SHM White Papers
As a part of SHM’s mission, we strive to provide our members
with up-to-date research on hospital medicine, as well as opinions from
various thought-leaders throughout the specialty.
These thoughts and research are reflected in special publications
from SHM. Our white papers provide facts and opinions on several
different areas of hospital medicine. Through the work of SHM’s
various committees, task forces and specialists in each area, these
publications are born to be a resource for hospitalists.
The Observation Unit White Paper
“The Observation Unit: An Operational Overview for the
Hospitalist” is the work of the SHM Expert Panel on Observation
Units. As there is an increasing role for the Hospitalist in Observation
Medicine, the panel wrote this paper for Hospitalists and Hospital
Medicine administrators to better understand both the implications of
Observation Medicine for the Hospitalist and the basics of observation
unit operations.
The white paper summarizes key findings with respect to observation
unit operations and staffing, clinical care and outcomes, economics, and
performance measurement. Sample admission and discharge criteria,
clinical protocols and suggested performance measures are included as a
“starter set” for those considering a new program.
Convened in 2007, SHM's Expert Panel on Observation Units included
physicians, pharmacists, nurses and case managers with expertise in
hospital medicine, emergency and observation medicine, and
cardiology.
View the Observation Unit White Paper
Career Satisfaction White Paper
The first white paper, titled “A Challenge for a New Specialty:
A White Paper on Hospitalist Career Satsifaction”, is the work of
the SHM Career Satisfaction Task Force. The Task Force wrote this paper
for hospitalists, hospital medicine programs, and hospitals to use as a
resource to improve job satisfaction.
The white paper is divided into what the Task Force identified as the
four pillars of career satisfaction – autonomy/control,
workload/schedule, reward/recognition and community/environment. For
each of the four pillars, the paper outlines recommendations and
specifies tools that hospitalist employers can use to improve the work
environment. Also included within the paper is a questionnaire
that individual hospitalists can use to identify what factors are
important to them in a job and how their current position is meeting
their needs.
Formed in 2005, SHM’s Career Satisfaction Task Force was
assembled to identify opportunities to promote an environment to create
hospitalist job satisfaction. The main mission is to ‘identify
specific working conditions in hospital medicine that promote success
and wellness; to provide resources to enhance career satisfaction and to
promote more research into hospitalist career satisfaction and help
avoid burnout.’
View the Career Satisfaction White Paper.
Dashboard White Paper
The second white paper in the series is titled, “Measuring
Hospitalist Performance: Metrics, Reports, and Dashboards.”
This white paper is the work of SHM’s Benchmarks Committee.
The ‘Dashboard White Paper’ identifies 10 key performance
metrics for hospitalists which are divided into three categories:
descriptive, operational and clinical. In addition to identifying
metrics and describing measurement issues, the paper outlines a five
step process for developing a customized approach to performance
reporting.
SHM’s Benchmarks Committee began their work on this white paper
in 2005 and set out with the goal to help hospitalists develop a common
language and conceptual framework for monitoring performance. During the
process, the committee kept these three common questions from hospital
medicine groups in mind:
- What aspects of performance should we monitor?
- How and where do we get the information we need?
- What should we do with the information once we have it?
The paper addresses these and related questions, while making general
recommendations based on best practices.
View
or Purchase a copy of Measuring Hospitalist Performance: Metrics,
Reports, and Dashboard.
Advocacy White Paper
An additional white paper authored by SHM's Public Policy Committee,
“Hospitalists:
Leading the Way to More Effective, Higher Quality Health
Care”, was created to introduce policymakers to
hospitalists and their role in the U.S. health care system. The paper is
intended to help legislators adopt policies and implement programs that
recognize the value that hospitalists bring to the delivery of
healthcare.
Following a brief overview of the evolution to hospital medicine, the
paper provides demographic information on hospitalists, and explores
their practice models, as well as education and training. The paper also
examines the value hospitalists bring to health care and concludes with
policy recommendations that could further define the value of
hospitalists in improving the delivery of healthcare.
View a copy of Hospitalists: Leading the Way to More
Effective, Higher Quality Health Care
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