In the US, there are approximately 30,000 Hospitalists practicing at present, out of the 62,966 total doctors. Here in Texas, there are 166 Hospitalists, one hundred and forty six being Allopathic doctors and 20 being Doctors of Osteopathy. In the area of 50% of clinics across the country have a branch of this dedicated unit. Because of increasing need, many medical education facilities are developing Hospitalist-based residency programs.
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Hospitalists have just emerged in the last ten or fifteen years. The term Hospitalist refers to not only physicians, but also Nurses, Clinicians, Aids, and specialists who normally work in a hospital setting where there is a high degree of patients and requires a much more inclusive knowledge of medicine. This group tends to serve as unofficial case supervisors, helping direct specialists and other health professionals.
Failing Economy-
The lacking economy hasn't hurt demand for Hospitalists nonetheless, but it hasn't helped them either. In other specialties such as Psychiatry and Family / General Practice, the cost for these services are on the rise . And with the Emergency and Urgent Care case capacity bursting at the seams, the forecast seems at least steady. There is speculation, however, that the salaries of Hospitalists will plateau from their current rise, and possibly even fall. This also is because the rapid growth of and reliance on Hospitalists is relatively unpredictable and to early to predict anything longterm, as is the physician job market as a whole. However, most sources do agree, Hospitalists won't be hurting anytime soon.
The stock markets downfall has changed some physicians' retirement decisions. Some are calling off their impending retirement and opting to work for a few more years because of the hits their retirement plans and investment portfolios have taken. By postponing leaving the workplace, you might think this might flood the job market. It isn't so. Even a delay of three to five years wouldn't fix the looming deficit of veteran physicians. Many recruitment firms and hospitals are, despite the lack of candidates, practicing a more thorough, limiting, and conservative recruitment regimen.
Most businesses in these tough times are reevaluating every expense and downsizing unnecessary ones. Hospitals, obviously the primary employer of Hospitalists, are following suit. Some employers even view Hospitalists as one of these dispensable cutting needless costs. Contrarily, they have the potential to curtail many HR expenses due to their flexibility and very broad, intensive training.
Health Insurance Reform-
The recently accepted health care / insurance reform, although is very formless as of yet, has the potential to rock the Hospitalist world. There are a few prerequisites for this proposed reform. You wouldn't normally think of a Hospitalist as a general care physician, but the administration might classify them as such. They might especially do so if a Hospitalist does fifty percent or more in primary care services, or what is "defined" as core care services. This would subject Hospitalists to the five to ten percent increase in Medicare reimbursements, or lack thereof, depending on how the bill sets up deficiency zones (higher Medicare reimbursement rates). This gray area could cause Medicare quite a few problems and upset an entire branch of medicine, in particular a branch so vital, beneficial, and thriving as Hospitalist. With so few Hospitalists in Texas, they may remain less affected by all of this than we might imagine.
