Do hospitalist physicians improve the quality of inpatient care delivery?
Author Information
Author(s): Heather L. White, Richard H. Glazier
Primary Institution: University of Toronto
Hypothesis
This systematic review aims to determine whether hospitalists provide a higher quality of inpatient care compared to traditional inpatient physicians.
Conclusion
Hospitalists are efficient providers of inpatient care, reducing average length of stay and total hospital costs, but their clinical quality of care is comparable to that of traditional physicians.
Supporting Evidence
- Hospitalists reduced patients' average length of stay by 69%.
- Hospitalists decreased total hospital costs by 70%.
- Clinical quality of hospitalist care is comparable to traditional inpatient physicians.
Takeaway
Hospitalists help patients get out of the hospital faster and save money, but they don't necessarily provide better care than other doctors.
Methodology
A systematic review of 65 comparative evaluations of hospitalist performance published between January 1996 and December 2010.
Potential Biases
Potential selection bias due to nonrandom allocation of patients and lack of adjustment for confounding variables.
Limitations
Many studies had poor methodological quality, small sample sizes, and inadequate risk adjustment.
Participant Demographics
The majority of studies were conducted in the United States, with a mix of adult and pediatric patients.
Statistical Information
P-Value
p<0.05
Statistical Significance
p<0.05
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
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