Family physicians in university hospital intensive care units

Although physicians in most family practice residency programs hospitalize their patients at community hospitals, those in 21 programs in the United States hospitalize patients exclusively at university hospitals. Through a questionnaire mailed to directors of each of these programs, it was learned that family practice residency faculty have medical intensive care (ICU) privileges at 38 percent of these university hospitals. No family physicians had ever been denied ICU privileges at any of these hospitals. Mandatory consultations were reported by only a minority of programs. At 62 percent of these university hospitals, family physicians do not have ICU privileges. However, no family physician had every made a formal application for them. Intensive care patients at these hospitals were generally cared for by specialists and house staff in internal medicine or critical care.