FP Report -- March 1999
New breed at BU: FPs on inpatient service
Last year, Boston University Medical Center's new family medicine department opened an inpatient service staffed mainly by family physicians.
They are a new type of hospitalist for the center, and they're eager for the help of residents who'll begin staffing the service this summer.
"We've become the leaders of the inpatient teams for the most difficult patients."
-- Larry Culpepper, M.D."In a large academic health center, primary care is often devalued," said Larry Culpepper, M.D., department chair. "Our primary care-based hospitalist system allows us to demonstrate the strengths of family practice in addressing the inpatient needs of our patients."
Department faculty, community FPs and a few internists take turns as hospitalists on seven-day shifts, managing the care for 40-50 patients. With close community connections, they've cut the average length of stay by about 1.5 days, to 4.25 days.
"Other specialists often look to us for help with a particularly difficult case, one with serious psychosocial aspects," said Culpepper. "Also, we're often the arbiter and interpreter and final decision-maker when multiple specialists have differences concerning what's best for the patient. We've become the leaders of the inpatient teams for the most difficult patients."
FP Report is published by the AAFP News Department. Copyright © 1999 by American Academy of Family Physicians.
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