Why has this gone under-reported?
Healthcare corporations like the increased efficiency of using
hospitalists where they can maintain control on where patients will be
hospitalized.
Employed doctors have already given up much of their autonomy.
They will acquiesce to their employer’s demands.
Private doctors find hospital work disruptive to their office practices.
Declining reimbursement doesn’t compensate for what they would be
earning in their offices. They are relieved of the unpleasant duty of
going into the hospital on nights or weekends. They will actually gain
in salary.
Insurance Companies are much more interested in efficiency then in
individual patient satisfaction. Hospitalists decrease hospital stays by
about 4 hours per admission thereby increasing profits to all.
Patients can’t imagine themselves that sick or debilitated or that they
will ever need to be hospitalized. .
Why Should You Care?
If you believe you need an advocate when you are most vulnerable then this is an
important issue- Hospitalists are employed by the hospital. Your personal doctor
is employed by you.
If you are concerned about the skill level of your primary care doctor.
Hospitalized patients tend to be the most complex. Some doctors in their
practice careers have never taken care of patients inside a hospital. It follows
that their medical knowledge base would be deficient in critical areas.
If you believe that knowledge of your health history and family resources are
important when critical decisions about you are being made –hospitalists cannot
have your long term care in mind. Their job ends when you are discharged.
Each time you are hospitalized you will be taken care of by a different doctor
who has to learn your case all over again.
If you believe that there should be economic checks and balances in our
healthcare system.-when the only doctors inside the hospitals are employees
then the hospital is under no external pressure to address patient care concerns.
A private doctor can switch his patients to the best institution. The decision can
be made based on patient needs not corporate profits.
