SHM Converge Scientific Abstract ePoster Gallery-Have I Seen You Before? Connectedness of Hospital Medicine Patients

Pdf Summary

This study examined how well patients admitted to UCSF’s Hospital Medicine service were connected to the broader academic health center, especially to primary care, specialty care, and tertiary/quaternary (T/Q) services that are strategically important to an academic system.<br /><br />The authors reviewed all patients discharged from the UCSF Hospital Medicine service over one year (July 1, 2021 to June 30, 2022), along with all ambulatory encounters in the prior year. They included office, video, telephone, procedural, and specialized diagnostic visits, while excluding unrelated encounters such as medication refills, lab-only visits, COVID testing, and care at affiliate sites. Encounters were grouped into primary care, specialty care, T/Q care, and diagnostic services.<br /><br />A total of 5,771 unique patients accounted for 7,864 admissions. Most patients had prior contact with UCSF: 74.6% had at least one ambulatory encounter in the UCSF system. Among all patients, 63.2% had seen a specialist and 28.3% had seen primary care. Importantly, 36.1% had a prior encounter in a T/Q clinic.<br /><br />The authors conclude that Hospital Medicine patients are often already established within the academic health system and many have ties to strategically important specialty or T/Q services. This suggests Hospital Medicine plays a key role in supporting the broader goals of academic health centers, including the care of patients with complex disease who may later require hospitalization due to complications. The study also offers a framework for other academic Hospital Medicine services to evaluate their own alignment with system priorities.

Asset Subtitle

Theodore Peng

Meta Tag

Author List Adrienne Green, Michelle S. Mourad, Theodore Peng

Category Research

Concept Academic Health System

Concept Hospital Medicine

Concept Ambulatory Encounter

Concept Specialty Service

Concept Retrospective Study

Distinguished Non-Finalist

Presenter Organization University of California San Francisco

Presenting Author Theodore Peng

Track Value in Hospital Medicine

Keywords

UCSF

Hospital Medicine

academic health center

primary care

specialty care

tertiary care

quaternary care

ambulatory encounters

patient connectivity

health system alignment

Academic Health System

Hospital Medicine

Ambulatory Encounter

Specialty Service

Retrospective Study