Impact of Hospitalist Programs on Perceived Care Quality, Interprofessional Collaboration, and Communication: Lessons from Implementation of 3 Hospital Medicine Programs in Canada

Abstract

managers about the impact of the implementation of 3 new hospitalist services on care quality, teamwork, and interprofessional communication. Design: We used an online survey and semistructured interviews to evaluate respondents’ views on quality of interprofessional communication and collaboration, impact of the new services on quality of care, and overall staff satisfaction with the new inpatient care model. Setting: Integrated Regional Health Authority in British Columbia, Canada. Participants: Participants included hospital administrators, frontline care providers (across a range of professions), and hospital and community-based physicians. Results: The majority of respondents reported high levels of satisfaction with their new hospital medicine services. They identified improvements in interprofessional collaboration and communication between hospitalists and other professionals, which were attributed to enhanced onsite presence of physicians. They also perceived improvements in quality of care and efficiency. On the other hand, they identified a number of challenges with the change process, and raised concerns about the impact of patient handoffs on care quality and efficiency. Conclusion: Across 3 very different acute care settings, the implementation of a hospitalist service was widely perceived to have resulted in improved teamwork, quality of care, and interprofessional communication.