The Beacon Hospitalists
Consistent, compassionate inpatient care
For anyone suffering from an illness or trauma, stress and anxiety levels are high. Add to that a stay in the hospital, and it can be one of the most frightening and vulnerable times of a person’s life. That’s what makes the level of care and consideration they receive even more important. It’s also what makes the role of the hospitalists at Beacon so critical to the overall health and well-being of our patients.
Our hospitalists are dedicated to working in partnership with patients, their families and a complete healthcare team to help ensure consistent, compassionate care throughout a hospital stay.
What is a hospitalist?
Nowadays, a patient is being cared for by multiple providers, and the hospitalist often works as a bridge between the inpatient and outpatient service. A hospitalist is a board-certified Internal Medicine or Family Medicine-trained physician who devotes their service to the well-being of those patients who are sick enough to be hospitalized. Contrary to traditional primary care medicine, a hospitalist spends all their time in the inpatient setting. Hospitalists provide around-the-clock care to the patient and are available to be at the bedside on short notice.
What are the benefits to patients?
Hospitalists provide 24-hour care so that patients have access to the physician on a timely basis. We also work together with their complete team of doctors and specialists to ensure consistent care. In the past, patients were often admitted to the hospital overnight and the patient had to wait for their family doctor to evaluate them in the morning. Compared to that, a hospitalist can see patients almost immediately.
What does a hospitalist do?
Hospitalists are often the go-to person in the middle of an acute crisis. They are trained to deal with both acute and chronic illness in an inpatient setting, providing care from the day of admission through discharge. They keep both the patient and their families well informed during the hospital stay and try to bridge any gap in care when multiple service lines are involved in the patient’s treatment.
How do hospitalists differ from internists?
A great majority of hospitalists are internists, working very closely with the entire inpatient team to ensure a patient’s needs are met. However, hospitalist service is tailored towards inpatient care only. A traditional internist, on the other hand, provides both inpatient and outpatient care. There are currently over 20,000 hospitalists in the US healthcare system, and it has been a growing field since the 1990’s.
Patients often ask why their own doctor isn’t at the hospital.
Primary care doctors have multiple patients in their care and are dedicated to their day-to-day health needs in the office – or outpatient – setting. They might not get any rest if they were to provide that level of care in the hospital setting as well. Think of a hospitalist as a unique hybrid, working in tandem with a patient’s primary doctor, specialists, etc., to be sure that the patient receives that same level of personalized care in the hospital setting, throughout their stay.
