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The Medical University of South Carolina has recently implemented a hospitalist program to coordinate and ensure continuity of care for patients from admission to discharge. MUSC leadership created the program recognizing the benefits of hospitalists on a national level. “Hospitalists are experts in inpatient medicine and can provide patients with continuity of care throughout their hospital stays. MUSC is very pleased to welcome the team of hospitalists to its ranks.”
 The Hospitalist Program Provides: | Immediate, easy access to a member of our MUSC staff for urgent phone consultation and/or hospital referral. | Optimal contact with the referring physician. Communication between the hospitalist and referring physician(s) is of paramount importance at MUSC. | A familiar and consistent approach to inpatient and outpatient care. | A consultative resource for physicians. All patients are returned to the referring physician for ongoing care. | Timely appointments for patients referred for consultation. | High quality, family-centered care, in the tradition of the Medical University of South Carolina. | To refer a patient for urgent hospitalization or telephone
consultation, please call MEDULINE at:
Local Phone: 843.792.2200
Toll Free: 1.800.922.5250 | Intended solely for the use of health professionals, MEDULINE- MUSC's dedicated consultation telephone service. It provides convenient access to the physicians and services of the MUSC Medical Center. The service is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. |
The benefits to patients are numerous. Most important, high quality of care is available around the clock, seven days a week. The patient sees a doctor as often as needed. Under traditional practices, patients might see their doctors once a day during their routine rounds.
More timely care is available because hospitalists are based at the MUSC Medical Center and can make quicker decisions as situations arise. They can modify treatment or follow up on a test result on the spot, instead of waiting until the next day. This hands-on approach not only helps prevent medical complications, but also results in reduced hospital stays and lower costs. Patients are ready to go home that afternoon or evening rather than having to wait to be discharged the next day. And, hospitalists can consult with the patient's family more readily.
How do patients perceive hospitalists? |
For a number of reasons, many patients prefer hospitalists. First, since hospitalists practice on site in the hospital, they are present whenever the patient or family member has a question regarding care. Patients no longer need to wait until their physician makes rounds to get answers. Second, by being located in the hospital, hospitalists know how to expedite and improve care within that environment. They are familiar with all the key individuals in the hospital, including medical and surgery consultants, discharge planners, clergy and others. Third, hospitalists can better facilitate connections with post-acute providers, such as home health care, skilled nursing care, specialized rehabilitation and others. (source: SHM)
Does the use of hospitalists save money? |
Yes. Studies show that inpatient specialists can reduce hospital lengths of stay by more than 30 percent and hospital costs by up to 20 percent. Case studies compiled by The Advisory Board of Washington, D.C. demonstrate that hospitalists were successful in reducing lengths of stay and costs per case across every geographic region in the United States. That is one of the reasons why hospitals, insurers, and economic and quality forces are propelling the shift to hospitalists as a way to improve the efficiency of care for hospitalized patients. (source: SHM)
What value do hospitalists provide to the physician community? |
Thanks to increases in medical technology, more and more care is being delivered in the physician’s office. Today, the average primary care physician has one or two hospitalized patients per week today, versus 10-12 patients 20 years ago. Working with a hospitalist provides primary care physicians the ability to focus their attention on their office practices and better refine these needed outpatient skills, while at the same time knowing that their in-hospital patients are receiving the best care possible from specialists trained in that field. This is particularly important because hospital patients today are more complex and more acutely ill than in the past. Because of this, Hospital Medicine requires a decidedly different skill set than outpatient medicine – a skill set that hospitalists are particularly experienced with and competent to handle. (source: SHM)
 Hospitalist programs improve quality of inpatient care
By Dennis Quick
Charleston Regional Business Journal
Senior Staff Writer
January 12, 2004
Additional Information on the MUSC Hospitalist Program |
The Catalyst Online: Hospitalist program ensures quality patient care
Pamela H. Pride, M.D.
Interim Director, Hospitalist Program
Degree: M.D. awarded by University of Pittsburgh, 1996
Residency: Bowman Gray School of Medicine
Certification: American Board of Internal Medicine
Specialty: General Internal Medicine
R. Neal Axon. M.D.
Degree: M.D. awarded by University of Alabama, 2000
Residency: Duke University
Certification: Internal Medicine, Pediatrics
Specialty: General Internal Medicine Patrick J. Cawley, M.D.
Degree: M.D. awarded by Georgetown University, 1992
Residency: Duke University
Certification: American Board of Internal Medicine, 1995
Specialty: General Internal Medicine Pamela Charity, M.D.
Degree: awarded by Hahnemann University, 1992
Residency: Duke University
Certification: Internal Medicine
Specialty: General Internal Medicine Cristina Cortes, M.D.
Degree: M.D. awarded by Universidad Central Del Este, 2000
Residency: Mount Sinai Medical Center
Certification: Internal Medicine
Specialty: General Internal Medicine Theresa Cuoco, M.D.
Degree: M.D. awarded by Georgetown University, 1998
Residency: Walter Reed Army Medical Center
Certification: Internal Medicine
Specialty: General Internal Medicine Justin G. Miller, M.D.
Degree: M.D. awarded by University of Tennessee, 2000
Residency: Medical University of South Carolina
Specialty: General Internal Medicine Gena M. Walker, M.D.
Degree: M.D. awarded by West Virginia University, 2000
Residency: University of Pittsburgh Health Systems
Certification: Internal Medicine, Pediatrics
Specialty: General Internal Medicine
Additional Online Resources- Hospitalists |
Society of Hospital Medicine
The Society of Hospital Medicine is the leading national organization providing resources and a voice for Hospitalists. The SHM supports and enhances the practice of Hospital Medicine and the delivery of healthcare to the patients served by hospitalists.
Hospitalists- A specialty coming into its own
American Hospital Association- Hospitals & Health Networks
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