Serving Lackawanna and surrounding counties in Northeast Pennsylvania Corporate Office 1401 Electric Street Dunmore PA 18512 570.969.9005

Stephen Opsasnick, MD, in-patient physician with Moses Taylor Hospital's Hospitalist Program. Hospitalist Program

Hospitalist Program Ensures Quality Care at MTH by Bob Sorokanich, Marketing Communications Intern Moses Taylor Hospital offers a new service that provides specialized patient care. The Hospitalist Program at MTH enables primary care physicians to provide care for their hospitalized patients by utilizing inpatient physicians, or "hospitalists." Hospitalists are usuallyinternists or family practitioners specializing in in-patient care. They work in coordination with nurses, pharmacists, and a patient's primary care physician to strengthen the clinical team and provide the patient with a continuity of care during their hospital stay. Stephen Opsasnick, MD, is the founding physician of the Hospitalist Program at MTH. This program is the first of its kind in Lackawanna County, but one that has been used with great success nationwide. Currently, about 50% of hospital patients in the U.S. are under hospitalist care. It is expected that the demand for hospitalists will grow in the next decade. Working exclusively in the hospital setting, hospitalists ensure that a patient can be given the care he or she requires with greater access to a physician through a team-based program. The hospitalist focuses on round-the-clock coordination of care. As Dr. Opsasnick explains, "because we are in the hospital, we're able to be more accessible, not only to the patient and his or her medical needs, but to the nursing staff and the patient's regular doctor as well." Hospitalists communicate with patients and families and are available to answer specific medical questions. Hospitalists are fully trained doctors with medical certification, but they do not replace a patient's primary care physician. Instead, hospitalists work in conjunction with a patient's doctor, monitoring the patient's condition. Hospitalists maintain close communication with a patient's doctor, informing them of any changes in the patient's condition or treatment, and answering questions from patients and doctors alike. In regard to medical history, necessary tests or procedures, and changes in patient condition, Dr. Opsasnick emphasizes that hospitalists maintain "constant communication with primary physicians before, during, and after the hospital stay." In effect, a hospitalist acts as a patient's doctor when his or her regular doctor is not at the hospital. As a patient, having a hospitalist is beneficial in a number of ways. Hospitalized patients are usually severely ill, which requires longer hospital stays. Studies indicate that hospitalist programs such as MTH's contribute to improved clinical outcomes, shorter lengths of stay, and fewer readmissions. Hospitalists can order tests, write prescriptions, and coordinate services for a patient, streamlining the continuum of care. Hospitalists can act on exams and test results immediately because they are in the hospital. The Hospitalist Program at Moses Taylor Hospital is still relatively new, but the reaction from patients and physicians alike has been very positive. Patients feel very comfortable knowing that they are here for them. More and more hospitals nationwide are adopting hospitalist programs, and Moses Taylor Hospital will continue to provide this service to patients as part of an overall goal to increase patient safety, comfort, and satisfaction. Hospitalists at Moses Taylor Hospital Stephen Opsasnick, MD John Paulish, DO John Peters, MD David Mayne, DO Basant Mittal, MD Bria Tinsley, MD M. Alam, MD