A New Hospitalist Model for Managing High-Cost, High-Need Patients

Authors
Caroline M. Berchuck
Case Example
October 2018

This resource describes a promising new hospitalist model for inpatient treatment of complex care patients.

  • In July 2016, Commonwealth Care Alliance and Boston Medical Center created a hospitalist service staffed with physicians and mid-level providers who specialize in complex care. 
  • This complex care hospitalist model has four fundamental, replicable components: communication, continuity of care, social determinants of health, and specialists in complex care.
  • Preliminary results show that patients receiving this service had lower 30-day readmissions rates and lower rates of return to the emergency department, compared with patients receiving traditional hospitalist services. 
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