Just because you can, doesn't mean that you should: A call for the rational application of hospitalist comanagement

Perioperative Health Interventions in Children With Chronic Neuromuscular Conditions Undergoing Major Musculoskeletal Surgery: A Scoping Review

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES

Children with chronic neuromuscular conditions (CCNMC) have many coexisting conditions and often require musculoskeletal surgery for progressive neuromuscular scoliosis or hip dysplasia. Adequate perioperative optimization may decrease adverse perioperative outcomes. The purpose of this scoping review was to allow us to assess associations of perioperative health interventions (POHI) with perioperative outcomes in CCNMC.

METHODS

Eligible articles included those published from January 1, 2000 through March 1, 2022 in which the authors evaluated the impact of POHI on perioperative outcomes in CCNMC undergoing major musculoskeletal surgery. Multiple databases, including PubMed, Embase, Cumulative Index of Nursing and Allied Health Literature, Web of Science, the Cochrane Library, Google Scholar, and ClinicalTrials.gov, were searched by using controlled vocabulary terms and relevant natural language keywords. Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses Extension for Scoping Reviews guidelines were used to perform the review. A risk of bias assessment for included studies was performed by using the Risk of Bias in Non-randomized Studies of Interventions tool.

RESULTS

A total of 7013 unique articles were initially identified, of which 6286 (89.6%) were excluded after abstract review. The remaining 727 articles' full texts were then reviewed for eligibility, resulting in the exclusion of 709 (97.5%) articles. Ultimately, 18 articles were retained for final analysis. The authors of these studies reported various impacts of POHI on perioperative outcomes, including postoperative complications, hospital length of stay, and hospitalization costs. Because of the heterogeneity of interventions and outcome measures, meta-analyses with pooled data were not feasible.

CONCLUSIONS

The findings reveal various impacts of POHI in CCNMC undergoing major musculoskeletal surgery. Multicenter prospective studies are needed to better address the overall impact of specific interventions on perioperative outcomes in CCNMC.

Internal medicine consultation for high-risk surgical patients: reflection on hospital mortality and readmission rates in a low-income country

OBJECTIVE

The objective of this study was to assess the impact of internal medicine consultation on mortality, 30-day readmission, and length of stay in surgical patients.

METHODS

This is a retrospective descriptive study developed in a public Brazilian teaching hospital with 850 beds.

RESULTS

A total of 70,245 patients were admitted from 2010 to 2018 to the surgery departments. The main outcomes measured were patients' mortality, 30-day readmission, and length of stay. Mortality of high-risk patients was lower when followed by internal medicine consultation: patients with ASA≥3 (RR 0.89 [95% confidence interval (95%CI) 0.80-0.99], p=0.02), patients with ASA≥3 plus≥65 years (RR 0.88 [95%CI 0.78-0.99], p=0.04), patients with ASA≥3 plus high-risk surgery (RR 0.86 [95%CI 0.77-0.97], p=0.01), and patients with ASA≥4 plus age ≥65 years (RR 0.83 [95%CI 0.72-0.96], p=0.01). The 30-day readmission of high-risk patients was lower when followed by internal medicine consultation: patients with ≥65 years (RR 0.57 [95%CI 0.37-0.89], p=0.01) and patients with high-risk surgery (RR 0.63 [95%CI 0.46-0.57], p=0.005). The Poisson multivariate regression with adjustment in variances showed that all the variables (namely, age, ASA, morbidity index, surgery risk, and internal medicine consultation) were associated with higher mortality of patients; however, internal medicine consultation was associated with a reduction of mortality in high-risk patients (RR 0.72 [95%CI 0.65-0.84], p=0.02) and an increase of mortality in low-risk patients (RR 1.55 [95%CI 1.31-1.67], p=0.01).

CONCLUSION

High-risk surgical patients may benefit from perioperative internal medicine consultations, which probably decrease hospital mortality and 30-day hospital readmission.

Effect of Active Surgical Co-Management by Medical Hospitalists in Urology Inpatient Care: A Retrospective Cohort Study

PURPOSE

This study aimed to evaluate the use of active surgical co-management (SCM) by medical hospitalists for urology inpatient care.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Since March 2019, a hospitalist-SCM program was implemented at a tertiary-care medical center, and a retrospective cohort study was conducted among co-managed urology inpatients. We assessed the clinical outcomes of urology inpatients who received SCM and compared passive SCM (co-management of patients by hospitalists only on request; March 2019 to June 2020) with active SCM (co-management of patients based on active screening by hospitalists; July 2020 to October 2021). We also evaluated the perceptions of patients who received SCM toward inpatient care quality, safety, and subjective satisfaction with inpatient care at discharge or when transferred to other wards.

RESULTS

We assessed 525 patients. Compared with the passive SCM group (n=205), patients in the active SCM group (n=320) required co-management for a significantly shorter duration (p=0.012) and tended to have a shorter length of stay at the urology ward (p=0.062) and less frequent unplanned readmissions within 30 days of discharge (p=0.095) while triggering significantly fewer events of rapid response team activation (p=0.002). No differences were found in the proportion of patients transferred to the intensive care unit, in-hospital mortality rates, or inpatient care questionnaire scores.

CONCLUSION

Active surveillance and co-management of urology inpatients by medical hospitalists can improve the quality and efficacy of inpatient care without compromising subjective inpatient satisfaction.

Friends Not Foes: Optimizing Collaboration with Subspecialists

Pediatric orthopedic patients can be complex to manage. As orthopedists plan for possible surgical interventions, consultation with pediatric subspecialists will be necessary. This article discusses the considerations an orthopedist should make when deciding on the timing and the appropriateness of consultation-both preoperatively and perioperatively. Consultation before surgical intervention will especially be useful if the subspecialist will be collaborating in the management of the condition postoperatively (whether inpatient or outpatient). Clear and early consultation in both written and verbal format will facilitate quality and expedite the patient's care.

A Geriatrics-Focused Hospitalist Trauma Comanagement Program Improves Quality of Care for Older Adults

This study aimed to determine whether a geriatrics-focused hospitalist trauma comanagement program improves quality of care. A pre-/post-implementation study compared older adult trauma patients who were comanaged by a hospitalist with those prior to comanagement at a level 1 trauma center. One-to-one propensity score matching was performed based on age, gender, Injury Severity Score, comorbidity index, and critical illness on admission. Outcomes included orders for geriatrics-focused quality indicators, as well as hospital mortality and length of stay. Wilcoxon rank-sum test (continuous variables) and chi-square or Fisher exact test (categorical variables) were used to assess differences. Propensity score matching resulted in 290 matched pairs. The intervention group had decreased use of restraints (P = 0.04) and acetaminophen (P = 0.01), and earlier physical therapy (P = 0.01). Three patients died in the intervention group compared with 14 in the control (P = 0.0068). This study highlights that a geriatrics-focused hospitalist trauma comanagement program improves quality of care.

Rates and Characteristics of Medical Malpractice Claims Against Hospitalists

BACKGROUND

Hospitalists practice in high-stakes and litigious settings. However, little data exist about the malpractice claims risk faced by hospitalists.

OBJECTIVE

To characterize the rates and characteristics of malpractice claims against hospitalists.

DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS

An analysis was performed of malpractice claims against hospitalists, as well as against select other specialties, using data from a malpractice claims database that includes approximately 31% of US malpractice claims.

MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES

For malpractice claims against hospitalists (n = 1,216) and comparator specialties (n = 18,644): claims rates (using a data subset), percentage of claims paid, median indemnity payment amounts, allegation types, and injury severity.

RESULTS

Hospitalists had an annual malpractice claims rate of 1.95 claims per 100 physician-years, similar to that of nonhospitalist general internal medicine physicians (1.92 claims per 100 physician-years), and significantly greater than that of internal medicine subspecialists (1.30 claims per 100 physician-years) (P < .001). Claims rates for hospitalists nonsignificantly increased during the study period (2009-2018), whereas claims rates for four of the five other specialties examined significantly decreased over this period. The median indemnity payment for hospitalist claims was $231,454 (interquartile range, $100,000-$503,015), significantly higher than the amounts for all the other specialties except neurosurgery. The greatest predictor of a hospitalist case closing with payment (compared with no payment) was an error in clinical judgment as a contributing factor, with an adjusted odds ratio of 5.01 (95% CI, 3.37-7.45).

CONCLUSION

During the study period, hospitalist claims rates did not drop, whereas they fell for other specialties. Hospitalists' claims had relatively high injury severity and median indemnity payment amounts. The malpractice environment for hospitalists is becoming less favorable.

Clinical and Financial Implications of Consulting Physicians in the Management of Surgical Patients

BACKGROUND

The present study was designed to evaluate the immediate consequences that the number of consulting physicians has on length of stay (LOS), in-hospital mortality, 30-day readmission rates, direct health care costs, and contribution margins.

METHODS

A retrospective review of administrative databases for the years 2013 and 2014 was performed at the Florida Hospital Adventist Healthcare System.

RESULTS

11 274 patients were included in the analysis. Total and variable costs increased by $1347 and $592, respectively, with each consulting physician service per patient. The contribution margin decreased by $354 per patient/consulting physician. Each consulting physician increased LOS by .72 days and increased odds ratio of mortality and 30-day readmission by 5% and 3%, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS

Our research suggests that each consulting physician added to the care of an individual surgical patient negatively affected LOS, readmission rates, in-hospital mortality, and costs.

Evaluation of Internal Medicine Physician or Multidisciplinary Team Comanagement of Surgical Patients and Clinical Outcomes: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

Importance

Older patients who undergo surgery may benefit from geriatrician comanagement. It is unclear whether other internal medicine (IM) physician involvement improves outcomes for adults who undergo surgery.

Objective

To evaluate the association of IM physician involvement with clinical and health system outcomes compared with usual surgical care among adults who undergo surgery.

Data Sources

MEDLINE, Embase, CINAHL, and CENTRAL databases were searched for studies published in English from database inception to April 2, 2019.

Study Selection

Prospective randomized or nonrandomized clinical studies comparing IM physician consultation or comanagement with usual surgical care were selected by consensus of 2 reviewers.

Data Extraction and Synthesis

Data were extracted using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guideline by 2 authors independently. Intervention characteristics were described using existing indicators. Risk of bias was assessed using Risk of Bias 2.0 and Risk of Bias in Nonrandomized Studies of Interventions tools. Studies were pooled when appropriate in meta-analysis using random-effects models. Prespecified subgroups included IM physician-only vs multidisciplinary team interventions and patients undergoing elective vs emergency procedures.

Main Outcomes and Measures

The prespecified primary outcome was length of stay; other outcomes included 30-day readmissions, inpatient mortality, medical complications, functional outcomes, and costs.

Results

Of 6027 records screened, 14 studies (with 1 randomized clinical trial) involving 35 800 patients (13 142 [36.7%] in intervention groups) were eligible for inclusion. Interventions varied substantially among studies and settings; most interventions described comanagement by a hospitalist or internist; 7 (50%) included a multidisciplinary team, and 9 (64%) studied predominantly patients who had elective procedures. Risk of bias in 10 studies (71%) was serious. Meta-analysis showed no significant association with length of stay (mean difference, -1.02 days; 95% CI, -2.09 to 0.04 days; P = .06) or mortality (odds ratio, 0.79; 95% CI, 0.56 to 1.11; P = .18), but multidisciplinary team involvement was associated with significant reduction in length of stay (mean difference, -2.03 days; 95% CI, -4.05 to -0.01 days; P = .05) and mortality (odds ratio, 0.67; 95% CI, 0.51 to 0.88; P = .004). There was no difference in 30-day readmissions (odds ratio, 0.89; 95% CI, 0.68 to 1.16; P = .39). Data could not be pooled for complications or costs. Only 1 study (7%) reported functional outcomes.

Conclusions and Relevance

The findings of this study suggest that IM physician comanagement that includes multidisciplinary team involvement may be associated with reduced length of stay and mortality in adults undergoing surgery. Evidence was low quality, and well-designed prospective studies are still needed.

Integrating Science and Well-Being

Veterinary medicine has traditionally functioned as an art and a science, that is, as knowledge of general principles and knowledge of, and relationship with, the individual animal and their caregiver. With the advent of increasing specialization, this intimate knowledge of the individual is being lost. This has great ramifications for diagnosis and treatment. Knowing the particular personality and tendencies of the patient helps differentiate between behavioral issues and fully medical issues. Excessive "scientization" in veterinary medicine needs to be addressed in veterinary medical education.

Who Consults Us and Why? An Evaluation of Medicine Consult/Comanagement Services at Academic Medical Centers

Although general medicine consultation is an integral component of inpatient medical care and a requirement of internal medicine training, little is known about current consultative practice. We used a cross-sectional, prospective survey design to examine current practices at 11 academic medical centers over four two-week periods from July 2014 through July 2015. Out of 11 consult services, four had comanagement agreements with surgical services, primarily with orthopedic surgery. We collected data regarding 1,264 consultation requests. Most requests (82.2%) originated from surgical services, with most requests originating from either orthopedic surgery (44.4%) or neurosurgery (11.6%). The most common reason for consultation at sites with a consult and comanagement service was medical management/ comanagement (23.3%) and at sites with a consultonly service was preoperative evaluation (16.4%). On average, consultants addressed more than two reasons per encounter. Many of these reasons were unidentified by the consulting service. Learners on these services should perform comprehensive evaluations to identify potentially unidentified issues.

Pediatric hospitalist comanagement of surgical patients: structural, quality, and financial considerations

Comanagement of surgical patients is occurring more commonly among adult and pediatric patients. These systems of care can vary according to institution type, comanagement structure, and type of patient. Comanagement can impact quality, safety, and costs of care. We review these implications for pediatric surgical patients.

Pediatric hospital medicine role in the comanagement of the hospitalized surgical patient

Medical comanagement of surgical patients by pediatric hospital medicine providers has become increasingly common. Subjectively, the comanagement model is superior to more traditional consultative models because of the anticipatory preventive care and coordination hospitalists provide to patients and hospital colleagues. Although some studies have demonstrated the value of the comanagement model in adults and children, others have failed to do so. The coming years are both exciting and challenging for this emerging field as it attempts to sustain its early progress and define its future in pediatric hospital medicine.

Co-management between hospitalist and hepatologist improves the quality of care of inpatients with chronic liver disease

BACKGROUND AND GOALS

Our institution shifted the care of patients with chronic liver disease (CLD) from Internal Medicine faculty, house staff, and consulting hepatology service to a co-managed unit staffed by academic hospitalists and hepatologists. The effect of co-management between hospitalists and hepatologists on the care of patients hospitalized with complications of CLD such as spontaneous bacterial peritonitis (SBP) is unknown.

STUDY

A retrospective chart review of 56 adult patients admitted with CLD and SBP from July 1, 2004 to June 30, 2010 was performed. Adherence rates to current management guidelines were measured along with costs and outcomes of care.

RESULTS

Patients admitted under the 2 models of care were similar; however, they consistently underwent paracentesis within 24 hours (100% vs. 79%, P=0.013), had appropriate avoidance of fresh-frozen plasma use (75% vs. 43%, P=0.05), received albumin (97% vs. 65%, P=0.002), and were discharged on SBP prophylaxis (91% vs. 37%, P<0.001) under the co-managed model compared with the conventional model. Costs of care were similar between the 2 groups. We note a trend toward improved outcomes of care under the co-management model as measured by transfer rates to the intensive care unit, inpatient mortality, 30-day readmission, and mortality rates.

CONCLUSIONS

These results support co-management between hospitalists and hepatologists as a superior model of care for hospitalized patients with SBP. Furthermore, this study adds to the growing literature indicating that efforts are needed to improve the quality of care delivered to CLD patients.

Audit of co-management and critical care outreach for high risk postoperative patients (The POST audit)

Co-management and critical care outreach for high risk surgical patients have been proposed to decrease postoperative complications and mortality. We proposed that a clinical project with postoperative comanagement and critical care outreach, the Post Operative Surveillance Team: (POST), would be associated with decreased hospital length of stay. We conducted a retrospective before (control group) and after (POST group) audit of this hospital program. POST was staffed for four months in 2010 by two intensive care nurses and two senior registrars who conducted daily ward rounds for the first five postoperative days on high risk patients undergoing inpatient general or urological surgery. The primary endpoint was length of hospital stay and secondary endpoints were Medical Emergency Team (MET) calls, cardiac arrests and in-hospital mortality. There were 194 patients in the POST group and 1,185 in the control group. The length of stay in the POST group, median nine days (Inter-quartile range [IQR]: 5 to 17 days), was longer than the control group, median seven days (IQR: 4 to 13 days): difference two days longer (95.0% confidence interval [95.0% CI]: 1 to 3 days longer, P <0.001). There were no important differences in the proportion of patients having MET calls (16.0% POST versus. 13% control (P=0.25)) or mortality (2.1% POST versus 2.8% Control (P=0.82)). Our audit found that the POST service was not associated with reduced length of stay. Models of co-management, different to POST, or with different performance metrics, could be tested.

Pediatric hospitalist preoperative evaluation of children with neuromuscular scoliosis

WHAT'S NEW

This is the first study of a pediatric hospitalist preoperative clinic. Pediatric hospitalists frequently make significant recommendations for patients with neuromuscular scoliosis prior to spinal surgery, especially those with medical complexity. Certain clinical criteria are statistically significantly associated with a hospitalist making a preoperative recommendation.

OBJECTIVE

To assess (1) how frequently pediatric hospitalists make recommendations when evaluating preoperative neuromuscular scoliosis patients in anticipation of spinal fusion surgery and (2) evaluate if any clinical characteristics are associated with a higher likelihood of hospitalists doing so.

METHODS

We performed a case series study using retrospective chart review of 214 patients scheduled for spinal fusion surgery for neuromuscular scoliosis from November 2009 through September 2012.

RESULTS

We analyzed data for 214 patients aged 1 to 20 years (median, 13 years), of whom 155 (72%) received at least 1 specific preoperative recommendation, whereas 59 patients (28%) were cleared for surgery without specific recommendations. Underlying diagnosis (P = 0.024), nonambulatory status (odds ratio [OR]: 2.02, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.09-3.74), and increased number of preoperative medications (OR: 1.19, 95% CI: 1.06-1.34) were statistically significantly associated with an increased rate of receiving preoperative recommendations from the hospitalist. Comorbidities such as seizure disorder (OR: 2.68, 95% CI: 1.29-5.57) and gastrointestinal conditions (OR: 3.35, 95% CI: 1.74-6.45) were also statistically significantly associated with specific presurgical recommendations being made by the pediatric hospitalist.

CONCLUSION

A pediatric hospitalist preoperative program for children with neuromuscular scoliosis in anticipation of spinal fusion surgery is associated with a high rate of recommendations being made, especially in children with certain clinical characteristics.

Burnout in inpatient-based versus outpatient-based physicians: a systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

Burnout is a syndrome affecting the entirety of work life and characterized by cynicism, detachment, and inefficacy. Despite longstanding concerns about burnout in hospital medicine, few data about burnout in hospitalists have been published.

PURPOSE

A systematic review of the literature on burnout in inpatient-based and outpatient-based physicians worldwide was undertaken to determine whether inpatient physicians experience more burnout than outpatient physicians.

DATA SOURCES

Five medical databases were searched for relevant terms with no language restrictions. Authors were contacted for unpublished data and clarification of the practice location of study subjects.

STUDY SELECTION

Two investigators independently reviewed each article. Included studies provided a measure of burnout in inpatient and/or outpatient nontrainee physicians.

DATA EXTRACTION

Fifty-four studies met inclusion criteria, 15 of which provided direct comparisons of inpatient and outpatient physicians. Twenty-eight studies used the same burnout measure and therefore were amenable to statistical analysis.

DATA SYNTHESIS

Outpatient physicians reported more emotional exhaustion than inpatient physicians. No statistically significant differences in depersonalization or personal accomplishment were found. Further comparisons were limited by the heterogeneity of instruments used to measure burnout and the lack of available information about practice location in many studies.

CONCLUSIONS

The existing literature does not support the widely held belief that burnout is more frequent in hospitalists than outpatient physicians. Better comparative studies of hospitalist burnout are needed.

Outcomes and costs associated with hospitalist comanagement of medically complex children undergoing spinal fusion surgery

OBJECTIVE

The goal of this study was to assess outcomes and costs associated with hospitalist comanagement of medically complex children undergoing spinal fusion surgery for neuromuscular scoliosis.

METHODS

A hospitalist comanagement program was implemented at a children's hospital. We conducted a retrospective case series study of patients during 2003-2008 to compare clinical and cost outcomes for 87 preimplementation patients, 40 patients during a partially implemented program, and 80 patients during a fully implemented program.

RESULTS

When compared with preimplementation patients, full implementation program patients did not demonstrate a statistically significant difference in median length of stay on the medical/surgical unit after transfer from the PICU (median: 6 vs 8 days; P = .07). Patients in the full implementation group received fewer days of parenteral nutrition (median: 0 vs 6 days; P = .0006) and had fewer planned and unplanned laboratory studies on the inpatient unit. There was no statistically significant change in returns to the operating room (P = .08 between preimplementation and full implementation), other complications, or 30-day readmissions. Median hospital costs increased from preimplementation ($59372) to partial implementation ($89302) and remained elevated during full implementation ($81 651) compared with preimplementation (P = .004). Mean physician costs followed a similar trajectory from preimplementation ($18425) to partial implementation ($24101) to full implementation ($22578; P = .0006 [versus preimplementation]).

CONCLUSIONS

A hospitalist comanagement program can significantly affect the care of medically complex children undergoing spinal fusion surgery. Initial program costs may increase.

The Perioperative Surgical Home: how can it make the case so everyone wins?

BACKGROUND

Varied and fragmented care plans undertaken by different practitioners currently expose surgical patients to lapses in expected care, increase the chance for operational mistakes and accidents, and often result in unnecessary care. The Perioperative Surgical Home has thus been proposed by the American Society of Anesthesiologists and other stakeholders as an innovative, patient-centered, surgical continuity of care model that incorporates shared decision making. Topics central to the debate about an anesthesiology-based Perioperative Surgical Home include: holding the gains made in anesthesia-related patient safety; impacting surgical morbidity and mortality, including failure-to-rescue; achieving healthcare outcome metrics; assimilating comparative effectiveness research into the model; establishing necessary audit and data collection; a comparison with the hospitalist model of perioperative care; the perspective of the surgeon; the benefits of the Perioperative Surgical Home to the specialty of anesthesiology; and its associated healthcare economic advantages.

DISCUSSION

Improving surgical morbidity and mortality mandates a more comprehensive and integrated approach to the management of surgical patients. In their expanded capacity as the surgical patient's "perioperativist," anesthesiologists can play a key role in compliance with broader set of process measures, thus becoming a more vital and valuable provider from the patient, administrator, and payer perspective. The robust perioperative databases created within the Perioperative Surgical Home present new opportunities for health services and population-level research. The Perioperative Surgical Home is not intended to replace the surgeon's patient care responsibility, but rather leverage the abilities of the entire perioperative care team in the service of the patient. To achieve this goal, it will be necessary to expand the core knowledge, skills, and experience of anesthesiologists. Anesthesiologists will need to view becoming perioperative physicians as an expansion of the specialty, rather than an abdication of their traditional intraoperative role. The Perioperative Surgical Home will need to create strategic added value for a health system and payers. This added value will strengthen the position of anesthesiologists as they navigate and negotiate in the face of finite, if not decreasing fiscal resources.

SUMMARY

Broadening the anesthesiologist's scope of practice via the Perioperative Surgical Home may promote standardization and improve clinical outcomes and decrease resource utilization by providing greater patient-centered continuity of care throughout the preoperative, intraoperative, and postoperative periods.

The impact of a hospitalist on role boundaries in an orthopedic environment

Purpose

Hospitalists specialize in the management of hospitalized patients. They work with several health care professionals to provide patient care. There has been little research examining the perceived impact of the hospitalist’s role on staff working in an orthopedic environment. This study examined the experiences of staff across several professional backgrounds in working with a hospitalist in an orthopedic environment.

Participants and methods

A qualitative descriptive approach was taken to investigate the experience of staff working with a hospitalist at a specialized orthopedic hospital. Purposive sampling was used to recruit interview participants including nurses, internists, pharmacists, physiotherapists, anesthetists, senior administration, and orthopedic surgeons to the point of theoretical saturation, which occurred after 12 interviews. Interviews were coded, and these codes were combined into categories and predominant themes were identified.

Findings

Overall, staff believed that the hospitalist role was a positive addition to the facility. The role benefitted patients and supported the clinical well-being and education of staff. Many staff felt the hospitalist had no impact on their workload, but others reported that their work had decreased or increased. Several described the potential for role overlap between the hospitalist and other physicians.

Conclusion

The importance of interprofessional collaboration in the implementation of the hospitalist role was a recurring theme in our analysis. This study demonstrates the importance of educating staff about the hospitalist role boundaries prior to implementing hospitalist care.

Evolving practice of hospital medicine and its impact on hospital throughput and efficiencies

Hospitalists are uniquely positioned to implement strategies to improve patient flow and efficiency. Hospital leaders have stated they expect hospitalists to comanage surgical patients, participate in observation units, and screen medical admissions, in addition to providing inpatient care for medical patients. We review how the hospitalists' role in acute inpatient care, surgical comanagement, short stay units, chest pain units, and active bed management has improved throughput and patient flow.

Provider expectations and experiences of comanagement

BACKGROUND

Hospitalist comanagement of complex surgical and medical specialty patients is increasingly common, but it is unclear how provider expectations and experiences under the collaborative practice model differ from those of traditional consultations.

METHODS

We analyzed survey data examining expectations and experiences on a medical hepatology comanagement service. Participating hospitalists, nonphysician providers (NPPs), hepatologists, and fellows completed a Baseline Survey that addressed preferences for decision-making under comanagement. Repeated Surveys, administered to each unique team of comanagers, addressed their experiences with decision-making on their rotations on the service between April and October 2008.

RESULTS

All 43 providers completed the Baseline Survey. Among these, 32 providers who rotated on the service completed 79% (177/223) of Repeated Surveys. The majority of respondents indicated understanding their role. More providers of every professional role indicated their preference for hospitalists to participate in every management decision and for hepatologists not to participate in every management decision. Most indicated that they both preferred and experienced the direction of management issues by a single physician leader. Almost all indicated at baseline that comanagement tends to improve patient care (hospitalists 94%, hepatologists 83%, NPPs 100%, fellows 100%), although fewer NPPs (40%) and fellows (50%) felt comanagement actually improved care following their rotations.

CONCLUSIONS

Preferences and experiences about provider roles are not uniform under comanagement, and conflicting preferences exist around decision-making processes. Providers generally agreed that comanaging hospitalists should participate broadly in management decisions.

Effects of provider characteristics on care coordination under comanagement

BACKGROUND

Care coordination is critical in settings characterized by high levels of uncertainty, time constraints, and interdependent work processes. The effects of provider characteristics on coordination in comanaged teams has never been examined.

OBJECTIVE

To characterize individual providers based on their contribution to team coordination.

PARTICIPANTS

Hospitalists, nonphysician providers, hepatologists, and fellows on a comanaged liver service of an academic hospital.

DESIGN

Between April 2008 and October 2008, participants were surveyed at baseline and repeatedly at the completion of physician rotations to assess their preferred and actual comanagement structures. In addition, they repeatedly rated their comanagers' contributions to overall coordination using an instrument that assessed relational coordination (RC). Providers were categorized into tertiles of RC. Their management preferences and the frequency of a "composite bad outcome" (intensive care unit [ICU] transfer or inpatient death) in each tertile were evaluated.

RESULTS

All (100%) Baseline Surveys and 177/224 (79%) Repeated Surveys were completed by 32 providers. RC was shown to be a stable attribute of providers and not of adverse patient outcomes. Higher coordinators were characterized by their "ownership of patients" (higher 86% vs. lowest 20%, P < 0.01). High compared to low coordinator hepatologists demonstrated leadership through a broader delegation of tasks as well as self-assignment of responsibilities. A trend toward more frequent "composite bad outcomes" was seen for low tertile physicians: hospitalists (low 8.6% vs. high 1.1%, P < 0.01), hepatologists (low 5.2% vs. high 2.0%, P = 0.22), fellows (low 5.8% vs. high 1.8%, P = 0.08).

CONCLUSION

Individual provider's teamwork-related disposition affects perceived coordination on comanaged team and may influence patient outcomes.

Hospitalist time usage and cyclicality: opportunities to improve efficiency

BACKGROUND

Academic medical centers (AMCs) have a constrained resident work force. Many AMCs have increased the use of nonresident service hospitalists to manage continued growth in clinical volume. To optimize their time in the hospital, it is important to understand hospitalists' work flow.

DESIGN

We performed a time-motion study of hospitalists carrying the admission pager throughout the 3 types of shifts we have at our hospital (day shift, swing shift, and night shift).

SETTING

Tertiary academic medical center in the Midwest.

RESULTS

Hospitalists spend about 15% of their time on direct patient care, and two-thirds of their time on indirect patient care. Of the indirect activities, communication and documentation dominate. Travel demands make up over 7% of a hospitalists' time. There are spikes in indirect patient care, followed closely by spikes in direct patient care, at shift changes.

CONCLUSIONS

At our AMC, indirect patient care activities accounted for the majority of the admitting hospitalists' time spent in the hospital, with documentation and communication dominating this time. Travel takes a significant fraction of hospitalists' time. There is also a cyclical nature to activities performed throughout the day, which can cause patient delays and impose variability on support services. There is a need for both service-specific and systemic improvements for AMCs to efficiently manage further growth in their inpatient volume.

The evolution of a Department of Internal Medicine under an integrated clinical enterprise model: the University of Kentucky experience

The impact on the Department of Internal Medicine of the emergence of the University of Kentucky Healthcare Enterprise as an integrated clinical model has been enormous. In fiscal year 2004, the department was financially insolvent and on the verge of implementing plans to decrease faculty from 127 to 65. Since that time, the department has changed dramatically with a corresponding improvement in its clinical, academic, and financial activity. The department has grown to 175 faculty, with a healthy financial outlook and a shared vision with the clinical enterprise. Departmental clinical growth has been accompanied by growth in extramural research funding. The clinical growth of the department, in turn, supported the growth of the integrated clinical enterprise overall.The purpose of this article is to present a case history of the impact of transition to an integrated clinical enterprise financial model on the clinical, research, and educational functions of a department of internal medicine, and the opportunities and lessons learned from this transition. The implementation of an enterprise model allowed revival and expansion of the clinical programs of the department. This expansion did not occur at the expense of the research and educational missions of the department but, rather, was associated with improved performance in these areas. The processes which were established during the conversion to the enterprise model, which involve strategic planning, monitoring of plan implementation, recalibration of objectives, financial transparency, and accountability of leadership and faculty, may better prepare the institution to face the challenges of the rapidly changing economic environment.

"On the other hand ...": the evidence does not support the use of hand-carried ultrasound by hospitalists

In the right hands, ultrasound is a safe and helpful diagnostic imaging tool. However, evidence supporting the use of hand-carried ultrasound (HCU) by hospitalist physicians has not kept pace with expanding application of these devices. In spite of its strategic point-of-care benefit, use of this technology by hospitalists may not ultimately translate into improved efficiency and better clinical outcomes. Optimal levels of training in image acquisition and interpretation remain to be established. Novelty, availability, and the results of a few small studies lacking patient-centered outcomes remain insufficient grounds to justify the expanded clinical utilization of these medical imaging devices by nonspecialists.

Hospitalist-orthopedic co-management of high-risk patients undergoing lower extremity reconstruction surgery

The introduction of the hospitalist co-management model represents an opportunity to improve care by changing the system as it applies to a small group of patients. Eighty-six consecutive patients with multiple comorbidities were selectively enrolled in an academic medical center hospitalist-orthopedic surgery co-management patient care program. Patients were stratified by all patient refined diagnosis-related groups, severity of illness, and risk of mortality. Hospital length of stay, cost of care, in-hospital mortality, complications, and intensive care unit admissions were compared with a retrospectively constructed control group of 54 patients undergoing similar surgery during the period immediately preceding initiation of the program. The University Health System Consortium observed-to-expected ratio for hospital length of stay was 0.693 compared to 0.862 for the control group. The severity of illness and risk of mortality scores represented a relatively higher risk stratification in the study group. While the overall observed-to-expected cost of care remained virtually unchanged, the positive impact of the study model revealed an increased positive effect on the more severely affected severity of illness and risk of mortality patients. The results of this study suggest that a proactive, cooperative, co-management model for the perioperative management of high-risk patients undergoing complex surgery can improve the quality and efficiency metrics associated with the delivery of service to patients.