Dr. Karthik Krishnan spends his days making sure patients at the MCG Children’s Medical Center are happy.

As a hospitalist, Dr. Krishnan oversees the day-to-day care of children in the hospital. The hospitalist program helps ensure that children and families have one physician who is always there to care for them during hospitalization, who knows all the details of their particular case, who can keep their primary care physician informed, and who can spend time with them and answer all their questions.

Before the advent of hospitalists in the ‘90s, hospital medicine was usually directed by specialists and the patient’s own primary care physician. But there was a need for one person present in the hospital setting who could coordinate the care provided by the various physicians.

“It’s almost like going to your favorite restaurant,” said Dr. Krishnan, who started the pediatric hospitalist program at the MCG Children’s Medical Center in 2004. “You know the chef, and you know you’re going to get a good meal every time. In the same way, particularly for patients who spend a lot of time here, a hospitalist is that familiar face and team leader who makes sure everything functions well.”

Now, according to the Society of Hospital Medicine, more and more physicians are interested in this field. More than 20,000 hospitalists are practicing today, with that number expected to grow by an additional 10,000 within the next three years.

Pediatric hospitalist programs have also experienced an increase within the past five years. “Hospitalists in pediatric hospitals are just now becoming common,” said Dr. Krishnan. While families usually recognize their primary care pediatrician as being their child’s sole provider and want that physician to follow their child through his or her hospitalization, busy pediatric clinics mean that community pediatricians have less time to devote to the inpatient setting.

“That’s where we come in,” said Dr. Krishnan. “Our role is to work with the primary care pediatrician, the specialists, the staff, and the patients and families to ensure that everyone’s needs are met.”

High patient satisfaction scores mean that the program is working. “Because we are in the hospital, the families develop a relationship with us,” said Dr. Krishnan. “They know that we’re always accessible, and that we’re available to listen to their concerns. And the staff and other physicians are pleased because we help things run more smoothly and efficiently, and keep everyone informed. It’s just another aspect of the patient- and family-centered care that we offer here at the MCG Children’s Medical Center.”

MCG Health System is composed of three organizations - MCG Health Inc. and the clinical services offered by the faculty of the Medical College of Georgia and the members of the MCG Physicians Practice Group.  MCG Health, Inc. is a not-for-profit corporation operating the MCG Medical Center, MCG Children’s Medical Center, the MCG Sports Medicine Center, MCG Ambulatory Care Center, the Georgia Radiation Therapy Center and related clinical facilities and services.  MCG Health, Inc. was formed to support the research and education mission of the Medical College of Georgia, and to build the economic growth of the CSRA, the state of Georgia and the Southeast by providing an environment for delivering the highest level of primary and specialty health care.  For more information, please visit www.MCGHealth.org.