Our Surgicalist Model Complements and Supports Hospitalists Programs
The hospitalist model of care, introduced more than 20 years ago, has helped to reshape patient care within the hospital setting while enabling hospitals to better achieve key quality outcomes. Today, the Surgical Affiliates Surgical Hospitalist Program is helping to transform the delivery of trauma and emergency general surgery care, allowing for a seamless integration within the hospital setting that also serves to complement and support a hospital’s existing hospitalist program. The end result of this integration – a productive, synergistic partnership between surgicalists and hospitalists that yields significant benefits for patients, providers, and hospitals.
Our Surgicalists Work Closely with Hospitalists in Support of Common Goals
Hospitalists – dedicated in-house physicians providing care to acutely ill hospitalized patients – are typically board-certified internal medicine physicians or general practitioners who are members of the core group of physicians delivering dedicated on-site services within the hospital setting. One important duty for hospitalists is coordinating patient care, which involves delineating a comprehensive plan of care, organizing the communication among specialists caring for a patient, and serving as the point of contact with other healthcare providers and family members for questions and updates.
In providing our hospital partners with a dedicated, in-house team of experienced board-certified trauma and acute care surgeons delivering round-the-clock care to patients, we work closely with hospitalists to provide the highest level of care to patients while seamlessly integrating with all existing hospital departments. Our surgicalists, dedicated members of our hospital partners’ in-house physician teams, closely collaborate with hospitalists in support of institutional goals such as improving patient outcomes, increasing operational efficiency, and enhancing continuity of care.
- Round-the-clock availability of surgicalists supports hospitalists in improving patient outcomes. In hospitals without surgicalist programs, hospitalists sometimes must wait for responses from on-call surgeons for patients in need of emergency surgery – resulting in possible delays in care and an increased risk of complications. Surgical Affiliates establishes experienced, highly qualified teams to provide 24/7, in-house emergency surgical support, allowing operations to be performed more quickly and leading to improved outcomes for patients and hospitals. Also, eliminating the need for hospitalists to locate an on-call surgeon for a patient in need allows them to focus more of their valuable time on patient care, further contributing to improved outcomes for patients. Additionally, we provide our hospital partners with a standardized admission grid in the Emergency Department, which allows for a streamlined admission process that facilitates improved patient flow.
- A dedicated medical director helps to increase operational efficiency and ensure seamless integration with other hospital departments, including hospitalist programs. Our experienced surgical teams are supported and led by a dedicated, local medical director focused on maintaining high-quality standards and efficient clinic operations. Also, this dedicated professional is available to serve on any hospital committee as a means of ensuring optimal integration with other hospital departments.
- Our surgicalists support hospitalists in coordinating and enhancing continuity of care.A the well-managed surgicalist program creates an improved working relationship between hospitalists and surgeons that enhances continuity of care. For example, the advantage of a dedicated in-house surgical team is that together, surgeons and hospitalists can create treatment algorithms that allow for better coordination of care – perhaps not feeding a patient who may need timely surgery or not administering blood thinners when an operation is imminent. Also, hospitalists appreciate the immediate availability of an engaged and professional surgeon who serves as a willing consultant for complicated patients and potential transfers into the facility. What’s more, our surgicalist programs provide standardized care based on evidence-based best practices, ensuring that our experienced teams of acute care surgeons reduce variations in care and create an environment in which hospitalists can come to rely on a standard approach to various clinical scenarios, reducing unnecessary tests or delays in care.
