More hospital patients visited by 'hospitalists' rather than family physicians

An increasing number of private-practice physicians nationwide are relying on "hospitalists" to provide care to their hospitalized patients, the Daytona Beach News-Journal reports.

The number of hospitalists -- physicians who specialize in caring for patients while they are in the hospital -- has increased by more than 18 times between the mid-1990s and 2005 to about 15,000 physicians, according to the industry publication Managed Healthcare Executive.

The number of hospitalists is expected to reach 30,000 by 2010. A major reason for the increased use of hospitalists is that some family practice physicians no longer perform hospital rounds, the News-Journal reports.

Hospitalists "sav[e] time for office-based doctors who are seeing more patients instead of driving to the hospital, where reimbursement for services is lower," according to some doctors, the News-Journal reports.

Some hospitals in the U.S. have stopped allowing off-site primary care physicians to see patients in those hospitals.

David Billmeier, a Florida physician who does hospital rounds, said that the greatest benefit from patients seeing their regular doctor when hospitalized "is from an emotional standpoint, having a familiar face who is acting as their advocate."

Billmeier added, "Their family doctor is someone they trust and someone they know is looking out for their best interest during the most frightening chapter of their lives."

Billmeier said he is concerned that family physicians who make hospital rounds might become a luxury for wealthy people because of increased costs and decreasing insurance reimbursements.

The News-Journal reports that some studies have found that the increased use of hospitalists "lends greater efficiency to the entire medical system, [but] whether or not this change improves patient care is still an unanswered question" (Geggis, Daytona Beach News-Journal, 10/23).