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Hospitalist Service Ensures Quality Patient Care
As primary care physicians strive to provide the best care for their patients, VVMC's Hospitalist service is lending a hand to coordinate and ensure each patient's continuity of care from admission to discharge. With nationally recognized benefits, this service addresses VVMC's mission to provide superior health services aligned to the needs of Eagle County residents and visitors.

The tradition of Hospitalists originated approximately 25 years ago when community primary care physicians would spend half of their patient care time in hospitals. Physicians at that time rotated hospital duty and “on call” time with partners. As health care evolved and patient care migrated to the office and outpatient areas, physicians spent less time on inpatient care.

Hospitalists are medical doctors, usually internists, who specialize in inpatient care. Often acting as consultants to ER physicians, surgeons, obstetricians, and other physicians, the Hospitalists' focus is to provide patients with around-the-clock coordination of care. Hospitalists are not just specialists in patient care, but are also experts in hospital processes. They can order tests, write prescriptions and coordinate other medical services for their patients. They communicate often with patients and their families and can answer specific medical questions. If a patient doesn’t have a primary care provider, Hospitalists can assist to coordinate one. 

The Hospitalist Service fosters a team approach in providing quality patient care. Currently, about 7,500 Hospitalists work throughout the country, with a majority of them serving as general internal medicine physicians. With the health care profession’s recent emphasis on patient safety and stricter guidelines directed by governing agencies, it is expected that the demand for Hospitalists will grow to 20,000 in the next decade.  People who are hospitalized today are usually very ill with longer hospital stays. Initial studies indicate that Hospitalist programs have translated to improved clinical outcomes, shorter patient stays with fewer readmissions and an overall reduction in hospital costs.