1996 Year that the term hospitalist was coined in the New England Journal of Medicine by Robert M. Wachter and Lee Goldman to describe a doctor who treats only hospitalized patients and who, unlike specialists in the ER or critical care units, manages patients throughout their hospital stay

0 Training other than a residency required to become a hospitalist

12,000 Estimated number of hospitalists practicing in the
United States

>55 Percentage of hospitals with more than 200 beds and at least one hospitalist on staff

$191,436 Median 2007 salary for a hospitalist

$166,420 Median 2007 salary for a general internist

9.6 Median number of hours a patient’s hospital stay is reduced when cared for by a hospitalist

$268 Median reduction in cost for a patient cared for by a hospitalist vs. one seen by a general internist

0 Statistically significant difference in deaths among patients cared for by hospitalists vs. patients cared for by internists and family doctors, according to a recent New England Journal of Medicine study

0 Statistically significant difference in readmission rates among patients cared for by hospitalists vs. patients cared for by internists and family doctors 

Massachusetts General Hospital

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