Program Administration

Co-Management is the shared responsibility, authority and accountability for the care of hospitalized patients. 

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. 

5 Principles of Co-Management

1. Defined roles, lines of authority, responsibilities, and boundaries
2. Collaborative professional relationships with rules for managing conflict   
3. Equal standing and mutual respect between clinicians
4. Non-retaliatory open communication among all parties involved
5. Set metrics for review and evaluation

Member Resources On Co-Management

• Webinar: Co-Management on Trial: An Open Debate on Value in a post COVID World
• Co-Management White Paper
• The Role of the Medical Consultant Online Module

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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. 

Member Resources On Telemedicine

• Medicare Reimbursement for Telehealth After the Public Health Emergency
• Telemedicine 101 for Hospital Medicine
• Telemedicine White Paper

Defining the value of hospital medicine is an ever-present challenge. As the specialty continues to evolve and change, hospital medicine leaders will be asked to continually demonstrate the value, financial and otherwise, of their groups. This is particularly salient as hospitalists increasingly do activities that may not be reimbursed at sufficient rates or at all by payers. Making the case for the value of hospital medicine practice is crucial when negotiating with hospitals for support for the group.

Collaboration, Not Calculation: A Qualitative Study of How Hospital Executives Value Hospital Medicine Groups

This original study conducted by SHM members provides insight into the current attitudes and beliefs of hospital executives regarding the value of contributions made by HMGs. Learn what metrics executives value most and the challenges hospitalists face in measuring value financially.

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The State of Hospital Medicine Report

With this extensive look into hospital medicine group configuration and operation nationwide, the State of Hospital Medicine Report contains the data group leaders need to make the best case to hospital leaders about the value of hospital medicine practice.

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More Caring, Less Clicking

SHM’s Healthcare Information Technology Special Interest Group identified five areas related to their EMR systems, in which suggested changes could positively impact the daily work of hospitalists. Learn more about their evidence-based recommendations to optimize the user experience.

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Hospital medicine is a team-based specialty and improving the functioning of teams can improve patient outcomes and professional satisfaction. SHM’s Center for Quality Improvement and the American Nurses Association (ANA), through funding from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), started the Redesigning SystEms to Improve Teamwork and Quality for Hospitalized Patients (RESET) project in 2018.

By using the Advanced and Integrated MicroSystems (AIMS) model of systems interventions, project RESET is supporting and examining the impact of these interventions on patient care and team-based work in four hospitals. While results of the Project are pending, the RESET team wanted to make available the implementation guide and accompanying resources for hospital medicine groups and hospitals that are working on similar interventions around the country.

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