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Welcome to Day 2 of HM19!
Hospitalists, welcome to Day 2 of HM19 – the only meeting solely dedicated to the training and advancement of hospitalists.
What an exciting start to the meeting. Pre-Course Day on Sunday focused on some key skills essential to hospitalists – from ultrasound to practice management and palliative care, hospitalists mastered new expertise and forged new collaborations with colleagues. On Monday, Dr. Marc Harrison’s keynote address kicked us off, reminding us of the critical role we all play in population health management. I was thrilled to see the recognition of our new class of SHM Fellows, Senior Fellows, and Masters – a testament to the hard work and dedication of many providers who bear the name “hospitalist.”
Today, we have yet another energizing day of thought-provoking plenaries and educational sessions. Starting off with the Best of Research and Innovations in 2019, come and learn from our colleagues about advancements in hospital medicine. Next, we celebrate our hospitalists who have demonstrated exemplary contributions in teaching, clinical excellence, and service in our Awards of Excellence. The plenary will be led by Tait Shanafelt, MD, who will discuss “The High Cost of Clinician Burnout” and how we can ensure wellness and wellbeing in a dynamic health care environment with competing priorities and an ever-increasing demand for quality, volume, and patient satisfaction. Don’t miss out on the sessions and workshops scheduled at 11:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., on topics from nutritional counseling to “Things We Do for No Reason,” updates in acute coronary syndrome and heart failure, and telemedicine – you’re sure to find an engaging topic of interest.
After lunch, we have the highly anticipated and always entertaining “Update in Hospital Medicine” by Carrie Herzke, MD, SFHM, and Chris Moriates, MD, SFHM. Learn the latest and most high-impact published research influencing our practice. You can attend several sessions this afternoon, from a review of medical marijuana, being fe(male) in hospital medicine, dermatologic exam pearls, top new guidelines in hospital medicine, and understanding and addressing the educational needs of millennium learners.
Plan your evening around SHM’s exciting offerings and opportunities:
- Special Interest Forums: Connects hospitalists with a variety of interests from across the country and the globe.
- Top Pediatric Articles in 2018: Leverages the expertise of our leaders to highlight key areas of research advancement for the care of our pediatric patients.
- Solving Clinical and Cultural Conundrums in the Rubik’s Cube of NP/PA/MD/DO HM Practice: Discusses the key challenges we face in the day-to-day practice of hospital medicine and practice management.
- Mastering the Job Interview: Builds skills for our student and resident attendees.
Our heartfelt thank you to the amazing SHM staff who have worked tirelessly on HM19 – our gratitude to the Annual Conference Committee and all our faculty who have made this meeting a tremendous success. Enjoy Day 2!
Dr. Afsar is president of the Society of Hospital Medicine, and chief ambulatory officer and chief medical officer for accountable care organizations at UC Irvine Health.
Hospitalists, welcome to Day 2 of HM19 – the only meeting solely dedicated to the training and advancement of hospitalists.
What an exciting start to the meeting. Pre-Course Day on Sunday focused on some key skills essential to hospitalists – from ultrasound to practice management and palliative care, hospitalists mastered new expertise and forged new collaborations with colleagues. On Monday, Dr. Marc Harrison’s keynote address kicked us off, reminding us of the critical role we all play in population health management. I was thrilled to see the recognition of our new class of SHM Fellows, Senior Fellows, and Masters – a testament to the hard work and dedication of many providers who bear the name “hospitalist.”
Today, we have yet another energizing day of thought-provoking plenaries and educational sessions. Starting off with the Best of Research and Innovations in 2019, come and learn from our colleagues about advancements in hospital medicine. Next, we celebrate our hospitalists who have demonstrated exemplary contributions in teaching, clinical excellence, and service in our Awards of Excellence. The plenary will be led by Tait Shanafelt, MD, who will discuss “The High Cost of Clinician Burnout” and how we can ensure wellness and wellbeing in a dynamic health care environment with competing priorities and an ever-increasing demand for quality, volume, and patient satisfaction. Don’t miss out on the sessions and workshops scheduled at 11:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., on topics from nutritional counseling to “Things We Do for No Reason,” updates in acute coronary syndrome and heart failure, and telemedicine – you’re sure to find an engaging topic of interest.
After lunch, we have the highly anticipated and always entertaining “Update in Hospital Medicine” by Carrie Herzke, MD, SFHM, and Chris Moriates, MD, SFHM. Learn the latest and most high-impact published research influencing our practice. You can attend several sessions this afternoon, from a review of medical marijuana, being fe(male) in hospital medicine, dermatologic exam pearls, top new guidelines in hospital medicine, and understanding and addressing the educational needs of millennium learners.
Plan your evening around SHM’s exciting offerings and opportunities:
- Special Interest Forums: Connects hospitalists with a variety of interests from across the country and the globe.
- Top Pediatric Articles in 2018: Leverages the expertise of our leaders to highlight key areas of research advancement for the care of our pediatric patients.
- Solving Clinical and Cultural Conundrums in the Rubik’s Cube of NP/PA/MD/DO HM Practice: Discusses the key challenges we face in the day-to-day practice of hospital medicine and practice management.
- Mastering the Job Interview: Builds skills for our student and resident attendees.
Our heartfelt thank you to the amazing SHM staff who have worked tirelessly on HM19 – our gratitude to the Annual Conference Committee and all our faculty who have made this meeting a tremendous success. Enjoy Day 2!
Dr. Afsar is president of the Society of Hospital Medicine, and chief ambulatory officer and chief medical officer for accountable care organizations at UC Irvine Health.
Hospitalists, welcome to Day 2 of HM19 – the only meeting solely dedicated to the training and advancement of hospitalists.
What an exciting start to the meeting. Pre-Course Day on Sunday focused on some key skills essential to hospitalists – from ultrasound to practice management and palliative care, hospitalists mastered new expertise and forged new collaborations with colleagues. On Monday, Dr. Marc Harrison’s keynote address kicked us off, reminding us of the critical role we all play in population health management. I was thrilled to see the recognition of our new class of SHM Fellows, Senior Fellows, and Masters – a testament to the hard work and dedication of many providers who bear the name “hospitalist.”
Today, we have yet another energizing day of thought-provoking plenaries and educational sessions. Starting off with the Best of Research and Innovations in 2019, come and learn from our colleagues about advancements in hospital medicine. Next, we celebrate our hospitalists who have demonstrated exemplary contributions in teaching, clinical excellence, and service in our Awards of Excellence. The plenary will be led by Tait Shanafelt, MD, who will discuss “The High Cost of Clinician Burnout” and how we can ensure wellness and wellbeing in a dynamic health care environment with competing priorities and an ever-increasing demand for quality, volume, and patient satisfaction. Don’t miss out on the sessions and workshops scheduled at 11:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., on topics from nutritional counseling to “Things We Do for No Reason,” updates in acute coronary syndrome and heart failure, and telemedicine – you’re sure to find an engaging topic of interest.
After lunch, we have the highly anticipated and always entertaining “Update in Hospital Medicine” by Carrie Herzke, MD, SFHM, and Chris Moriates, MD, SFHM. Learn the latest and most high-impact published research influencing our practice. You can attend several sessions this afternoon, from a review of medical marijuana, being fe(male) in hospital medicine, dermatologic exam pearls, top new guidelines in hospital medicine, and understanding and addressing the educational needs of millennium learners.
Plan your evening around SHM’s exciting offerings and opportunities:
- Special Interest Forums: Connects hospitalists with a variety of interests from across the country and the globe.
- Top Pediatric Articles in 2018: Leverages the expertise of our leaders to highlight key areas of research advancement for the care of our pediatric patients.
- Solving Clinical and Cultural Conundrums in the Rubik’s Cube of NP/PA/MD/DO HM Practice: Discusses the key challenges we face in the day-to-day practice of hospital medicine and practice management.
- Mastering the Job Interview: Builds skills for our student and resident attendees.
Our heartfelt thank you to the amazing SHM staff who have worked tirelessly on HM19 – our gratitude to the Annual Conference Committee and all our faculty who have made this meeting a tremendous success. Enjoy Day 2!
Dr. Afsar is president of the Society of Hospital Medicine, and chief ambulatory officer and chief medical officer for accountable care organizations at UC Irvine Health.
Looking into the future and making history
Emergence of population health management
For the first time ever, on March 7, 2019, tens of thousands of hospitalists across the United States and around the world will celebrate their day, National Hospitalist Day.
On this day, we will honor the hard work and dedication of hospitalists in the care of millions of hospitalized patients. With more than 62,000 hospitalists across the United States, hospital medicine has been the fastest growing medical specialty and among the largest of all specialties in medicine. Hospitalists now lead clinical care in over 75% of U.S. hospitals, caring for patients in their communities. We educate the future providers of health care by serving as teachers and mentors. We push the boundaries of science in hospital care through innovative research that defines the evidence-based practices for our field. Hospitalists, proudly celebrate all that we have accomplished together on March 7, and moving forward, every first Thursday in March annually.
The Society for Hospital Medicine’s celebration of National Hospitalist Day will include spotlights on hospitalists, a social medical campaign, downloadable customizable posters, and much more. Stay tuned for details!
Attend the only meeting designed just for you
Be among the thousands of hospitalists who will celebrate hospital medicine in person at Hospital Medicine 2019 (HM19), March 24-27 in National Harbor, Md.
While at HM19, check out more than 20 educational tracks, including clinical updates, diagnostic reasoning, and health policy. New this year are two mini tracks: “Between the Guidelines” and “Clinical Mastery”. Between the Guidelines explores how we can address some of the most challenging cases we encounter in hospital medicine, where clear guidelines don’t exist. Clinical Mastery is designed to enhance our bedside diagnostic skills, from ECGs to ultrasounds.
Get ready to vote in HM19’s “The Great Debate” – pairing two talented clinicians who will debate opposing sides of challenging clinical decisions that we encounter on the front lines of health care delivery. Attendees have the opportunity to hear the two sides and then vote on who they believe has the right approach. There are six precourses planned for HM19, with a new offering in Palliative Care and Pain Management. This year, the annual conference also features additional sessions for our NP/PA attendees. They include specific workshops as well as a track that includes 4 didactic sessions. Lastly, HM19 will offer CME, MOC, AOS, AAFP, and Pharmacology credits to address the needs of our attendees.
Looking into the future
While hospitalists are a vital part of U.S. health care, our delivery systems are in transition with greater focus on value-based care. To ensure hospital medicine continues to thrive in today’s dynamic scene, SHM’s Board of Directors held a strategic meeting in October 2018 to focus on the role of hospitalists and hospital medicine in population health management.
There are many hospitalists across the nation who are currently involved in population health management. These range from medical directors to vice presidents of accountable care organizations, population health management, or value-based care. Hospitalists are seeking communities focused on population health management to share best practices and learn from each other. To address this, SHM’s Advocacy and Public Policy HMX community has served as a meeting point to discuss issues related to value-based care. To join the discussion, visit the community by logging in at hospitalmedicine.org/hmx. Furthermore, at HM19, hospitalists will have the opportunity to meet face to face regarding these issues in the Advocacy Special Interest Forum.
Key points: Population health management
- Source of truth
SHM has served as the source of reliable and trusted information about hospital medicine. We will continue to develop content and resources specific to population health management on our website so hospitalists can easily access this information. To increase our awareness about population health management, presenters at HM19 will integrate a slide about the implications of population health management on their clinical topic. These slides will illustrate the clinical and nonclinical services that are necessary to enhance the patient’s quality of care and life. In addition to best practice care, these slides will highlight topics like the role of style modification and prevention, risk stratification, chronic disease management, and care coordination throughout the continuum of care.
- Advocating for us
In addition to providing a home for hospitalists to collaborate regarding population health management, SHM will advance this agenda from a regulatory perspective. The Public Policy and Performance Measurement & Reporting Committees are actively evaluating and leading the transition from value to volume. SHM is also working with potential key partners and organizations in the areas of primary care, skilled nursing facilities, and accountable care organizations that will help improve the effectiveness of delivering population health management.
- Creating expertise
SHM will lead best practice development for tools and skills that are necessary for hospitalists to lead population health management. Telemedicine is an increasingly critical tool as we help manage our patients in other facilities, inpatient or skilled nursing facilities, as well as at home. SHM has developed a white paper about telemedicine in hospital medicine that highlights modalities, offerings, implementation of programs, and work flows necessary for success. You can find it under “Resources” at hospitalmedicine.org/telemedicine.
SHM will continue to actively develop tools that appropriately address the challenges we’re facing. From National Hospitalist Day to population health management, this is an exciting time in hospital medicine – I hope to see you at HM19 to celebrate our specialty and our bright future.
Dr. Afsar is president of the Society of Hospital Medicine, and chief ambulatory officer and chief medical officer for accountable care organizations at UC Irvine Health.
Emergence of population health management
Emergence of population health management
For the first time ever, on March 7, 2019, tens of thousands of hospitalists across the United States and around the world will celebrate their day, National Hospitalist Day.
On this day, we will honor the hard work and dedication of hospitalists in the care of millions of hospitalized patients. With more than 62,000 hospitalists across the United States, hospital medicine has been the fastest growing medical specialty and among the largest of all specialties in medicine. Hospitalists now lead clinical care in over 75% of U.S. hospitals, caring for patients in their communities. We educate the future providers of health care by serving as teachers and mentors. We push the boundaries of science in hospital care through innovative research that defines the evidence-based practices for our field. Hospitalists, proudly celebrate all that we have accomplished together on March 7, and moving forward, every first Thursday in March annually.
The Society for Hospital Medicine’s celebration of National Hospitalist Day will include spotlights on hospitalists, a social medical campaign, downloadable customizable posters, and much more. Stay tuned for details!
Attend the only meeting designed just for you
Be among the thousands of hospitalists who will celebrate hospital medicine in person at Hospital Medicine 2019 (HM19), March 24-27 in National Harbor, Md.
While at HM19, check out more than 20 educational tracks, including clinical updates, diagnostic reasoning, and health policy. New this year are two mini tracks: “Between the Guidelines” and “Clinical Mastery”. Between the Guidelines explores how we can address some of the most challenging cases we encounter in hospital medicine, where clear guidelines don’t exist. Clinical Mastery is designed to enhance our bedside diagnostic skills, from ECGs to ultrasounds.
Get ready to vote in HM19’s “The Great Debate” – pairing two talented clinicians who will debate opposing sides of challenging clinical decisions that we encounter on the front lines of health care delivery. Attendees have the opportunity to hear the two sides and then vote on who they believe has the right approach. There are six precourses planned for HM19, with a new offering in Palliative Care and Pain Management. This year, the annual conference also features additional sessions for our NP/PA attendees. They include specific workshops as well as a track that includes 4 didactic sessions. Lastly, HM19 will offer CME, MOC, AOS, AAFP, and Pharmacology credits to address the needs of our attendees.
Looking into the future
While hospitalists are a vital part of U.S. health care, our delivery systems are in transition with greater focus on value-based care. To ensure hospital medicine continues to thrive in today’s dynamic scene, SHM’s Board of Directors held a strategic meeting in October 2018 to focus on the role of hospitalists and hospital medicine in population health management.
There are many hospitalists across the nation who are currently involved in population health management. These range from medical directors to vice presidents of accountable care organizations, population health management, or value-based care. Hospitalists are seeking communities focused on population health management to share best practices and learn from each other. To address this, SHM’s Advocacy and Public Policy HMX community has served as a meeting point to discuss issues related to value-based care. To join the discussion, visit the community by logging in at hospitalmedicine.org/hmx. Furthermore, at HM19, hospitalists will have the opportunity to meet face to face regarding these issues in the Advocacy Special Interest Forum.
Key points: Population health management
- Source of truth
SHM has served as the source of reliable and trusted information about hospital medicine. We will continue to develop content and resources specific to population health management on our website so hospitalists can easily access this information. To increase our awareness about population health management, presenters at HM19 will integrate a slide about the implications of population health management on their clinical topic. These slides will illustrate the clinical and nonclinical services that are necessary to enhance the patient’s quality of care and life. In addition to best practice care, these slides will highlight topics like the role of style modification and prevention, risk stratification, chronic disease management, and care coordination throughout the continuum of care.
- Advocating for us
In addition to providing a home for hospitalists to collaborate regarding population health management, SHM will advance this agenda from a regulatory perspective. The Public Policy and Performance Measurement & Reporting Committees are actively evaluating and leading the transition from value to volume. SHM is also working with potential key partners and organizations in the areas of primary care, skilled nursing facilities, and accountable care organizations that will help improve the effectiveness of delivering population health management.
- Creating expertise
SHM will lead best practice development for tools and skills that are necessary for hospitalists to lead population health management. Telemedicine is an increasingly critical tool as we help manage our patients in other facilities, inpatient or skilled nursing facilities, as well as at home. SHM has developed a white paper about telemedicine in hospital medicine that highlights modalities, offerings, implementation of programs, and work flows necessary for success. You can find it under “Resources” at hospitalmedicine.org/telemedicine.
SHM will continue to actively develop tools that appropriately address the challenges we’re facing. From National Hospitalist Day to population health management, this is an exciting time in hospital medicine – I hope to see you at HM19 to celebrate our specialty and our bright future.
Dr. Afsar is president of the Society of Hospital Medicine, and chief ambulatory officer and chief medical officer for accountable care organizations at UC Irvine Health.
For the first time ever, on March 7, 2019, tens of thousands of hospitalists across the United States and around the world will celebrate their day, National Hospitalist Day.
On this day, we will honor the hard work and dedication of hospitalists in the care of millions of hospitalized patients. With more than 62,000 hospitalists across the United States, hospital medicine has been the fastest growing medical specialty and among the largest of all specialties in medicine. Hospitalists now lead clinical care in over 75% of U.S. hospitals, caring for patients in their communities. We educate the future providers of health care by serving as teachers and mentors. We push the boundaries of science in hospital care through innovative research that defines the evidence-based practices for our field. Hospitalists, proudly celebrate all that we have accomplished together on March 7, and moving forward, every first Thursday in March annually.
The Society for Hospital Medicine’s celebration of National Hospitalist Day will include spotlights on hospitalists, a social medical campaign, downloadable customizable posters, and much more. Stay tuned for details!
Attend the only meeting designed just for you
Be among the thousands of hospitalists who will celebrate hospital medicine in person at Hospital Medicine 2019 (HM19), March 24-27 in National Harbor, Md.
While at HM19, check out more than 20 educational tracks, including clinical updates, diagnostic reasoning, and health policy. New this year are two mini tracks: “Between the Guidelines” and “Clinical Mastery”. Between the Guidelines explores how we can address some of the most challenging cases we encounter in hospital medicine, where clear guidelines don’t exist. Clinical Mastery is designed to enhance our bedside diagnostic skills, from ECGs to ultrasounds.
Get ready to vote in HM19’s “The Great Debate” – pairing two talented clinicians who will debate opposing sides of challenging clinical decisions that we encounter on the front lines of health care delivery. Attendees have the opportunity to hear the two sides and then vote on who they believe has the right approach. There are six precourses planned for HM19, with a new offering in Palliative Care and Pain Management. This year, the annual conference also features additional sessions for our NP/PA attendees. They include specific workshops as well as a track that includes 4 didactic sessions. Lastly, HM19 will offer CME, MOC, AOS, AAFP, and Pharmacology credits to address the needs of our attendees.
Looking into the future
While hospitalists are a vital part of U.S. health care, our delivery systems are in transition with greater focus on value-based care. To ensure hospital medicine continues to thrive in today’s dynamic scene, SHM’s Board of Directors held a strategic meeting in October 2018 to focus on the role of hospitalists and hospital medicine in population health management.
There are many hospitalists across the nation who are currently involved in population health management. These range from medical directors to vice presidents of accountable care organizations, population health management, or value-based care. Hospitalists are seeking communities focused on population health management to share best practices and learn from each other. To address this, SHM’s Advocacy and Public Policy HMX community has served as a meeting point to discuss issues related to value-based care. To join the discussion, visit the community by logging in at hospitalmedicine.org/hmx. Furthermore, at HM19, hospitalists will have the opportunity to meet face to face regarding these issues in the Advocacy Special Interest Forum.
Key points: Population health management
- Source of truth
SHM has served as the source of reliable and trusted information about hospital medicine. We will continue to develop content and resources specific to population health management on our website so hospitalists can easily access this information. To increase our awareness about population health management, presenters at HM19 will integrate a slide about the implications of population health management on their clinical topic. These slides will illustrate the clinical and nonclinical services that are necessary to enhance the patient’s quality of care and life. In addition to best practice care, these slides will highlight topics like the role of style modification and prevention, risk stratification, chronic disease management, and care coordination throughout the continuum of care.
- Advocating for us
In addition to providing a home for hospitalists to collaborate regarding population health management, SHM will advance this agenda from a regulatory perspective. The Public Policy and Performance Measurement & Reporting Committees are actively evaluating and leading the transition from value to volume. SHM is also working with potential key partners and organizations in the areas of primary care, skilled nursing facilities, and accountable care organizations that will help improve the effectiveness of delivering population health management.
- Creating expertise
SHM will lead best practice development for tools and skills that are necessary for hospitalists to lead population health management. Telemedicine is an increasingly critical tool as we help manage our patients in other facilities, inpatient or skilled nursing facilities, as well as at home. SHM has developed a white paper about telemedicine in hospital medicine that highlights modalities, offerings, implementation of programs, and work flows necessary for success. You can find it under “Resources” at hospitalmedicine.org/telemedicine.
SHM will continue to actively develop tools that appropriately address the challenges we’re facing. From National Hospitalist Day to population health management, this is an exciting time in hospital medicine – I hope to see you at HM19 to celebrate our specialty and our bright future.
Dr. Afsar is president of the Society of Hospital Medicine, and chief ambulatory officer and chief medical officer for accountable care organizations at UC Irvine Health.
Crystal ball: The future of hospital medicine
Profound changes on the horizon
At HM18 in Orlando, the Society of Hospital Medicine’s CEO Larry Wellikson, MD, MHM, challenged our thinking by sharing a slide with the attendees that effectively and accurately captured the current environment. Today’s largest retailer, Amazon, owns no inventory; today’s largest taxi company, Uber, owns no cars; and today’s largest provider of accommodations, Airbnb, owns no real estate.
This powerful statement captures a transformative way of thinking, functioning, and thriving that has rapidly evolved over the past decade in the United States. And yet, health care fundamentally functions very similarly to how it did 10 years ago. I think we can all acknowledge that this is not a sustainable way to advance.
With megamergers dominating the health care landscape in 2017, the industry has become consolidated to weather the economic challenges ahead. Hospital contribution margins have been declining, forcing systems to critically evaluate how they deliver value-based care. In addition, the joining of forces between Amazon, Berkshire Hathaway, and JPMorgan further illustrates the pressures employers are experiencing with costs in the market.
What can we in hospital medicine do to proactively respond to, and shape, the evolving U.S. health care landscape?
If I had a crystal ball and could predict the future, I would say hospital medicine will be functioning very differently in 10 years to respond to today’s challenges.
The acute becomes more acute
When I started working as a hospitalist more than a decade ago, in a tertiary/quaternary academic medical center, the patients were severely ill with multiple comorbidities. Yet, in the span of 10 years, we care for many of those diagnoses in the ambulatory setting.
Reflecting on the severity of illness in my patients when I was recently on the medicine wards, I have to admit the patients now have a significantly higher burden of disease with twice as many comorbidities. As medicine has advanced and we have become more skilled at caring for patients, the acuity of patients has exponentially increased.
As this trend continues, hospitalists will need greater training in critical care components of hospital-based care. While we may comanage some of these patients with critical care, our skill sets need to intensify to address the growing needs of our patient population.
“Bread and butter” moves to lower-acuity settings and home
As our ability to manage patients advances, and the existing inpatient beds are occupied by sicker patients, the common hospital medicine diagnoses will move to skilled nursing facilities, long-term acute care settings, and ultimately home.
Delivery systems will have to create robust networks of home health and home services to actively manage patients with accountability. This provides an opportunity for hospitalists to manage acutely ill patients in less intense settings of care, and the emergence of telehealth will help facilitate this.
In a Feb. 6, 2018 article in JAMA – “Is it Time for a New Medical Specialty?” – Dr. Michael Nochomovitz and Dr. Rahul Sharma argue that, with rapid advances in technology and the establishment of telemedicine, a new specialty – the virtualist – will need to formally emerge (JAMA. 2018;319[5]:437-8. While telehealth has been successfully utilized for the delivery of acute care in remote regions, as well as the delivery of basic services for common diagnoses, it is not robustly and broadly integrated into all aspects of care delivery.
As we move from the hospital setting to less acute settings of care and home-based care, providers need specific training and skill sets in how to manage and deliver care without the patient in front of them. This includes knowledge of how to remotely manage acutely ill patients who are stable and do not require a hospitalization, as well as effectively managing day-to-day issues that arise with patients.
Translating our role in population health management
I have written previously about the expanding role of hospitalists in population health management. In addition to the transitions of care work that we are all involved in, hospitalists must actively partner with our ambulatory colleagues to identify and communicate key barriers to care.
Hospitalists are already instrumental in a number of institutions providing inpatient and ambulatory care for a select group of patients with high utilization. We have the ability to care for high utilizers and partner with ambulatory providers who can ensure we care for patients with high burdens of disease in the most appropriate settings of care. In the fall of 2018, SHM is convening a group of experts in population health to discuss the role of hospitalists in this area.
While I don’t have a crystal ball to predict the future, sadly, SHM is committed to proactively defining and advancing our specialty. I am confident that together we can find the solutions that will successfully advance us towards the future.
Dr. Afsar is president of the Society of Hospital Medicine, and chief ambulatory officer and chief medical officer for accountable care organizations at UC Irvine Health.
Profound changes on the horizon
Profound changes on the horizon
At HM18 in Orlando, the Society of Hospital Medicine’s CEO Larry Wellikson, MD, MHM, challenged our thinking by sharing a slide with the attendees that effectively and accurately captured the current environment. Today’s largest retailer, Amazon, owns no inventory; today’s largest taxi company, Uber, owns no cars; and today’s largest provider of accommodations, Airbnb, owns no real estate.
This powerful statement captures a transformative way of thinking, functioning, and thriving that has rapidly evolved over the past decade in the United States. And yet, health care fundamentally functions very similarly to how it did 10 years ago. I think we can all acknowledge that this is not a sustainable way to advance.
With megamergers dominating the health care landscape in 2017, the industry has become consolidated to weather the economic challenges ahead. Hospital contribution margins have been declining, forcing systems to critically evaluate how they deliver value-based care. In addition, the joining of forces between Amazon, Berkshire Hathaway, and JPMorgan further illustrates the pressures employers are experiencing with costs in the market.
What can we in hospital medicine do to proactively respond to, and shape, the evolving U.S. health care landscape?
If I had a crystal ball and could predict the future, I would say hospital medicine will be functioning very differently in 10 years to respond to today’s challenges.
The acute becomes more acute
When I started working as a hospitalist more than a decade ago, in a tertiary/quaternary academic medical center, the patients were severely ill with multiple comorbidities. Yet, in the span of 10 years, we care for many of those diagnoses in the ambulatory setting.
Reflecting on the severity of illness in my patients when I was recently on the medicine wards, I have to admit the patients now have a significantly higher burden of disease with twice as many comorbidities. As medicine has advanced and we have become more skilled at caring for patients, the acuity of patients has exponentially increased.
As this trend continues, hospitalists will need greater training in critical care components of hospital-based care. While we may comanage some of these patients with critical care, our skill sets need to intensify to address the growing needs of our patient population.
“Bread and butter” moves to lower-acuity settings and home
As our ability to manage patients advances, and the existing inpatient beds are occupied by sicker patients, the common hospital medicine diagnoses will move to skilled nursing facilities, long-term acute care settings, and ultimately home.
Delivery systems will have to create robust networks of home health and home services to actively manage patients with accountability. This provides an opportunity for hospitalists to manage acutely ill patients in less intense settings of care, and the emergence of telehealth will help facilitate this.
In a Feb. 6, 2018 article in JAMA – “Is it Time for a New Medical Specialty?” – Dr. Michael Nochomovitz and Dr. Rahul Sharma argue that, with rapid advances in technology and the establishment of telemedicine, a new specialty – the virtualist – will need to formally emerge (JAMA. 2018;319[5]:437-8. While telehealth has been successfully utilized for the delivery of acute care in remote regions, as well as the delivery of basic services for common diagnoses, it is not robustly and broadly integrated into all aspects of care delivery.
As we move from the hospital setting to less acute settings of care and home-based care, providers need specific training and skill sets in how to manage and deliver care without the patient in front of them. This includes knowledge of how to remotely manage acutely ill patients who are stable and do not require a hospitalization, as well as effectively managing day-to-day issues that arise with patients.
Translating our role in population health management
I have written previously about the expanding role of hospitalists in population health management. In addition to the transitions of care work that we are all involved in, hospitalists must actively partner with our ambulatory colleagues to identify and communicate key barriers to care.
Hospitalists are already instrumental in a number of institutions providing inpatient and ambulatory care for a select group of patients with high utilization. We have the ability to care for high utilizers and partner with ambulatory providers who can ensure we care for patients with high burdens of disease in the most appropriate settings of care. In the fall of 2018, SHM is convening a group of experts in population health to discuss the role of hospitalists in this area.
While I don’t have a crystal ball to predict the future, sadly, SHM is committed to proactively defining and advancing our specialty. I am confident that together we can find the solutions that will successfully advance us towards the future.
Dr. Afsar is president of the Society of Hospital Medicine, and chief ambulatory officer and chief medical officer for accountable care organizations at UC Irvine Health.
At HM18 in Orlando, the Society of Hospital Medicine’s CEO Larry Wellikson, MD, MHM, challenged our thinking by sharing a slide with the attendees that effectively and accurately captured the current environment. Today’s largest retailer, Amazon, owns no inventory; today’s largest taxi company, Uber, owns no cars; and today’s largest provider of accommodations, Airbnb, owns no real estate.
This powerful statement captures a transformative way of thinking, functioning, and thriving that has rapidly evolved over the past decade in the United States. And yet, health care fundamentally functions very similarly to how it did 10 years ago. I think we can all acknowledge that this is not a sustainable way to advance.
With megamergers dominating the health care landscape in 2017, the industry has become consolidated to weather the economic challenges ahead. Hospital contribution margins have been declining, forcing systems to critically evaluate how they deliver value-based care. In addition, the joining of forces between Amazon, Berkshire Hathaway, and JPMorgan further illustrates the pressures employers are experiencing with costs in the market.
What can we in hospital medicine do to proactively respond to, and shape, the evolving U.S. health care landscape?
If I had a crystal ball and could predict the future, I would say hospital medicine will be functioning very differently in 10 years to respond to today’s challenges.
The acute becomes more acute
When I started working as a hospitalist more than a decade ago, in a tertiary/quaternary academic medical center, the patients were severely ill with multiple comorbidities. Yet, in the span of 10 years, we care for many of those diagnoses in the ambulatory setting.
Reflecting on the severity of illness in my patients when I was recently on the medicine wards, I have to admit the patients now have a significantly higher burden of disease with twice as many comorbidities. As medicine has advanced and we have become more skilled at caring for patients, the acuity of patients has exponentially increased.
As this trend continues, hospitalists will need greater training in critical care components of hospital-based care. While we may comanage some of these patients with critical care, our skill sets need to intensify to address the growing needs of our patient population.
“Bread and butter” moves to lower-acuity settings and home
As our ability to manage patients advances, and the existing inpatient beds are occupied by sicker patients, the common hospital medicine diagnoses will move to skilled nursing facilities, long-term acute care settings, and ultimately home.
Delivery systems will have to create robust networks of home health and home services to actively manage patients with accountability. This provides an opportunity for hospitalists to manage acutely ill patients in less intense settings of care, and the emergence of telehealth will help facilitate this.
In a Feb. 6, 2018 article in JAMA – “Is it Time for a New Medical Specialty?” – Dr. Michael Nochomovitz and Dr. Rahul Sharma argue that, with rapid advances in technology and the establishment of telemedicine, a new specialty – the virtualist – will need to formally emerge (JAMA. 2018;319[5]:437-8. While telehealth has been successfully utilized for the delivery of acute care in remote regions, as well as the delivery of basic services for common diagnoses, it is not robustly and broadly integrated into all aspects of care delivery.
As we move from the hospital setting to less acute settings of care and home-based care, providers need specific training and skill sets in how to manage and deliver care without the patient in front of them. This includes knowledge of how to remotely manage acutely ill patients who are stable and do not require a hospitalization, as well as effectively managing day-to-day issues that arise with patients.
Translating our role in population health management
I have written previously about the expanding role of hospitalists in population health management. In addition to the transitions of care work that we are all involved in, hospitalists must actively partner with our ambulatory colleagues to identify and communicate key barriers to care.
Hospitalists are already instrumental in a number of institutions providing inpatient and ambulatory care for a select group of patients with high utilization. We have the ability to care for high utilizers and partner with ambulatory providers who can ensure we care for patients with high burdens of disease in the most appropriate settings of care. In the fall of 2018, SHM is convening a group of experts in population health to discuss the role of hospitalists in this area.
While I don’t have a crystal ball to predict the future, sadly, SHM is committed to proactively defining and advancing our specialty. I am confident that together we can find the solutions that will successfully advance us towards the future.
Dr. Afsar is president of the Society of Hospital Medicine, and chief ambulatory officer and chief medical officer for accountable care organizations at UC Irvine Health.
Launching into the future
Hospital Medicine: 10 years ago
My first Society of Hospital Medicine Annual Conference was HM08, and it changed the course of my professional career.
I was a first-year hospitalist from an academic program of fewer than 10 physicians. My knowledge about my field did not extend much beyond the clinical practice of hospital medicine. I remember sitting at the airport on my way to HM08 and excitedly looking over the schedule for the meeting. I diligently circled the sessions that I was looking forward to attending, the majority of which focused on the clinical tracks. But by the end of the meeting, in additional to valuable medical knowledge, I walked away with novel insights that launched me into my future.
New ideas in HM: In 2008, comanagement was still a new concept. As I attended sessions and spoke with hospitalists from across the country, it became clear that this was a collaboration that would be core to our specialty. Within a couple of months of returning home from the annual conference, I was approached by the chair of neurosurgery at my institution with a proposal to develop a quality program for his group. While at that time I was considering other competing interests, my experience at HM08 helped me recognize that this was a unique opportunity to build bridges across specialties and to collaborate. I subsequently became the executive director of quality for neurosurgery and over the years was able to create a strong relationship between our departments that led to building a nationally recognized program with exceptional performance in hospital-based quality.
Side note: If you’re interested in resources on comanagement, please check out SHM’s Resources for Effective Co-Management of Hospitalized Patients at https://www.hospitalmedicine.org/comanagement .
Emerging themes and trends in health care: While the quality movement had launched about a decade before HM08, many institutions still did not have robust programs. As I attended sessions during the annual meeting and spoke with thought leaders, one message became clear: Hospitalists would have to lead the quality movement at their institutions. When I returned home, I began learning about quality improvement and started to lead various initiatives. These efforts led to my appointment as associate chief medical officer for the health system. This position enabled me to leverage my knowledge of hospital-based care and collaborate across various specialties to reduce our mortality and readmission rates in the organization.
Side note: If you’re interested in learning more about quality improvement educational and mentorship opportunities, please visit https://www.hospitalmedicine.org/qi and look at the resources for each specific topic.
And, most importantly, friendships: By far the most important thing I took away from HM08 was the friendships that started at that meeting and have developed over the years since. A decade later, I continue to rely on, grow from, and be challenged by the same people I met at that meeting. They are the colleagues I call when I find myself in a tough spot at work and need advice, the collaborators I work with on grants and projects, and the friends I text when I travel to a new town and want to grab a bite to eat.
Side note: If you’re interested in connecting with colleagues who share similar interests, please visit https://www.hospitalmedicine.org/sigs and review SHM’s Special Interest Groups to find ones that are right for you. To connect on a more local level, find an SHM Chapter near you at https://www.hospitalmedicine.org/chapters.
I’ve shared these stories with you because for me my journey with our society has been a deeply personal one. And I feel indebted to SHM and the incredible people who drawn to it for helping me develop and enjoy a rich and rewarding career thus far. So, as I look forward to the next decade, I wanted to share my thoughts on HM and emerging themes in health care with you.
Hospital medicine: The next decade
New ideas in HM: Population health management
Building on our strong culture of collaboration as we move forward into this next decade, we have to define how we deliver value in the context of population health management. As hospitalists, we have to push the boundaries of the hospital and provide high-value care beyond our four walls.
How can we do that? I think technology will play a critical role in extending our reach beyond the hospital. As we move toward delivering greater value to our patients, lower acuity patients will receive care in their homes. Telehealth will enable us to monitor and manage these patients remotely while transferring our bedside management to patients’ bedrooms in their own homes. Virtual hospitals will further enable us to evaluate, triage, monitor, and manage patients remotely. Our active engagement in these efforts is critical to ensure the continued growth and value we bring to our patients, our organizations, and our society.
Emerging themes and trends in health care: Transitioning from quality to value
In the next decade, value will prevail. This is not a novel concept – much like how quality was not a new idea in 2008.
Value has been around for a while: There are some robust programs nationally, there is research around the topic, and there are policies with implications for reimbursements. However, the full potential of value has not yet been realized by health care – it exists in individual programs, not in everything we do. The unprecedented number of mergers and acquisitions in health care in 2018 support the fact that the future will belong to those institutions that can deliver the highest quality of care at the most appropriate cost throughout the entire continuum of care.
What are some of the tools that will help us get there? Artificial intelligence and machine learning will improve the predictive value for the care we deliver to individual patients; some preliminary work in this area has already revealed that factors that we previously associated with higher risk of readmissions are not truly predictive. Another emerging technology is blockchain: By creating a single source of truth for our patients’ medical information, it enables us to have dynamic, high-integrity records regardless of which health systems and EHRs have cared for those patients.
I wish you an energizing journey as you launch your future into the next dynamic decade of health care, and I look forward to connecting with you as we continue to build a society that prepares us for the challenges and opportunities ahead.
Dr. Afsar is the president of the Society of Hospital Medicine and the chief ambulatory officer and chief medical officer for the accountable care organizations at UC Irvine Health.
Hospital Medicine: 10 years ago
My first Society of Hospital Medicine Annual Conference was HM08, and it changed the course of my professional career.
I was a first-year hospitalist from an academic program of fewer than 10 physicians. My knowledge about my field did not extend much beyond the clinical practice of hospital medicine. I remember sitting at the airport on my way to HM08 and excitedly looking over the schedule for the meeting. I diligently circled the sessions that I was looking forward to attending, the majority of which focused on the clinical tracks. But by the end of the meeting, in additional to valuable medical knowledge, I walked away with novel insights that launched me into my future.
New ideas in HM: In 2008, comanagement was still a new concept. As I attended sessions and spoke with hospitalists from across the country, it became clear that this was a collaboration that would be core to our specialty. Within a couple of months of returning home from the annual conference, I was approached by the chair of neurosurgery at my institution with a proposal to develop a quality program for his group. While at that time I was considering other competing interests, my experience at HM08 helped me recognize that this was a unique opportunity to build bridges across specialties and to collaborate. I subsequently became the executive director of quality for neurosurgery and over the years was able to create a strong relationship between our departments that led to building a nationally recognized program with exceptional performance in hospital-based quality.
Side note: If you’re interested in resources on comanagement, please check out SHM’s Resources for Effective Co-Management of Hospitalized Patients at https://www.hospitalmedicine.org/comanagement .
Emerging themes and trends in health care: While the quality movement had launched about a decade before HM08, many institutions still did not have robust programs. As I attended sessions during the annual meeting and spoke with thought leaders, one message became clear: Hospitalists would have to lead the quality movement at their institutions. When I returned home, I began learning about quality improvement and started to lead various initiatives. These efforts led to my appointment as associate chief medical officer for the health system. This position enabled me to leverage my knowledge of hospital-based care and collaborate across various specialties to reduce our mortality and readmission rates in the organization.
Side note: If you’re interested in learning more about quality improvement educational and mentorship opportunities, please visit https://www.hospitalmedicine.org/qi and look at the resources for each specific topic.
And, most importantly, friendships: By far the most important thing I took away from HM08 was the friendships that started at that meeting and have developed over the years since. A decade later, I continue to rely on, grow from, and be challenged by the same people I met at that meeting. They are the colleagues I call when I find myself in a tough spot at work and need advice, the collaborators I work with on grants and projects, and the friends I text when I travel to a new town and want to grab a bite to eat.
Side note: If you’re interested in connecting with colleagues who share similar interests, please visit https://www.hospitalmedicine.org/sigs and review SHM’s Special Interest Groups to find ones that are right for you. To connect on a more local level, find an SHM Chapter near you at https://www.hospitalmedicine.org/chapters.
I’ve shared these stories with you because for me my journey with our society has been a deeply personal one. And I feel indebted to SHM and the incredible people who drawn to it for helping me develop and enjoy a rich and rewarding career thus far. So, as I look forward to the next decade, I wanted to share my thoughts on HM and emerging themes in health care with you.
Hospital medicine: The next decade
New ideas in HM: Population health management
Building on our strong culture of collaboration as we move forward into this next decade, we have to define how we deliver value in the context of population health management. As hospitalists, we have to push the boundaries of the hospital and provide high-value care beyond our four walls.
How can we do that? I think technology will play a critical role in extending our reach beyond the hospital. As we move toward delivering greater value to our patients, lower acuity patients will receive care in their homes. Telehealth will enable us to monitor and manage these patients remotely while transferring our bedside management to patients’ bedrooms in their own homes. Virtual hospitals will further enable us to evaluate, triage, monitor, and manage patients remotely. Our active engagement in these efforts is critical to ensure the continued growth and value we bring to our patients, our organizations, and our society.
Emerging themes and trends in health care: Transitioning from quality to value
In the next decade, value will prevail. This is not a novel concept – much like how quality was not a new idea in 2008.
Value has been around for a while: There are some robust programs nationally, there is research around the topic, and there are policies with implications for reimbursements. However, the full potential of value has not yet been realized by health care – it exists in individual programs, not in everything we do. The unprecedented number of mergers and acquisitions in health care in 2018 support the fact that the future will belong to those institutions that can deliver the highest quality of care at the most appropriate cost throughout the entire continuum of care.
What are some of the tools that will help us get there? Artificial intelligence and machine learning will improve the predictive value for the care we deliver to individual patients; some preliminary work in this area has already revealed that factors that we previously associated with higher risk of readmissions are not truly predictive. Another emerging technology is blockchain: By creating a single source of truth for our patients’ medical information, it enables us to have dynamic, high-integrity records regardless of which health systems and EHRs have cared for those patients.
I wish you an energizing journey as you launch your future into the next dynamic decade of health care, and I look forward to connecting with you as we continue to build a society that prepares us for the challenges and opportunities ahead.
Dr. Afsar is the president of the Society of Hospital Medicine and the chief ambulatory officer and chief medical officer for the accountable care organizations at UC Irvine Health.
Hospital Medicine: 10 years ago
My first Society of Hospital Medicine Annual Conference was HM08, and it changed the course of my professional career.
I was a first-year hospitalist from an academic program of fewer than 10 physicians. My knowledge about my field did not extend much beyond the clinical practice of hospital medicine. I remember sitting at the airport on my way to HM08 and excitedly looking over the schedule for the meeting. I diligently circled the sessions that I was looking forward to attending, the majority of which focused on the clinical tracks. But by the end of the meeting, in additional to valuable medical knowledge, I walked away with novel insights that launched me into my future.
New ideas in HM: In 2008, comanagement was still a new concept. As I attended sessions and spoke with hospitalists from across the country, it became clear that this was a collaboration that would be core to our specialty. Within a couple of months of returning home from the annual conference, I was approached by the chair of neurosurgery at my institution with a proposal to develop a quality program for his group. While at that time I was considering other competing interests, my experience at HM08 helped me recognize that this was a unique opportunity to build bridges across specialties and to collaborate. I subsequently became the executive director of quality for neurosurgery and over the years was able to create a strong relationship between our departments that led to building a nationally recognized program with exceptional performance in hospital-based quality.
Side note: If you’re interested in resources on comanagement, please check out SHM’s Resources for Effective Co-Management of Hospitalized Patients at https://www.hospitalmedicine.org/comanagement .
Emerging themes and trends in health care: While the quality movement had launched about a decade before HM08, many institutions still did not have robust programs. As I attended sessions during the annual meeting and spoke with thought leaders, one message became clear: Hospitalists would have to lead the quality movement at their institutions. When I returned home, I began learning about quality improvement and started to lead various initiatives. These efforts led to my appointment as associate chief medical officer for the health system. This position enabled me to leverage my knowledge of hospital-based care and collaborate across various specialties to reduce our mortality and readmission rates in the organization.
Side note: If you’re interested in learning more about quality improvement educational and mentorship opportunities, please visit https://www.hospitalmedicine.org/qi and look at the resources for each specific topic.
And, most importantly, friendships: By far the most important thing I took away from HM08 was the friendships that started at that meeting and have developed over the years since. A decade later, I continue to rely on, grow from, and be challenged by the same people I met at that meeting. They are the colleagues I call when I find myself in a tough spot at work and need advice, the collaborators I work with on grants and projects, and the friends I text when I travel to a new town and want to grab a bite to eat.
Side note: If you’re interested in connecting with colleagues who share similar interests, please visit https://www.hospitalmedicine.org/sigs and review SHM’s Special Interest Groups to find ones that are right for you. To connect on a more local level, find an SHM Chapter near you at https://www.hospitalmedicine.org/chapters.
I’ve shared these stories with you because for me my journey with our society has been a deeply personal one. And I feel indebted to SHM and the incredible people who drawn to it for helping me develop and enjoy a rich and rewarding career thus far. So, as I look forward to the next decade, I wanted to share my thoughts on HM and emerging themes in health care with you.
Hospital medicine: The next decade
New ideas in HM: Population health management
Building on our strong culture of collaboration as we move forward into this next decade, we have to define how we deliver value in the context of population health management. As hospitalists, we have to push the boundaries of the hospital and provide high-value care beyond our four walls.
How can we do that? I think technology will play a critical role in extending our reach beyond the hospital. As we move toward delivering greater value to our patients, lower acuity patients will receive care in their homes. Telehealth will enable us to monitor and manage these patients remotely while transferring our bedside management to patients’ bedrooms in their own homes. Virtual hospitals will further enable us to evaluate, triage, monitor, and manage patients remotely. Our active engagement in these efforts is critical to ensure the continued growth and value we bring to our patients, our organizations, and our society.
Emerging themes and trends in health care: Transitioning from quality to value
In the next decade, value will prevail. This is not a novel concept – much like how quality was not a new idea in 2008.
Value has been around for a while: There are some robust programs nationally, there is research around the topic, and there are policies with implications for reimbursements. However, the full potential of value has not yet been realized by health care – it exists in individual programs, not in everything we do. The unprecedented number of mergers and acquisitions in health care in 2018 support the fact that the future will belong to those institutions that can deliver the highest quality of care at the most appropriate cost throughout the entire continuum of care.
What are some of the tools that will help us get there? Artificial intelligence and machine learning will improve the predictive value for the care we deliver to individual patients; some preliminary work in this area has already revealed that factors that we previously associated with higher risk of readmissions are not truly predictive. Another emerging technology is blockchain: By creating a single source of truth for our patients’ medical information, it enables us to have dynamic, high-integrity records regardless of which health systems and EHRs have cared for those patients.
I wish you an energizing journey as you launch your future into the next dynamic decade of health care, and I look forward to connecting with you as we continue to build a society that prepares us for the challenges and opportunities ahead.
Dr. Afsar is the president of the Society of Hospital Medicine and the chief ambulatory officer and chief medical officer for the accountable care organizations at UC Irvine Health.
Welcome to Day 3 at HM18
What an amazing 3 days! As we spoke on the first day, delivering higher value of care has been a highlight of this annual conference. With thought-provoking sessions from Kate Goodrich, MD, MHS, on payment reform; Eric Howell, MD, on “Value is NOT a 4-Letter Word”; and Lenny Feldman, MD, SFHM, on “Things We Do for No Reason,” hospital medicine’s focus on value is clear. I hope you also had the chance to attend the sessions on clinical topics of medicine, education, and practice management.
The final day of the conference is no exception when it comes to topics with impact. Starting off at 7:30 a.m., there is a diverse group of sessions on clinical medicine for adults and pediatrics, including “Peter Pan Grows Up: How to Care for Your Patients with Chronic Pediatric Conditions,” topics in health policy, how to advance in academic medicine with a focus on writing a winning abstract, and applying what you have learned at HM18 back home.
This day also offers sessions on advancement with topics for mid-career hospitalists and those aspiring to leadership roles. Promotion in academic medicine also will be addressed.
You can further strengthen your presentation skills in sessions that will teach you how to create valuable teaching points on the fly and deliver memorable lectures and talks. Other sessions will enhance your skills in emotional intelligence.
As always, we are extremely fortunate to wrap up the day with Bob Wachter, MD, MHM, who is sure to deliver a thought-provoking and entertaining presentation entitled “Hospitalists as Drivers of Innovation and System Change: Are We Doing Enough?”
As you wrap up your final day, I wish you a safe journey back home. Please continue your engagement with the Society through chapter meetings in your area, signing up for committees and interest groups, and dropping us a line – we look forward to continuing to work for you in the coming year.
Dr. Afsar is the incoming president of the Society of Hospital Medicine and the chief ambulatory officer & CMO for ACOs at UC Irvine Health in Orange, Calif.
What an amazing 3 days! As we spoke on the first day, delivering higher value of care has been a highlight of this annual conference. With thought-provoking sessions from Kate Goodrich, MD, MHS, on payment reform; Eric Howell, MD, on “Value is NOT a 4-Letter Word”; and Lenny Feldman, MD, SFHM, on “Things We Do for No Reason,” hospital medicine’s focus on value is clear. I hope you also had the chance to attend the sessions on clinical topics of medicine, education, and practice management.
The final day of the conference is no exception when it comes to topics with impact. Starting off at 7:30 a.m., there is a diverse group of sessions on clinical medicine for adults and pediatrics, including “Peter Pan Grows Up: How to Care for Your Patients with Chronic Pediatric Conditions,” topics in health policy, how to advance in academic medicine with a focus on writing a winning abstract, and applying what you have learned at HM18 back home.
This day also offers sessions on advancement with topics for mid-career hospitalists and those aspiring to leadership roles. Promotion in academic medicine also will be addressed.
You can further strengthen your presentation skills in sessions that will teach you how to create valuable teaching points on the fly and deliver memorable lectures and talks. Other sessions will enhance your skills in emotional intelligence.
As always, we are extremely fortunate to wrap up the day with Bob Wachter, MD, MHM, who is sure to deliver a thought-provoking and entertaining presentation entitled “Hospitalists as Drivers of Innovation and System Change: Are We Doing Enough?”
As you wrap up your final day, I wish you a safe journey back home. Please continue your engagement with the Society through chapter meetings in your area, signing up for committees and interest groups, and dropping us a line – we look forward to continuing to work for you in the coming year.
Dr. Afsar is the incoming president of the Society of Hospital Medicine and the chief ambulatory officer & CMO for ACOs at UC Irvine Health in Orange, Calif.
What an amazing 3 days! As we spoke on the first day, delivering higher value of care has been a highlight of this annual conference. With thought-provoking sessions from Kate Goodrich, MD, MHS, on payment reform; Eric Howell, MD, on “Value is NOT a 4-Letter Word”; and Lenny Feldman, MD, SFHM, on “Things We Do for No Reason,” hospital medicine’s focus on value is clear. I hope you also had the chance to attend the sessions on clinical topics of medicine, education, and practice management.
The final day of the conference is no exception when it comes to topics with impact. Starting off at 7:30 a.m., there is a diverse group of sessions on clinical medicine for adults and pediatrics, including “Peter Pan Grows Up: How to Care for Your Patients with Chronic Pediatric Conditions,” topics in health policy, how to advance in academic medicine with a focus on writing a winning abstract, and applying what you have learned at HM18 back home.
This day also offers sessions on advancement with topics for mid-career hospitalists and those aspiring to leadership roles. Promotion in academic medicine also will be addressed.
You can further strengthen your presentation skills in sessions that will teach you how to create valuable teaching points on the fly and deliver memorable lectures and talks. Other sessions will enhance your skills in emotional intelligence.
As always, we are extremely fortunate to wrap up the day with Bob Wachter, MD, MHM, who is sure to deliver a thought-provoking and entertaining presentation entitled “Hospitalists as Drivers of Innovation and System Change: Are We Doing Enough?”
As you wrap up your final day, I wish you a safe journey back home. Please continue your engagement with the Society through chapter meetings in your area, signing up for committees and interest groups, and dropping us a line – we look forward to continuing to work for you in the coming year.
Dr. Afsar is the incoming president of the Society of Hospital Medicine and the chief ambulatory officer & CMO for ACOs at UC Irvine Health in Orange, Calif.