Hospitals Eyeing Nursing Homes as Big Growth Area

by | Jun 7, 2013

Doctors who practice primarily in hospitals might soon enter into unfamiliar waters as a demand grows for skilled nursing facilities (SNF), reports MedPage Today.

Coining the term โ€œhospitalistsโ€ as a healthcare professional that mainly practices in a hospital, MedPage Today notes that the skill set for such workers in SNFs will become a โ€œvaluable tool,โ€ as hospitals look to move patients into less-costly facilities post-discharge.

While supporters believe that these hospitalists can help fill a void in skilled nursing care, some believe that these professionals will not be up to the challenge of treating post-acute patients.

โ€œThese are seriously ill people for the most part, and primary care physiciansโ€”as we say in the South, bless their heartsโ€”they donโ€™t take care of acutely ill patients anymore,โ€ said Larry Spratling, MD, chief medical officer at Banner Baywood Medical Center in Mesa, Arizona.

Caring for this population in a cost-effective way becomes even more important in the nationโ€™s current healthcare environment, especially as managed care plans are steering patients toward lower-cost care settings.

โ€œI think this is a big growth area,โ€ said Kerry Weinerโ€”MD, chief medical officer at IPC, a North Hollywood, California hospitalist companyโ€”in the article. โ€œI think itโ€™s most appropriate for hospitalists and I think itโ€™s proven to be effective.โ€

From: Senior Housing News

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