What is a Hospitalist?

A hospitalist is a board certified doctor who typically specializes in internal medicine and is solely dedicated to caring for patients who are in the hospital. It's important to note that hospitalists are doctors on contract with the hospital, but they are not employed by the hospital. Hospitalists are becoming more and more common due to the increase in need for patient care.

When a patient is admitted into the hospital, a hospitalist cares for the patient and then reports back to the patient's primary care doctor and/or specialist. Patients benefit from receiving care from a hospitalist because he or she is always on-site and is available 24-hours a day. This is helpful because they are able to frequently monitor a patient's progress and can order and follow-up on test results, which can help expedite a patient's treatment and recovery time. In addition, because hospitalists work at the hospital full-time, they are familiar with the hospital, its services and key personnel.

Once a patient is discharged from the hospital, they will go back to seeing their regular primary care doctor for care.

If you do not have a primary care doctor, please call us at (480) 728-5414.