With over 48,000 practicing hospitalists nationwide, the field of hospital medicine has grown rapidly since its inception in the late 1990s. Today, hospitalists work in 90% of US hospitals with over 200 beds.¹ A hospitalist coordinates a patient’s care while he or she is in the hospital. Hospitalists are responsible for answering patient questions, coordinating care between specialists, and evaluating test results. While hospitalists, most of whom are trained in internal medicine, do not replace primary care physicians, they do help ensure the entire hospitalization process runs as smoothly as possible.

Just as a primary care physician oversees a patient’s overall health and makes referrals to specialists, a hospitalist coordinates a patient’s care in the hospital. Hospitalists are essentially the quarterback of the medical team and coordinate care for patients that come into the hospital.

Our hospitalists are all internal medicine specialists and are trained to evaluate the entire patient, rather than focusing on one particular organ or disease. We not only look for signs of disease, but also what is happening in a patient’s personal life. We listen and learn how the patient is doing and what is important to them.

Learn more about the history of hospital medicine.

[1] Messler J. A History of the Hospitalist Movement. Obstet Gynecol Clin North Am. Published September 2015.