What is a hospitalist?
At Fairview Ridges Hospital, a hospitalist is a physician whose primary focus is the general medical care of our hospitalized patients. Hospital medicine is a specialty organized around a site of care, rather than a disease or an organ. However, unlike medical specialists in the emergency department, a hospitalist is dedicated to taking care of a patient through his or her entire stay at the hospital, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Hospitalists at Fairview Ridges Hospital are all board certified in Internal Medicine. The difference is that a hospitalist specializes in working with patients in the hospital, instead of in a clinic, and enjoys the challenge of caring for patients with complex medical conditions.

How many hospitalists practice at Fairview Ridges Hospital?
There are currently 9 hospitalists on staff at Fairview Ridges Hospital. Click here to learn about the background of each of the hospitalists.

How long has Fairview Ridges Hospital had hospitalists?
The program started in 2002 and has grown quickly as the benefits of a hospital medicine program were proven. According to a recent survey conducted by the Society of Hospital Medicine, there are over 2000 hospital medical groups, with an average of 7 to 8 practicing hospitalists in each medical group. The country's leading hospitals have developed hospital medicine programs to address the challenge of inpatient care and patient safety while enhancing quality and service to patients.

What are the benefits of a hospital medicine program to our patients?
In the past, physicians visited their patients in hospitals frequently. Now their primary focus is on the high number of patients who visit their clinics, and the time they can spend with their patients who are hospitalized is much more limited. If a patient's doctor lives out the area, it's even more difficult for him or her to check in on the patient in the hospital.

A hospitalist fills this gap in care. A hospitalist is readily available throughout the day or night for patients and their family. A hospitalist answers questions as they arise, so patients won't have to wait until their physician makes rounds at the hospital. Because a hospitalist is always on site, he or she responds quickly to changes in the patient's condition. In addition, a hospitalist knows all of the members of the hospital care team, including other physicians involved in the patient's care, physical therapists, occupational therapists and nursing staff. A hospitalist coordinates all members of the hospital care team to make sure the patient is getting the best care possible at all times.

Patients tend to feel more secure about staying in the hospital when they know they will always have access to a hospitalist. In fact, patients who return for another procedure often request the same hospitalist to care for them again.

How does the hospital medicine program benefit Fairview Ridges Hospital?
Unlike a primary care physician, hospitalists spend most of their time with hospitalized patients, so they have more day-to-day experiences in the care of today's complex hospitalized patients. Their extensive hospital expertise helps them to recognize and diagnose unusual disorders, anticipate problems and rapidly respond to crises or changes in a patient's condition. Because the hospitalist remains as the primary contact throughout the patient's stay in the hospital, the hospitalist also provides better continuity of care. Hospitalists' ability to coordinate care with all members of the health care team helps improve the quality and effectiveness of care provided to our patients. In addition, many studies show that hospitalists can reduce hospital lengths of stay by more than 30 percent and reduce hospital costs by up to 20 percent.

Will more than one hospitalist be taking care of a hospitalized patient?
Depending on the length of the patient's stay, more than one hospitalist may take care of that patient. However, the hospitalist assigned to the patient upon arrival will be the primary hospitalist through the patient's entire stay. Only when that hospitalist is not on duty will another hospitalist step in to coordinate care. The hospitalist team meets twice daily to review and discuss each patient's hospital course to keep the team informed of significant changes or treatment plans. When he or she returns, the primary hospitalist receives updates about changes in the patient's condition and resumes patient care.

Does the hospitalist remain in contact with the patient's primary physician?
A hospitalist will communicate with the patient's clinic doctor upon admission to and discharge from the hospital. When the patient is discharged from the hospital, the hospitalists will inform the patient's clinic doctor about the medications prescribed and recommend any necessary treatments or follow-up tests and appointments.

What happens after the patient leaves the hospital?
Upon a patient's discharge, his or her clinic doctor will resume care. The hospitalist will recommend when appropriate follow-up appointments and tests should be made. Within 24 hours of the patient's discharge the patient's clinic physician will receive a detailed summary of the hospitalization. After discharge any patient questions should be referred to their clinic doctor.

Which healthcare clinics does the Fairview Ridges Hospital Medicine Program support?
At this time the Fairview Ridges Hospital hospitalist service cares for all unassigned patient (patient whose primary physician don’t make visits to Fairview Ridges Hospital) such as: Park Nicollet Clinics, Quello Clinics, Aspen Clinics, and few Fairview clinics such as Fairview Oxboro Clinic. This list is growing fast and the program is recruiting more hospitalists to care for patients in the near future.

How can I reach a hospitalist?
You can call the office at 952-892-2461.