hospitalist

hos·pi·tal·ist | \ ˈhä-(ˌ)spi-tə-list

plural hospitalists

Definition of hospitalist

1 : a physician and especially an internist who specializes in providing and managing the care and treatment of hospitalized patients … the burden of trying to be all things to all of his patients became unmanageable. In 2006, after Wayne Memorial Hospital hired hospitalists—doctors who specialize in taking care of hospitalized patients—Dr. Dewar finally gave up hospital rounds.— Gardiner Harris … some insurers contract with doctors called hospitalists, who take over from a patient's primary physician while the patient is hospitalized.— Milt Freudenheim

2 : a health-care professional (such as a nurse practitioner or physician assistant) who is not a physician but assumes a similar role —often used in combinationIf the hospitalist nurses encounter glitches that may delay the discharge or disagree with a specialist, they can call on the medical practice medical director or associate medical directors for help. — Case Management Advisor

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Did You Know?

Hospitalist refers to what is rapidly becoming a new specialty in medicine, perhaps due in part to the rise of organized health care. These days, the care that you receive during a hospital stay may be coordinated and monitored by a doctor who is not your regular doctor or the referring physician. The word hospitalist itself first appeared in print in 1996 and derives, of course, from "hospital," which in turn can be traced back to the Medieval Latin hospitale, meaning "hospice" or "guest house."

Examples of hospitalist in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Clara Chlon, a pediatric newborn hospitalist in Cincinnati, Ohio, will answer questions on days off, after work and on weekends. — Tariro Mzezewa, New York Times, "Would You Work for Nothing at Disney? 10,000 Superfans Applied," 15 Jan. 2020 Sara Gonzalez, 37, a pediatrician in Dartmouth, Mass., works as a hospitalist and in the emergency department, another shift job. — New York Times, "How Medicine Became the Stealth Family-Friendly Profession," 23 Aug. 2019 The growth is highest in specialties where the need for a long-standing doctor-patient relationship is low, such as emergency medicine, anesthesia and care provided to patients when they are hospitalized (a medical specialty known as hospitalists). — ProPublica, "This Doctors Group Is Owned by a Private Equity Firm and Repeatedly Sued the Poor Until We Called Them," 28 Nov. 2019 In February, the women’s services were expanded to include an emergency OB center with a 24/7 OB hospitalist, also known as an OBED, as one of their ways to meet the needs of patients. — Savannah Mehrtens, Houston Chronicle, "$10 million donation funds upgrade of women’s services at Memorial Hermann Northeast in Humble," 31 Oct. 2019 Following the completion of their residencies, Joseph will be working in weight management and obesity medicine and Japa will be working as a hospitalist. — STAT, "We were inspired to become primary care physicians. Now we’re reconsidering a field in crisis," 20 June 2019 Even when they are hospitalized and are at their most vulnerable, they are treated by anonymous hospitalists rather than their familiar primary care physicians. — STAT, "We were inspired to become primary care physicians. Now we’re reconsidering a field in crisis," 20 June 2019 The groom’s father is a hospitalist at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Chillicothe, Ohio. — New York Times, "Komal Patel, Kishore Padmaraju," 1 July 2018 Palomar Health hospitalist and integrative medicine physician Sabiha Pasha and registered dietitian Kathryn Vasaeli share cooking techniques to help achieve your best heart health in this free class. — Laura Groch, sandiegouniontribune.com, "North County Community News, June 10," 10 June 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'hospitalist.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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Last Updated

22 Jan 2020

Cite this Entry

“Hospitalist.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hospitalist. Accessed 19 Feb. 2020.

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More Definitions for hospitalist

hospitalist

noun

hos·pi·tal·ist | \ ˈhäs-(ˌ)pit-ᵊl-əst

Medical Definition of hospitalist

2 : a health-care professional (as a nurse practitioner or physician assistant) who is not a physician but assumes a similar role —often used in combinationIf the hospitalist nurses encounter glitches that may delay the discharge or disagree with a specialist, they can call on the medical practice medical director or associate medical directors for help. — Case Management Advisor