Hospitalists 'perfectly poised' to drive health care reform

Dr. Goodrich didn’t try to send a message that payment reform isn’t a challenge for hospitalists or anyone else – she called the new system “complicated” and said that “we are in a stage of fairly dramatic health system transformation.”

But she said there are steps hospitalists can take to make quality change – and necessary change – happen.

“First of all, of course, continue to provide high-quality patient care, focus on the patients in front of you, and lead the teams that you need in order to provide high-quality care,” she said.

Also, Dr. Goodrich said, hospitalists should learn to work more closely with their own hospital administrators and the post-acute facilities in their local communities.