Hospitalists in the intensive care unit may lead to lower hospital length of stay, duration on ventilators, catheter-associated bloodstream infections and healthcare costs, according to research presented at the Annual Meeting of the Society of Hospital Medicine and reported by Internal Medicine News.
For the study, an associate director of the hospitalist program at Lodi (Calif.) Memorial Hospital assigned himself and four hospitalists to the 10-bed ICU. The entire team was credentialed to perform critical procedures, such as ventilator management and endotracheal intubation, by the start of the trial. The team also underwent education on critical care support and evidence-based standardized order sets for common ICU conditions.
In addition to improved outcomes and cost-savings, the researchers found improved patient and employee satisfaction of the ICU hospitalist team one year after the ICU hospitalist model was implemented.
For the study, an associate director of the hospitalist program at Lodi (Calif.) Memorial Hospital assigned himself and four hospitalists to the 10-bed ICU. The entire team was credentialed to perform critical procedures, such as ventilator management and endotracheal intubation, by the start of the trial. The team also underwent education on critical care support and evidence-based standardized order sets for common ICU conditions.
In addition to improved outcomes and cost-savings, the researchers found improved patient and employee satisfaction of the ICU hospitalist team one year after the ICU hospitalist model was implemented.
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