The Relationship Between Hospitalists and Primary Care Physicians
Authors: Robert M. Wachter
Journal: Annals of Internal Medicine (2010)

Letters6 April 2010The Relationship Between Hospitalists and Primary Care PhysiciansRobert M. Wachter, MDRobert M. Wachter, MDFrom University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94143.Search for more papers by this authorAuthor, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/0003-4819-152-7-201004060-00016 SectionsAboutFull TextPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail TO THE EDITOR:Beckman's thoughtful article (1) raises important questions regarding communication among hospitalists, patients, and primary care physicians. The field of hospital medicine continues to work on improving communication and transitions. As might be expected, some hospitalist programs communicate better than others—just like every other specialty and specialist.Beckman's article also raises the question of whether hospitalists might increase hospital costs through redundant testing, but almost all relevant studies (2–4) have shown that hospitalists decrease overall hospital costs. Approximately one half of U.S. hospitals now have hospitalists, and more than 90% support the practice with hospital dollars (3, 5). ...References1. Beckman H. Three degrees of separation. Ann Intern Med. 2009;151:890-1. [PMID: 20008765] LinkGoogle Scholar2. Wachter RM, Goldman L. The hospitalist movement 5 years later. JAMA. 2002;287:487-94. [PMID: 11798371] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar3. Wachter RM. Reflections: the hospitalist movement a decade later. J Hosp Med. 2006;1:248-52. [PMID: 17219506] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar4. Harrison JP, Curran L. The hospitalist model: does it enhance health care quality?. J Health Care Finance. 2009;35:22-34. [PMID: 19891205] MedlineGoogle Scholar5. Kuo YF, Sharma G, Freeman JL, Goodwin JS. Growth in the care of older patients by hospitalists in the United States. N Engl J Med. 2009;360:1102-12. [PMID: 19279342] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar6. Arora VM, Manjarrez E, Dressler DD, Basaviah P, Halasyamani L, Kripalani S. Hospitalist handoffs: a systematic review and task force recommendations. J Hosp Med. 2009;4:433-40. [PMID: 19753573] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar Author, Article, and Disclosure InformationAffiliations: From University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94143.Disclosures: None disclosed. PreviousarticleNextarticle Advertisement FiguresReferencesRelatedDetailsSee AlsoThree Degrees of Separation Howard Beckman The Relationship Between Hospitalists and Primary Care Physicians Carl H. Reynolds , Balazs Zsenits , and Walter A. Polashenski 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 Metrics Cited ByEvaluating the performance of a hospitalist system in Taiwan: A pioneer study for nationwide health insurance in AsiaFrustrations With Hospitalist Care: Need to Improve Transitions and CommunicationThe Editors 6 April 2010Volume 152, Issue 7Page: 474KeywordsConflicts of interestHospital medicineHospitalistsHospitalizationsInpatientsPatients ePublished: 6 April 2010 Issue Published: 6 April 2010 CopyrightCopyright © 2010 by American College of Physicians. All Rights Reserved.PDF DownloadLoading ...