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Answering the patient's question in a brochure: "What's a hospitalist?"

Hospitalist Leadership Connection, August 26, 2008

As more patients are cared by hospitalists for the first time, inpatients might have some questions about why their primary care physician (PCP) is not their attending physician during their hospital stay. One way to help patients understand the hospitalist’s role in their care and to ease them into the process is to provide an informational brochure. The brochure should address some common questions patients have:

• What is a hospitalist?
• What is the relationship between the hospitalist and my PCP?
• How does the hospitalist service work?
• What if I need another specialist while I’m in the hospital?
• How can I contact the hospitalist service/individual hospitalists?
• What can I expect during my hospitalization stay?
• Will my PCP be kept up to date about my progress during my hospital stay?

A hospitalist staff member should meet the patient within 24 hours of admission, at which time he or she can present the brochure. Alternatively, the hospitalist can present the brochure, along with a business card, when he or she meets the patient.

The above except is adapted from Hospitalist Case Studies: Tactics and Strategies for 10 Common Hurdles by Kenneth G. Simone, DO, published by HCPro, Inc.

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