Highly specialized physicians for critically-ill patients
Hospital medicine
A hospitalist is a doctor who specializes in the care of patients who have been admitted to the hospital. A team of hospitalist doctors, physician assistants, nurse practitioners, and nurses known as Novant Health Inpatient Care Specialists (NHICS) will be providing your care while you are here. The hospitalist will be in charge of your care and will see you every day to direct your treatment. There is always a hospitalist present in the facility 24 hours a day to provide for your care and attend to any emergencies. The NHICS team may consult other doctors and therapists to participate in your care as well.
Admission
Once you are admitted, you will be assigned a daytime hospitalist who will be your primary inpatient physician (Attending). Our team works closely with the nursing staff to make sure you receive the best possible care throughout your hospital stay. The hospitalist will communicate with your personal physician or specialists to make sure important medical information is shared when necessary too.
How does a hospitalist practice work?
We serve as an extension to the community physician practices by caring for you during your hospitalization and meeting all your inpatient needs. When you leave the hospital, your care will transition back to your regular personal community doctor.
During your hospital stay we will:
- Always listen to you carefully and treat you with courtesy and respect.
- Visit daily to evaluate you and keep you safe during your stay.
- Work with your care team to order tests, medicines and treatments.
- Coordinate care with specialists.
- Communicate with you, your primary care physician and (with your approval) your family about your condition and plan of care.
- Arrange for your discharge and safe transition from the hospital.
- Provide going-home instructions about further care, medication and follow up.
- Send a summary of your hospital care back to your primary care physician.
Working as a healthcare team
Your hospitalist works with your specialists, nurses & therapists to form your healthcare team. If there is an urgent matter, your nurses will contact your hospitalist right away. Our nursing staff is an ever present and important component of our care team. You and your family should feel comfortable asking your nurses any questions about your care plan and for updates when your hospitalist is not present. If you have any questions regarding your care or need the NHICS team to contact a family member to provide an update, please speak to your nurse and consider writing any questions on the white board in your room so that we may address it when we visit you.
Physician availability and daily schedule
One of our hospitalists will see you daily. Hospitalists typically work five to seven day stretches and you may see one or two different doctors during your stay. When a new doctor takes over, we make sure that we communicate all of the details surrounding your care.
The hospitalist team has coverage on-site 24 hours a day, seven days a week for your care and safety. Your daytime hospitalists are in the hospital caring for patients approximately from the hours of 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. and will visit you during these hours. The hospitalist typically will visit the most critically ill patients first thing in the morning, followed by patients expected to be discharged that day. The stable patients who are expected to remain in the hospital are seen later. Your nurse will contact the hospitalist if you have an urgent matter that requires the doctor's attention.
We have a complementary team of physicians providing coverage during the evening hours and at night. They work together with nursing staff to supervise your care, attend to any emergencies and perform new admissions from the emergency room. Your daytime hospitalist will return in the morning and will address any new questions or concerns that may have occurred overnight.
Thank you for choosing Novant Health. We are honored to serve you during your hospital stay. The Novant Health Inpatient Care Specialists team is committed to providing you with a Remarkable Patient Experience in Every Dimension, Every Time and we provide your care in a personal, professional, and progressive manner, in partnership with the entire staff of Novant Health.