Inside Aging Parent Care

The Hospitalist System Redux

A recent article in The New York Times praising the advent of hospital doctors known as “hospitalists” has stirred a small controversy among readers of The Times New Old Age blog.   Many, but not all, of the medical people who weighed in point out the many potential advantages of the system.  One advantage is that there is an actual doctor in the hospital available to respond to patient emergencies.  (This is apparently not true in all hospitals, however, as one commenter from Venice, FL. attests.  Check to see if your hospitalist is an MD or a Physician Assistant.)

There are other theoretical advantages outlined in The Times report.  One of the important ones is the idea that hospitalist doctors reduce the incidence of expensive hospital readmissions.  The Times tells us that avoidable readmissions …

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