Impact of Hospitalist Programs on Efficiency of Inpatient Care
The need:
While the majority of inpatient care in British Columbia has traditionally been provided by family doctors, a variety of factors have contributed to hospitals pivoting to a new approach – the hospitalist model. Disagreement continues to exist on if and how hospitalists improve the quality of inpatient care delivery. Fraser Health needed help to assess the impacts of such models on quality of care in two community hospitals and a large referral centre.
What we did:
Working closely with the Health Authority, we completed a case study evaluation to determine and compare differences the hospitalist models were making within the Fraser Region. A wide range of partners and players were consulted in the assessment process, from allied health care providers to senior administration. Mixed methods were adopted to ensure our findings were in-depth, yet wide-reaching. Our work informed improvements to the hospitalists models and demonstrated how hospital-based physicians can enhance care.
Services:
Case Study Evaluation
Outcome Evaluation
Impact Areas:
Acute Care
Service Delivery Transformation
