The Relationship Between Hospitalists and Primary Care Physicians
Authors: Carl H. Reynolds
Journal: Annals of Internal Medicine (2010)

Letters6 April 2010The Relationship Between Hospitalists and Primary Care PhysiciansCarl H. Reynolds, MD, Balazs Zsenits, MD, and Walter A. Polashenski, MDCarl H. Reynolds, MDFrom Rochester General Hospitalist Group, Rochester NY 14621.Search for more papers by this author, Balazs Zsenits, MDFrom Rochester General Hospitalist Group, Rochester NY 14621.Search for more papers by this author, and Walter A. Polashenski, MDFrom Rochester General Hospitalist Group, Rochester NY 14621.Search for more papers by this authorAuthor, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/0003-4819-152-7-201004060-00017 SectionsAboutFull TextPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail TO THE EDITOR:We appreciate and echo Beckman's appeal (1) for improved collaboration among hospitalists, primary care physicians, and administrators. His eloquent indictment of the discontinuity created by hospital medicine bears attention by all physicians.Primary care is among the most difficult jobs in U.S. health care; the hospitalist model evolved in part to relieve that stress. However, as a result, medical care is a team endeavor now more than ever. The care improvements that this team delivers, however, are often hidden, whereas patients and their primary care physicians acutely feel the pain of discontinuity. This grief pervades Beckman's writing, ...References1. Beckman H. Three degrees of separation. Ann Intern Med. 2009;151:890-1. [PMID: 20008765] LinkGoogle Scholar2. Pistoria MJ, Amin AN, Dressler DD, McKean SCW, Budnitz TL; Society of Hospital Medicine. The core competencies in hospital medicine. J Hosp Med. 2006;1 Suppl 1 83. Google Scholar3. Snow V, Beck D, Budnitz T, Miller DC, Potter J, Wears RL, et al. Transitions of Care Consensus policy statement: American College of Physicians, Society of General Internal Medicine, Society of Hospital Medicine, American Geriatrics Society, American College Of Emergency Physicians, and Society for Academic Emergency Medicine. J Hosp Med. 2009;4:364-70. [PMID: 19479781] MedlineGoogle Scholar4. Kripalani S, LeFevre F, Phillips CO, Williams MV, Basaviah P, Baker DW. Deficits in communication and information transfer between hospital-based and primary care physicians: implications for patient safety and continuity of care. JAMA. 2007;297:831-41. [PMID: 17327525] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar5. Hackbarth G, Reischauer R, Mutti A. Collective accountability for medical care—toward bundled Medicare payments. N Engl J Med. 2008;359:3-5. [PMID: 18596270] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar Author, Article, and Disclosure InformationAffiliations: From Rochester General Hospitalist Group, Rochester NY 14621.Disclosures: None disclosed. PreviousarticleNextarticle Advertisement FiguresReferencesRelatedDetailsSee AlsoThree Degrees of Separation Howard Beckman The Relationship Between Hospitalists and Primary Care Physicians Mark J. Ault The Relationship Between Hospitalists and Primary Care Physicians Michael D. Stillman The Relationship Between Hospitalists and Primary Care Physicians P. Dileep Kumar The Relationship Between Hospitalists and Primary Care Physicians Robert M. Wachter Metrics Cited byUse of Hospitalists and Office-Based Primary Care Physicians’ ProductivityFrustrations With Hospitalist Care: Need to Improve Transitions and CommunicationThe Editors 6 April 2010Volume 152, Issue 7Page: 474-475KeywordsHospital medicineHospitalistsInformation technologyInpatientsMotivationPrimary careShouldersTouch ePublished: 6 April 2010 Issue Published: 6 April 2010 Copyright & PermissionsCopyright © 2010 by American College of Physicians. All Rights Reserved.PDF downloadLoading ...