WILLMAR -- Rice Memorial Hospital and Affiliated Community Medical Centers are embarking on a joint study to evaluate whether hospitalists -- physicians who specialize in caring for hospitalized patients -- are feasible in Willmar.
A consultant with Nelson/Flores Associates arrived in town this week to launch the study. A report and recommendations will be issued later this year.
"We want to know whether our size makes something like this feasible," said Lorry Massa, CEO of the city-owned hospital. "Are there some opportunities to improve care? Are there some opportunities to reduce cost?"
Hospitalists are one of the fastest growing specialties in the United States. A decade ago, there were fewer than 100 hospitalist physicians. There are now about 12,000 of these specialists practicing in hospitals; within a decade their ranks are projected to more than double.
At some hospitals, the hospitalist takes over the care of seriously ill patients in the intensive care unit. At others, hospitalists coordinate and oversee care for a wider range of inpatients.
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"Each hospital's program is unique," said Dr. Ronald Holmgren, president of Affiliated Community Medical Centers.
The concept is something that local providers have discussed "off and on for a number of years," he said.
Proponents say there are many advantages to having hospitalists. By being on site, they're able to order tests, follow up with specialists and coordinate patient care more efficiently than primary care doctors who might only visit the hospital once a day.
They can oversee the care of patients who are uninsured or don't have a primary care doctor.
"I think that there are a lot of benefits," Holmgren said. "A hospitalist is available all day long for the patient. The continuity of the care actually may be improved."
There's some preliminary evidence that the use of hospitalists can help reduce patients' length of stay in the hospital. Hospitalists also can bring more in-depth skills in caring for patients who often are acutely ill and have complex needs.
The hospitalist movement isn't without its critics. Some believe it leads to fragmented care and unnecessarily complicates the patient's transition into or out of the hospital.
Selling the concept to patients also can be a challenge.
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"They want to see their own doctor when they're in the hospital," said Dr. Robert Kruger, a surgeon at Affiliated Community Medical Center and a member of the Rice Hospital board of directors.
If it's decided to move forward with a hospitalist program, it will be key for physicians to support it -- and to communicate their support to patients, Holmgren said. "That endorsement is very important."
Consultant interviews are taking place this week with administrators, physicians and hospital nursing staff. Data will also be collected on how many patients are admitted to Rice Hospital each year, their acuity of illness, how long they're in the hospital and other information.
Besides addressing the feasibility of hospitalists, the study will look at issues such as how to implement a hospitalist program and what structure it should take.
Holmgren said the preliminary model that's being considered is for Affiliated to employ one or more hospitalist physicians who would be based at Rice Hospital.
It's too early in the process to know when the hospital and the regional multispecialty clinic will make a recommendation on whether to go forward with a hospitalist program, he said. "The decision to go ahead is down the road."
