Shared care (comanagement)

Surgical departments have increasing difficulties in caring for their hospitalised patients due to the patients' advanced age and comorbidity, the growing specialisation in medical training and the strong political-healthcare pressure that a healthcare organisation places on them, where surgical acts take precedence over other activities. The pressure exerted by these departments on the medical area and the deficient response by the interconsultation system have led to the development of a different healthcare organisation model: Shared care, which includes perioperative medicine. In this model, 2 different specialists share the responsibility and authority in caring for hospitalised surgical patients. Internal Medicine is the most appropriate specialty for shared care. Internists who exercise this responsibility should have certain characteristics and must overcome a number of concerns from the surgeon and anaesthesiologist.