By: Cory Ellerd
Submitted: 2010-08-19 12:34:42 | Word Count: 585
Here in the this country, there are about thirty thousand Hospitalists active today. More or less half of hospitals across the country have a branch of this specialized unit. Many medical education institutions, such as colleges and universities, are beginning to develop Hospitalist-based residency programs. Hospitalists have a very narrow and modern history: in the last decade or so, a forte for a broad and intense, hospital based specialty emerged. The term Hospitalist refers to not only Medical Doctors and DO's, but also Nurses, Clinicians, Aids, and specialists who ordinarily work in a hospital situation where there is a high number of patients and requires a much broader knowledge and expertise of medicine. This group tends to serve as unofficial case supervisors, helping direct specialists and other health professionals.
Hospitalist : deficiency and surplus
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The Hospitalist field is a very exceptional one, and has been developing in size at a rapid pace. The American Medical Association's medical journal sites that in the future, Hospitalists will rival cardiologists in numbers. They keep on saying that the existence of a Hospitalist group in a health care facility shortens hospital stays and may even lessen hospital mortality rates, without sacrificing any experience quality or satisfaction for the patient. This somewhat new, upcoming specialty gives no indicator of slowing down at all, but only time will tell how the broad-spectrum deficiency of major specialty physicians will affect it.
Unstable , Financially Viable Climate
The fading market does not presently do Hospitalists any favors however, but it still hasn't hurt them yet either. In other primary care specialties, demand and, in turn, cost for these services are on the rise, due. And with the Emergency and Urgent Care caseloads bursting at the seams, the forecast seems at least steady. There is speculation, however, that the compensation of Hospitalists will plateau from their current rise, and possibly even decrease. No one can be too sure, as it is too early to tell. This also is for the reason that the rapid and 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 suffering anytime soon.
Health Coverage and Healthcare Reform
The fresh insurance reform / health care, although very formless as of yet, has the potential to sway the Hospitalist world. There are a few prerequisites for this proposed reform. You wouldn't normally think of a Hospitalist as a primary care physician, but the government might classify them as such. They might especially do so if a Hospitalist does fifty percent or more in primary care charges, or what is "defined" as primary care charges. This would subject Hospitalists to the five to ten percent medicare reimbursements, or lack thereof, depending on how the bill sets up shortage zones (higher Medicare reimbursement rates). This gray area could cause Medicare quite a few problems and upset an entire branch of medicine, especially a division so imperative, beneficial, and blooming as Hospitalist.
