If you see an obstetrician (OB) during your pregnancy at a private office unaffiliated with a larger hospital, then they likely are hospitalists. These individuals are those who petition a medical center for the right to use their facilities to carry out in-patient care of their pregnant moms including delivering their babies there.
When selecting your OB, you may have particularly set out to select one in private practice in hopes of them providing you more individualized and attentive care. An administrator with the OB Hospitalist Group warns that you may receive quite the opposite type of care from what you expect though.
He notes that, in his experience, unless an OB is affiliated with a hospitalist group, then they may be subjected to far too many demands on their time than other staff physicians might. This may, in turn, expose them to an increased litigation risk.
However, when OBs affiliate themselves with a hospitalist group, a shift approach to scheduling is used whereas doctors cover a single shift and are done. It’s when they’ve completed their scheduled time frame for that day or week that another physician steps in and takes over the care of any patients’ care.
In the administrator’s observation, he notes that he’s seen where many doctors feel like a tremendous burden has been lifted off their shoulders when they’ve joined these hospitalist groups. He says that they can feel comfortable taking time off knowing that their patient is in competent hands. This and not having to be overworked leads to less physician burnout and thus less doctor errors.
If you’ve been injured at the hands of an tired, stressed, overworked or inadequately trained physician, then a Chicago attorney can advise you of your rights to file a lawsuit in your case.
Source: Healthcare Finance, “Obstetrician hospitalist partnerships can reduce risk of medical malpractice claims, burnout,” Jeff Lagasse, accessed May 04, 2018