The Medical Center of Southeast Texas Launches Hospitalist Program
Program Will Help to Manage Inpatient Care, Improve Patient Outcomes and Enhance Hospital Efficiency
April 21, 2009

The Medical Center of Southeast Texas today announced the launch of its hospitalist program that is being led by Dr. James Shepherd, a well-known and long-standing community physician.

The hospitalist program was created to help improve patient outcomes, minimize the amount of time patients must stay in the hospital, improve communication with the patients and their families, and better educate patients and families on health issues. A hospitalist works in tandem with the patients’ primary care physicians, coordinating most aspects of their inpatient care while staying in constant contact with the patients’ primary doctors.

“The creation of our hospitalist program is a recent example of our commitment to continually enhance the quality and efficiency of the care we provide to our patients and their families.” said Michael Landry, chief executive officer of The Medical Center of Southeast Texas. “Dr. Shepherd is a respected member of our medical staff, and we are pleased that his primary focus will now be on inpatient care.”

Numerous studies have shown that the use of hospitalists has significantly and positively affected the amount of time patients spend in the hospital, as well as the cost of their care. Findings of research conducted in 2002 by Dr. Robert M. Wachter, M.D. and Dr. Lee Goldman published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, found that the average length of stay for patients being cared for by hospitalists decreased by 16.5 percent. This same study also found that hospital costs for those patients were reduced by 13.4 percent.