Overview
· Hospital Medicine programs were first implemented at Fraser Health facilities in 2001 as an effective solution to address the care needs of an increasing number of “unattached” patients (patients who either did not have a family doctor to look after them when hospitalised, or whose family doctors did not have hospital privileges). Since then, the program has continued to expand and is now an essential part of the Fraser Health inpatient care delivery system.
Hospitalist Services Now Provided in 10 Sites
· Currently, Hospitalists provide services at 10 of 12 acute care hospitals within Fraser Health: ARH, BH, DH, ERH, LMH, MMH, PAH, RMH, RCH and SMH. These sites represent large, tertiary referral centres, medium community hospitals, and smaller acute care facilities. Our programs are among the largest and busiest in Canada.
What We Do
· Working collaboratively with the rest of the acute care team (including hospital managers, nursing and allied health), hospitalists provide a wide range of inpatient care services including Most Responsible Physician (MRP) care, consultations, and supportive care for some surgical and psychiatric patients. Hospitalists also manage patients on some Rehabilitation and PATH units. Since its inception, the department has evolved into a service that provides most, if not all, of the MRP responsibilities to the medical patients admitted to our 10 sites.
· Hospitalists manage and coordinate the care of over 1300 patients daily, working closely with other physicians (both primary care providers and facility-based specialists), Nurse Practitioners, nursing and allied health professionals, and hospital management.
Our Commitment to Quality
As Hospitalists, we have a strong commitment to upholding the highest quality standards in patient care. Hospitalists are actively involved in a range of quality improvement projects (e.g. FH Safety Priorities such as Sepsis, Delirium and Medication Reconciliation), as well as various initiatives to enhance patient flow and increase care efficiency for hospitalised patients. Over 50 department members are actively involved in 8 departmental committees and working groups, in addition to numerous local site-based committees.