Hospital medicine is a medical specialty dedicated to the delivery of comprehensive medical care to hospitalized patients.
Practitioners of hospital medicine include physicians known as “hospitalists” and non physician providers who engage in clinical care, teaching, research or leadership in the field of general hospital medicine. In addition to their core expertise managing the clinical problems of acutely ill, hospitalized patients, hospital medicine practitioners work to enhance the performance of hospitals and health care systems.
Our goal is to provide exceptional patient care from the time of admission to Hartford Hospital to the transition back to an outpatient setting.
What is a Hospitalist?
If you need to be admitted to Hartford Hospital for a medical or cardiac problem, your care may be provided by a hospitalist.
Many primary care physicians (PCPs) are office-based, and no longer come to the hospital regularly to see patients. Instead, they request that a hospitalist provide care during your hospitalization.
A hospitalist is a board-certified internal medicine physician who specializes in providing care to people who require hospitalization. The hospitalist will see you on a daily basis, manage your inpatient care, interact with your PCP and consulting physicians, keep you and your family informed and direct your discharge plan.
Your hospitalist will make certain your PCP receives records of your hospitalization. Please make certain you tell your hospitalist who provides your primary care, as well as the names of the physicians who provide your specialist care. This will help your hospitalist keep your health care team involved and informed. Please do not hesitate to ask if you have any questions.
Your hospitalist will not see you again after your discharge from Hartford Hospital. While your primary care physician will be notified of your hospitalization and discharge, please make certain you call your PCP to set a follow-up appointment. Any prescriptions needed following discharge must come from your PCP.