What is a Hospitalist?
The Society of Hospital Medicine has adopted the following official definition of “hospitalist.”
Hospitalists are physicians whose primary professional focus is the general medical care of hospitalized patients. Their activities include patient care, teaching, research, and leadership related to Hospital Medicine.
The term “hospitalist” refers to physicians whose practice emphasizes providing care for hospitalized patients. The term was first used in a New England Journal of Medicine article in August of 1996. While some doctors have emphasized inpatient care for many years, there has been an explosive growth in the number of such doctors since 1994.
Wachter RM, Goldman L. The emerging role of “hospitalists” in the American health care system. N Engl J Med 1996;335:514-7.
