Hospitalists fill gap as intensivist numbers fall: The future of critical care is now

As the number of intensivists dwindles and demand for their services rises, hospitalists are stepping in to care for critical patients.

"We are way beyond the discussion of whether hospitalists should be in the ICU-they are already there. In many cases, they are managing the patients as the attending physician, and depending on where they are, they do or don't have the advantage of an intensivist co-manager or consult," says Michael Heisler, MD, MPH, professor of medicine at Sanford School of Medicine at the University of South Dakota and author of "Hospitalists and Intensivists: Partners in Caring for the Critically Ill-The Time has Come" in the January issue of the Journal of Hospital Medicine.

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