Hospitalists
Hospitalists are doctors who manage your care while you are in the hospital; they coordinate and consult with specialists, monitor your progress, and stay in close communication with you, your family, and your primary care physician. At Spectrum Health Lakeland, all of our hospitalists are experienced doctors who are board-certified or board-eligible in their specialties.
Benefits of Hospitalists
Lakeland’s hospitalists are uniquely qualified to navigate the departments and specialties within our hospitals. Our hospitalists are the connection between surgeons, pharmacists, nurses, care managers, social workers, and hospital executives. We have two teams of hospitalists: pediatric and adult medicine. Through their steady presence in our hospitals, they understand “how to get things done” while ensuring that every patient is closely monitored and receives around-the-clock care. Hospitalists can be at a patient’s bedside quickly if problems arise; they are readily available to respond to the urgent needs of their patients and to communicate with the patient’s family. Hospitalists also help reduce medical errors because they keep everyone involved in discussions about the patient.
Spectrum Health Lakeland and our community’s primary care physicians rely on hospitalists because they:
- Increase patient safety and quality of care
- Improve teamwork and efficiently manage resources
- Educate patients about Lakeland’s wellness programs
- Decrease both medical errors and healthcare costs
- Decrease mortality, length of hospital stay, and re-admissions
Hospitalists and Your Primary Care Provider
When you are admitted to a Spectrum Health Lakeland hospital you are asked to confirm the name and contact information of your Primary Care Provider (PCP). This is one of the first things we do because our hospitalists act on behalf of your PCP while you are in the hospital. It is critical that information flows regularly throughout your entire care team. Your hospitalist and the PCP will consult as needed during your entire hospital stay. Your PCP is welcome to visit you while you are in the hospital, discuss treatment options, and coordinate your follow-up care once you have left the hospital.
If you do not have a primary care provider, you hospitalist and care manager will work to help refer you to one in the community for follow-up care. Records from your hospital stay can be sent to this provider.