News and briefs: Hospitalists and PCPs get equivalent ranks from patients

Patients who received inpatient care from hospitalists were just as satisfied as those who received inpatient care from primary care physicians (PCP), according to a study in the Journal of Hospital Medicine. Patients who responded to the survey (2003-2009) were asked about physician care quality, physician behavior, pain management, and communication.

In multivariable models, hospitalists and PCPs scored similarly in the highest satisfaction category, 79.2% ranked hospitalists in this category, 80.5%, of patients put PCPs in it. There was equality in the improvement in quality ratings for both groups over the six-year period of the survey. To read about how each group scored in individual categories, click here.