Over the past decade, there has been an explosion in the number of hospitalist programs across Canada. However, most of these programs have developed in response to local needs. As a result, there is significant variability in the way such programs are structured and how they deliver services, leading to variation in outcomes.
Our Hospital Medicine Program Diagnostic Tool is designed to make sense of this variability. Based on extensive qualitative research as well as a national survey of over 80 hospitalist programs, our tool allows organizations to determine the type of hospitalist program they employ along a previously described maturity continuum. The tool allows for meaningful benchmarking against peers and comparative analysis of performance. It also helps organizations understand where their hospitalist programs are at, where they want to be, and how to get there.