Hospital Medicine

Hospitalists are doctors with a focused practice in hospital medicine. Ochsner hospitalists are board-certified or board-eligible, and the majority are trained as family medicine or internal medicine doctors. Unlike other family medicine and internists practicing in private offices, hospitalists don’t provide outpatient care. They specialize in caring for hospitalized patients and only work in hospital settings. That’s why they’re known as hospital medicine specialists.

Because hospitalists focus only on hospital-based medicine, they have a holistic understanding of hospital systems and a wide understanding of health needs. This allows them to care for any and all health issues that may send you to the hospital.

As your main hospital caregivers, hospitalists coordinate your care throughout your stay. They note your treatment and status updates in Ochsner's electronic medical record system to ensure your specialists and primary care doctor know which treatments you receive in the hospital. This keeps your entire care team informed, preventing dangerous medication interactions, unnecessary treatments, repeated tests and more.

Once you get discharged, your primary care doctor takes over. If your doctor has questions about your hospital care, a patient care advocate is ready and available to talk.

Hospitalists can address your needs, regardless of why you are in the hospital. A hospitalist acts as your main doctor and will work with other doctors to deliver the care you need. From gastrointestinal issues to heart attack and stroke or traumatic injuries such as broken bones and concussions, hospitalists can coordinate care for all.

Hospitalists aren’t the only hospital medicine experts at Ochsner. Like hospitalists, hospital medicine nurse practitioners specialize in hospital-based care. Trained to diagnose and treat an array of conditions, they work with your hospitalist and the rest of your care team to deliver the care you need throughout your hospital stay.

Hospital medicine experts help make your hospital stay as beneficial as possible. They have great relationships with neurologists, cardiologists and other specialists. Additionally, they have access to every support program offered at your Ochsner facility. When one of the available support services could help you, your hospitalist connects you to it.

When you need financial help, social support, physical therapy or something else, your hospitalist will point you in the right direction.