3. The MKMG Hospitalist
A Blessing For The Seriously Ill Patient
For our patients in the hospital, the Hospitalist provides extra care when it’s needed most. Our Hospitalist is a full-time member of the MKMG medical staff — providing ongoing hospital care when your family internist cannot.
Patients in the Hospital Need Special Attention When a patient requires hospitalization, the family internist who knows the patient’s medical history best "squeezes" in hospital rounds before or after office hours, and stays in touch with the hospital by phone. While this is a valuable help, it may not be enough when the patient is hospitalized with a serious condition. For example, if a CAT scan is performed by 10 a.m., the hospitalized patient and his or her family will want to know the results as soon as possible. However, when the internist is holding office hours, interpreting the results of the CAT scan may take time, possibly delaying the next step in diagnosis or treatment. A Hospitalist, whose work is done in the inpatient setting, can interpret and act on test results very quickly.
MKMG's Hospitalist Enhances Care As a full time member of MKMG's Department of Internal Medicine, the Hospitalist: • must meet MKMG’s highest standards, • has virtually instant access to all of the patient's office medical records electronically, • is available to watch over the patient full-time, • is easily accessible to the family.
The Hospitalist and Your Internist Work Together The MKMG Hospitalist and your family internist are integral members of a care team concerned only with your welfare, should you need to stay in the hospital. The Hospitalist will communicate with your internist on a daily basis when necessary. In turn, our family internists stay in touch with their patients by phone and with occasional bedside visits. Of course, the internists resume caring for their patients after discharge.
A Win-Win Situation For the Patient As noted, the family internist is kept constantly informed of the patient's progress and remains a participant in his or her care. The Hospitalist facilitates swift and decisive action, speeding therapy and recovery. And the Hospitalist program is offered at no additional cost to the patient.
The Hospitalist Program is Just What You'd Expect from MKMG's Quality Medical Care The Hospitalist program, available exclusively to patients who already have an internist at MKMG, provides our patients with a new advantage should they require a hospital stay.BR>
We Offer Full-Time Hospitalist Coverage As part of the Hospitalist program, Dr. John Raffalli covers daytime hours on weekdays, while Dr. Abe Levy covers most weekends. Drs. Raffalli and Levy are Both Highly Qualified Hospitalists Dr. Levy has been a general Internist at MKMG, for the past twenty-nine years. Dr. Raffalli's background includes an assistant professorship in Infectious Diseases at Westchester Medical Center, a residency in Internal Medicine at NYU, and a fellowship in Infectious Disease at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. Both doctors work closely with their colleagues to assure that MKMG's patients receive the best of care both in the hospital and after returning home.
