As a hospitalist, you are an integral part of a positive inpatient experience. You manage day-to-day clinical decisions, align subspecialty input, and serve as the primary physician presence and shape how patients understand their illness, trust the care plan, and experience the hospital overall.

“In many ways, hospitalists are the ‘point guard’ of inpatient care, ensuring the system functions smoothly while keeping the patient and family informed and engaged,” said John Adams, MD, executive hospitalist medical director at UNC Health Rex in Raleigh, North Carolina.

Hospitalists must also coordinate care across multiple services, communicate directly with patients and families, and spend the most physician time at the bedside during admission.

Finding the right specialist at the right time is an important part of the work.

Expanding Your Role, Expanding Your Network

Becoming a trusted part of a patient’s care team, even though it is a new alliance, is key.

“Hospitalists often meet patients during unexpected and stressful moments, so trust must be built quickly and intentionally. I focus on clear, transparent communication,” Adams said.

To find avenues to expand your network of specialists to facilitate continued care for inpatients and listen and respond to patients, caregivers, and other healthcare providers.

Adams said, “This is in tandem with the expectation that a patient may say, ‘Dr I need a physical therapist, or I need a dermatologist, or I need a wound care specialist?’”

To expand your network, consider these strategies, which can be achieved through building relationships.

Understand daily clinical interactions matter. Engaging specialists during rounds and following up with direct conversations, secure messaging, or phone calls builds familiarity and trust that carries forward to future cases, said Adams.

Remain engaged in the broader medical community. As employment models shift toward system-owned practices, it’s increasingly important to attend medical staff meetings, hospital events, and local medical society gatherings to maintain strong referral pathways and support smooth transitions of care, he said.

Leverage your existing network. You don’t need to know every specialist, but you should know who to ask, he said. “Trusted colleagues often provide high-quality recommendations for specific conditions or procedures,” Adams said.

Expand your personal healthcare reach. Sharon Bryant, DNP, APRN, ACNP-BC, director, Adult-Gerontology Acute Care Specialty and assistant professor of nursing, Vanderbilt University School of Nursing in Nashville, Tennessee, recommends both to attend targeted professional events and society involvement, and to use professional networks, digital technology, and feedback channels to strengthen and maintain connections.

How Can a Hospitalist Vet Providers?

Implement an approach that involves multiple disciplines.

“Through direct, real-time interactions, using either phone calls or in-person discussion hospitalists can evaluate consultants’ response times, the clarity and usefulness of their recommendations, and their overall communication style,” said Bryant.

These experiences help hospitalists recognize performance patterns and rate consultants more consistently, such as those who are timely, collaborative, and thorough vs those who are consistently delayed or minimally engaged, Bryant said.

Furthermore, she said personal conversations also provide insight into a consultant’s professional demeanor, logical reasoning, and true readiness/willingness to assess and handle the consultation. And finally, Bryant said peer input from fellow hospitalists or team members offers another reliable way to continually evaluate consultants’ dependability and effectiveness.

“In the end, deliberate and effective screening of providers by hospitalists fosters stronger care coordination, shorter wait times for interventions, greater patient safety, and smoother overall hospital operations,” said Bryant.

Is It Appropriate to Recommend Providers Outside the Hospital System?

Adams with UNC said the answer is yes, if appropriate. “I advocate for referring patients to the right provider for the right care at the right time, regardless of system affiliation,” he told Medscape Medical News. “The primary obligation is always to what is best for the patient, particularly when timeliness or specialized expertise is critical.”

Adams and Bryant reported having no disclosures.