Since its inception in 2000, the Washington University School of Medicine hospitalist service at Barnes-Jewish Hospital has grown steadily. This growth reflects the group's success in offering superior service to both community physicians and patients, its status as the only academically based hospitalist service in the area, and the support of a strong partnership between Washington University School of Medicine and Barnes-Jewish Hospital.
The hospitalists care solely for hospitalized patients, managing the care of patients admitted by community physicians. They also offer medical consults on patients admitted by Washington University School of Medicine specialists.
Many primary care physicians are concerned about continuity of care for their patients. Primary care physicians consistently have noted that the hospitalist service has helped them improve efficiency and productivity by decreasing on-call time, travel and rounding time, and telephone interruptions, allowing them to spend more time in their patient offices while keeping informed of the status of their hospitalized patients.
And while the attending hospitalists provide comprehensive, 24-hour coverage for patients while they are in-house, patient care is directed back to the primary care physician's office at discharge.
The Washington University School of Medicine service at Barnes-Jewish Hospital has evolved from a single physician, Mark Thoelke, MD, to more than 100 physicians. Effective October 2021, the Division of Hospital Medicine will be under the direction of Mark Williams, MD. All the hospitalists are board-certified or board-eligible internists.
Learn more about the Division of Hospital Medicine.
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