The Society of Hospital Medicine (SHM) is a medical society comprised of hospitalists that exists to promote exceptional care for hospitalized patients.
Hospital medicine groups face challenges that are unique from other medical specialties. SHM is dedicated to helping group leaders navigate the most important topics their programs face today and meet the needs of tomorrow.
Hospital medicine has evolved into a cornerstone of inpatient care, with hospitalists managing complex clinical workflows, coordinating multidisciplinary teams, and often serving as the face of inpatient care. The SHM Practice Management Committee developed a pair of resources to help institutions prioritize both patient safety and operational efficiency.
Because hospitalists typically manage the majority of a hospital’s census, contributing to throughput efforts is one way that hospitalist groups can add quantifiable value to hospitals. When patients transition efficiently and appropriately between beds and levels of care, the entire system delivers more effective and timely treatment. This resource examines strategies to improve throughput and how to create a culture of improvement.
Hospitalists today serve in a variety of Co-Management capacities with many other hospital-based specialties, including critical care, cardiology, GI and liver disease, oncology, palliative care and neurology. When it comes to successfully co-managing patients, it is crucial that groups develop a comprehensive plan that accounts for the needs and capacities of all parties.
This resource is designed for hospital medicine leaders who have co-management programs or are considering starting one. This program guide outlines key considerations for creating, leading, or participating in a hospitalist co-management model.
Hospitalists use telemedicine to find innovative solutions to meet the complex staffing, coverage and patient care challenges in their communities. From coverage in low-volume facilities to expanding the reach of nocturnists, hospital medicine has been at the forefront of finding new ways to use technology to care for patients. In the current climate of rapidly changing reimbursement models, telemedicine can be an important tool for hospitalist groups to meet the needs of their providers and communities. SHM’s resources are designed to help leaders plan and deploy telemedicine in their facilities.