Doctor is in

Do you feel abandoned in a hospital full of doctors? Is there a single physician coordinating care? A new trend in health care may hold the solution for patients with many specialists within the hospital. An emerging group of doctors known as "Hospitalists" is being used by hospitals around the country to make sure patients don't feel abondoned. The hospitalist works like this: when a patient is admitted to the hospital, his or here primary care physician passes responsibility to the hospitalist. At discharge, the hospitalist passes responsibility back to the patient's physician. Inpatient medicine is much more complex than is used to be. The hospitalists may also be more accessible to patients. Not everyone is convinced of the benefits of hospitalists. Are primary care physicians denied access to their patients when patients need them the most? The relationship patients have with their doctor is extremely important.