Page 9 - Hospitalists - Risks When You're the Doctor in the House (Part One)

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

PART ONE

Hospitalists – “Physicians whose primary focus is

the general medical care of hospitalized patients. Their
activities include patient care, teaching, research, and

leadership related to hospital medicine.” 1

Introduction

Most people think of a hospitalist as a doctor who takes care
of people in the hospital. While this general definition suffices

for laypersons in casual conversation, an accurate definition or
description is critical to clarifying what hospitalists and hospital

medicine are about and, thus, what risks they face. As previously
quoted, the official definition of the Society of Hospital Medicine

embraces the broad range of professional activities that
hospitalists perform, while continuing to emphasize that the

professional focus remains the care of hospitalized patients.
2

Hospitalists are physicians from a variety of medical practice
areas. Internal medicine, family practice, and pediatrics are the

most typical background fields of hospitalists. The role of the
hospitalist is multi-faceted and integral to inpatient medicine.

Although the term “hospitalist” is a relatively new term in the
long history of medicine, the field as well as the number of

physicians identifying themselves as hospitalists has seen
significant growth over the last 20 years and is expected

to continue to expand in the future. Over the last couple of

1 The Hospitalist. 2006 February;2006(2), Steve Pantilat, MD.
2 Id.

Page 9