New reference takes aim at all of hospital medicine A comprehensive look at the clinical and business sides of hospital practice
Published in the January 2008 issue of Today's Hospitalist
How many pages does it take to compile not only evidence-based guidelines for hospitalists, but also best practices for running a hospitalist program? If the editors of “Comprehensive Hospital Medicine: An Evidence-Based Approach” got it right, the answer is more than 1,000.
The behemoth of a book (and its Web site) made their debut this past fall, giving hospitalists guidance on common diagnoses and treatments that are broken down by organ system and specialty.
The book also has 20 chapters that address hospitalists’ perioperative and consultative roles, and 20 chapters related to systems issues and legal and ethical questions. The sections on practice management look at nuts-and-bolts issues including scheduling, compensation and recruitment.
Why take on both the clinical and business aspects of hospital medicine? “Because the management and financial aspects are a critical component of health care,” says Mark V. Williams, MD (below), the book’s executive editor and chief of hospital medicine at Chicago’s Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. “It’s not just about providing a resource for high quality clinical care, but also about systems of care delivery.”
The list of the book’s editors reads like a who’s who of experts in hospital medicine, and nearly 200 contributors authored the many chapters.
“Comprehensive Hospital Medicine” sells for $109 and can be ordered online at www.us.elsevierhealth.com/Medicine or at Amazon.com. Buying the print text also gives you access to all of the material online, which will feature regular updates.
