Medical Staff

To outsource or not: Surgical hospitalist programs

Hospitalist Leadership Connection, April 6, 2010

Surgical coverage options present advantages and disadvantages in terms of operations, physician alignment, strategic positioning, and financial implications. Although the specifics will depend on the hospital’s unique position, consider the following advantages and disadvantages.

The advantages of outsourcing a surgical hospitalist program include:

  • Reduces conflicts among private practices in the community
  • Ensures coverage through contractual obligation with the vendor
  • Enhances ability to recruit surgeons who have a specific interest in hospitalist work
  • Enables private surgeons to increase elective surgical cases and admissions
  • Improves private surgeon recruiting by offering no call requirement

The disadvantages of outsourcing a surgical hospitalist program include:

  • The program is more costly due to markup of services provided by vendor
  • Distracts from existing relationship with private general surgeons
  • Has limited continuity, as vendor may experience high turnover of surgeons
  • Startup can take time, and vendor will likely negotiate protective clauses that provide it with adequate recruiting time

The above excerpt is adapted from The Surgical Hospitalist Program Management Guide: Tools and Strategies for Executives and Physicians, by John Nelson, MD, FACP, and John Maa, MD, FACS, and foreword by Robert M. Wachter, MD, published by HCPro, Inc.

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