staffing levels.

"With their experience, they understand how the system runs, improve length of stay, improve revenue, and understand day-to-day operations," said Centor.

The good, the bad, and the average
Centor, editorial commenter on the study, would like to see what elements of hospitalist program structure make it successful.

"Forward-thinking hospitals have good hospitalist programs, but there is a difference between good and mediocre hospitals," said Centor. "If you hire people to look after patients but aren't involved in the processes or systems, then you don't have a hospitalist program, you have a bunch of hospitalists," he said.

Hospitalists worth the dollars?
In the end, many hospital administrators wonder if implementing a new or pursuing an existing hospitalist program will benefit the overall hospital.

"Hospitals that invest in hospitalists contribute to high quality," said Lopez. "The C-suite may need to supplement their clinical revenue [from other procedure based specialties], which translates into better quality care, which translates to better scores and higher rankings . . . that is a worthwhile investment," he said.

Centor adds, "It's an investment that pays off, but it is an investment."