By Jigna Janani, MD
Adult Hospitalist, Blanchard Valley Health System Medical Staff

Often when patients are admitted to the hospital, they have questions such as, “Where is my family doctor?” or “What does a ‘hospitalist’ mean?” My common response to them is, “A hospitalist is serving like a family doctor for you while you are in the hospital.” Once the patient is discharged from the hospital, the family doctor usually resumes care. 

Hospitalists are like a quarterback on a football field or a conductor in an orchestra. Their job is to ensure both that patients feel well-educated about their medical illness and that they receive excellent care during one of the toughest times for them and for their loved ones.

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The role of a hospitalist evolved almost two decades ago because community doctors had challenges seeing patients who needed immediate evaluation at the hospital while also trying to keep up with busy clinic practice. So, family doctors started partnering with doctors who work only in the hospital and provide 24-hour care to their patients when they are hospitalized. 

A hospitalist provider can be a physician or an advanced care practitioner like a nurse practitioner or physician assistant. There is always one hospitalist physician on call to promptly see a patient who has been admitted to the hospital or if immediate attention is needed during a hospital stay. Hospitalists serve as attending providers or in-charge doctors for the majority of the patients who get admitted from the emergency room or directly admitted from a family doctor's office or transferred in from an outside facility. 

Hospitalists help coordinate care with several specialists and care transition teams, follow the patient through the entire hospital stay, and discharge the patient when medically ready. They help facilitate a safe discharge plan when the patient is ready to go home or to the next level of care, such as a nursing home or an assisted living facility. It takes a lot of coordination behind the curtains to communicate with all the specialists involved, such as nurses, pharmacists, social workers, therapists, and the rest of the ancillary staff.

Hospitalists commonly work for one entire week in a row, 12-hour shifts each time, either day or night, and then take off for a week. They often sacrifice a lot of time away from their loved ones, miss family dinners and kids' games, and take turns working holidays. 

While their schedules are demanding, hospitalists provide their service in a compassionate and dedicated manner so that patients continue to receive the best experience possible at their community hospital setting.