Home Career Slideshows A 10-year look at patient volumes

A 10-year look at patient volumes

June 2018
Subscribe
Notify of
guest
9 Comments
newest
oldest most voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
Peter
Peter
July 2018 8:28 pm

It would be great if nocturnists were analyzed separately and with questions pertaining to the unique aspects of that type of shift that don’t apply or exist for daytime hospitalists (i.e, how many patient encounters vs. how many admits/crosscover issues/emergency response physical encounters). If they cover patients, [good questions may be] if they have to cover the ICU at night, if an APP helps covers patients/floor emergencies, and how that affects the other work they do? What payment models are preferred among nocturnists, i.e., RVU based or others. I would also be interested in social aspects, if type of family… Read more »

Mark Safalow MD, FHM
Mark Safalow MD, FHM
May 2018 12:58 pm

As a seasoned hospitalist, I have seen firsthand that 15 patients seems to be an ideal safe maximum number where one can still remain efficient (and sane). I am curious if people think this number is for a 8-, 10-, or 12-hour shift, or does it not matter?

Ashley Centola
Ashley Centola
May 2018 11:05 am

Great question and yes, the ideal number of patients per shift varies according to shift length. We have inserted new slides (slides 9 and 10) that break down the ideal number of patients per shift for 10, 12, and over 12 hour shifts.

Wise
Wise
May 2018 11:10 am

Many hospitalist practices have incorporated mid-level support, the most clinically helpful being PAs. How does this new model impact physician load expectations? For instance. do physicians now typically carry 20 patients because a PA can carry some of the load via physician oversight? There seems to be very little survey information under these new models and/or the information is not specifically teased out of surveys.

Ashley Centola
Ashley Centola
May 2018 11:19 am
Reply to  Wise

In our article “It’s a match: Creating hospitalist-midlevel teams brings big benefits”, we wrote “a hospitalist without an extender can carry 15 patients in a daily census; with an extender, that number jumps to about 22 or more.” You can read the full article here.

I agree this bears more research – great question for our upcoming survey in June!

Jose reinoso
Jose reinoso
May 2018 10:54 am

It would be interesting to know the days schedule to work and the salary attached to the number of patients seen.

Ashley Centola
Ashley Centola
May 2018 11:14 am
Reply to  Jose reinoso

We found that patient volume significantly impacts compensation. On the low side, daytime hospitalists who treat 10 to 14 adult patients per shift earn $264,600 on avearge, while those who treat 15 to 17 patients per shift earn $284,750. On the high side, daytime hospitalists who treat 21 or more adult patients earn $319,120 on average. This information and more is posted under “survey results” on our website.

Paulo
Paulo
May 2018 10:52 am

Are these for 12-hour shifts?

Ashley Centola
Ashley Centola
May 2018 11:03 am
Reply to  Paulo

On average, shift length for all full-time adult hospitalists surveyed was 11.5 hours per shift. However, more than half reported working 12-hour shifts. We added a chart (slide 9) that illustrates patient load according to average shift length.