Page 14 - Hospitalists - Risks When You're the Doctor in the House (Part One)

SVMIC Hospitalists - Risks When You’re the Doctor in the House

for liability suits. Some 25 percent of the hospitalists said that
they failed to fully discuss treatment options with patients; 22

percent offered potentially unnecessary tests, procedures, and
consultations; 19 percent said that patient satisfaction declined;

and 7 percent committed a treatment or medication error.
10

Whereas practices tend to pay physicians on the basis of

collections, hospitals tend to pay, at least in part, on productivity.
The more patients a hospitalist sees each day, the less time he

or she can spend with each patient. It follows, then, that there
will be less time to:

• Review each patient’s chart;

• Talk to the family members;

• Obtain a more detailed medical/family history;

• Follow up on tests and studies ordered;

• Communicate with other specialists, and;

• Complete accurate and thorough documentation, including

discharge instructions.

Having less time to address the issues above leads to more

opportunities to make errors. The magnitude of the problem

increases in a relative value-unit structure (RVU), where
hospitalists attempt to squeeze in 30-35 encounters a day with
the hope of making more RVUs.
11

10 Id.
11 Id.

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