For a general checkup, you see a primary care physician. For heart problems, you see a cardiologist. For joint pain, you see an orthopaedist or rheumatologist. And as an inpatient at UC Health, you see a hospitalist. Hospitalists are physicians who focus on inpatient medicine, working hand-in-hand with other specialists to coordinate the in-hospital care of their patients.
At UC Health, all hospitalists are board-certified or board-eligible physicians who are teaching faculty within the departments of Internal Medicine or Emergency Medicine. UC Health hospitalists serve at University of Cincinnati Medical Center, West Chester Hospital and Drake Center to provide the best care for patients and reduce hospital stays. Hospitalist care is beneficial to both patient care and physicians. While the previous standard was for physicians in an outpatient setting to schedule time to go to hospitals and see admitted patients, the new system allows for better coordination of care.
A hospitalist physicians is specifically trained to care for patients in-house and work with primary care or specialist physicians to coordinate care after the patient is released from the hospital. Hospitalist medicine has been shown to reduce inpatient stays and improve overall operations in hospitals. Overall, we are able to reach the ultimate goal, which is to continue to improve the way we care for our patients.