Case Studies
Excellence in Critical Care: The Intensivist Program in a Community Hospital
Traditionally, primary care physicians maintain chief responsibility for treating their critically ill patients. They often bring in specialists as needed. There are clear drawbacks to this approach. For example, primary care doctors often have little experience treating critically ill patients, and they have time constraints because they must care for other hospitalized and office patients. This can result in poorly coordinated care with outcomes often less than optimal. An intensivist is a medical doctor who possesses special training and experience in treating critically ill patients. Less than 20 percent of hospitals in the United States have intensivist coverage. About 160,000 lives could be saved each year if critical care was delivered by intensivist-directed, multi-professional teams, according to the Society of Critical Care Medicine. The mortality rate for intensive care units with intensivist staffing is 6 percent, compared to 14.4 percent where attending physicians provide ICU care.
Traditionally, primary care physicians maintain chief responsibility for treating their critically ill patients. They often bring in specialists as needed. There are clear drawbacks to this approach. For example, primary care doctors often have little experience treating critically ill patients, and they have time constraints because they must care for other hospitalized and office patients. This can result in poorly coordinated care with outcomes often less than optimal. An intensivist is a medical doctor who possesses special training and experience in treating critically ill patients. Less than 20 percent of hospitals in the United States have intensivist coverage. About 160,000 lives could be saved each year if critical care was delivered by intensivist-directed, multi-professional teams, according to the Society of Critical Care Medicine. The mortality rate for intensive care units with intensivist staffing is 6 percent, compared to 14.4 percent where attending physicians provide ICU care.