Comparisons of Clinical Outcomes between Weekday-Only and Full-Time, 24-Hour/7-Day Coverage Hospitalist Systems

Since the launch of pilot programs in 2016, varying ranges of hospitalist coverage exist in Korea. We evaluated the effects of differing depths of hospitalist coverage on clinical outcomes.

This study retrospectively reviewed the records of 513 patients admitted to a medical hospitalist unit through emergency department at Seoul National University Hospital. The full-time group included patients admitted in 2018 who received 24/7 hospitalist service, whereas the weekday group included patients admitted in 2019 with only weekday hospitalist service. In-hospital clinical outcomes were compared between the two groups.

Unplanned intensive care unit admission rate was lower in the full-time group than in the weekday group (0.4% vs. 2.9%; P = 0.042). Discharges to local hospitals for subacute or chronic care were more frequent in the full-time group than in the weekday group (12.6% vs. 5.8%; P = 0.007). The weekday coverage was a predictive factor of in-ward mortality (odds ratio, 2.00; 95% confidence interval, 1.01-3.99) after adjusting for potential confounding factors.

Uninterrupted weekend coverage hospitalist service is helpful for care-plan decision and timely care transitions for acutely and severely ill patients.