NATIONAL HARBOR, MD.– Communication between hospitalists and primary care physicians is not always easy, but doctors should strive to overcome barriers to the interactions, Dr. Roy I. Sittig said during the Society of Hospital Medicine annual meeting.
“We need to do a better job communicating with each other,” explained Dr. Sittig, hospitalist director and associate chief for clinical affairs at the University of Connecticut Health Center, Farmington, during a rapid-fire panel at the meeting. “You should communicate with the [primary care physician] whenever you can.”
Different primary care physicians may prefer different methods of communication, Dr. Sittig noted, and efforts by hospitalists to communicate may not always be well received. However, hospitalists should get to know their patients’ primary care physicians and build the relationship, he said.
In a video interview, Dr. Sittig discussed why communications between hospitalists and primary care physicians is vital. He also spoke about the benefits of physician engagement and how to strengthen such engagement at hospitals.
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