Articles We've Published

Hospitalist Practice Management: A lesson in improper allocations, unaccounted for NP/PA contributions – John Nelson, MD, MHM
The Hospitalist, July 2016

What I Did on My Summer Vacation – Leslie Flores, MHA, SFHM
The Hospital Leader Blog, July 14, 2016

Things Hospitalists Want Hospital Administrators to Know – John Nelson, MD, MHM
The Hospitalist, June 2016

Next Step in Sustainability: Re-Thinking How Hospitalists Organize Their Work – Leslie Flores, MHA, SFHM
The Hospital Leader Blog, May 19, 2016

Attributes of Successful Hospitalist Groups – John Nelson, MD, MHM
The Hospitalist, May 2016

A Link Between Hospitalist Morale and Retention? – Leslie Flores, MHA, SFHM
The Hospital Leader Blog, April 21, 2016

Tips for Policy and Procedure Manuals, Along with Roles for NP/PAs – John Nelson, MD, MHM
The Hospitalist, April 2016

A Closer Look at Characteristics of High-Performing HM Groups – John Nelson, MD, MHM
The Hospitalist, March 2016

A New Schedule Could Be Better for Your Hospitalist Group – John Nelson, MD, MHM
The Hospitalist, January 2016

What’s Your Hospitalist Group’s Gross Happiness Index? – Leslie Flores, MHA, SFHM
The Hospital Leader Blog, December 30, 2015

Concerns Grow as Top Clinicians Choose Nonclinical Roles – John Nelson, MD, MHM
The Hospitalist, December 2015

Working in an Interruption-Rich Environment – Leslie Flores, MHA, SFHM
The Hospital Leader Blog, November 10, 2015

Eliminations Hospitalist Groups Should Consider – John Nelson, MD, MHM
The Hospitalist, November 2015

Hospitalist Groups Might Do Better Without Daytime Admission Shifts, Morning Meetings – John Nelson, MD MHM
The Hospitalist, October 2015

Will Nurses Be Part of the Answer to HM Sustainability? – Leslie Flores, MHA, SFHM
The Hospital Leader Blog, September 30, 2015

Start Planning for State of Hospital Medicine Survey 2016 – Leslie Flores, MHA, SFHM
The Hospitalist, September 2015

Why Hospitalist Morale is Declining and Ways to Improve It – John Nelson, MD, MHM
The Hospitalist, September 2015

Hospital Medicine Viewed Through Practice Management Dictums – John Nelson, MD, MHM
Journal of Hospital Medicine. 2015;10(9):637-638

Making Hospital Medicine a Sustainable Specialty – Leslie Flores, MHA, SFHM
The Hospital Leader Blog, August 18, 2015

Tips for Hospitalists on Spending More of Their Time at the Top of Their License – John Nelson, MD, MHM
The Hospitalist, August 2015

Hospital Medicine’s Old Practices Become New Again – John Nelson, MD, MHM
The Hospitalist, July 2015

Do Hospitalists Need Paid Time Off? – Leslie Flores, MHA, SFHM
The Hospital Leader Blog, June 30, 2015

Standard Text Messaging for Smartphones Not HIPAA Compliant – John Nelson, MD, MHM
The Hospitalist, June 2015

Rapid-Response Teams Help Hospitalists Manage Non-Medical Distress – John Nelson, MD, MHM
The Hospitalist, April 2015

Geographic Rounding of Hospital Nurses Challenges Unit-Based Theory – John Nelson, MD, MHM
The Hospitalist, March 2015

How to Use Hospitalist Productivity, Compensation Survey Data – John Nelson, MD, MHM
The Hospitalist, January 2015

Hospitals’ Observation Status Designation May Trigger Malpractice Claims – John Nelson, MD, MHM
The Hospitalist, November 2014

New State of Hospital Medicine Report Better Than Ever – Leslie Flores, MHA
Survey Insights
The Hospitalist, October 2014

Put Key Principles, Characteristics of Effective Hospital Medicine Groups to Work – John Nelson, MD, MHM
The Hospitalist, September 2014

Proper Inpatient Documentation, Coding Essential to Avoid a Medicare Audit – John Nelson, MD, MHM
Tips to help your hospital medicine group ensure appropriate CPT coding
The Hospitalist, July 2014

Hospitalists Working Hard to Improve Patient Care – John Nelson, MD, MHM
Physicians’ use of educational content sponsored by Society of Hospital Medicine, other groups designed to provide better patient-centered care
The Hospitalist, April 2014

Problem Solving In Multi-Site Hospital Medicine Groups – John Nelson, MD, MHM
Meetings, shared-staffing models can reduce hospitalist tension in multiple practice sites
The Hospitalist, March 2014

Shift from Productivity to Value-Based Compensation Gains Momentum – John Nelson, MD, MHM
Hospitalists should expect larger portion of pay to be measured by costs, quality, outcomes as Medicare expands value-based purchasing program
The Hospitalist, February 2014

The Key Principles and Characteristics of an Effective Hospital Medicine Group: An Assessment Guide for Hospitals and Hospitalists – Patrick Cawley MD, Steven Deitelzweig MD, Leslie Flores MHA, Joseph A. Miller MS, John Nelson MD, Scott Rissmiller MD, Laurence Wellikson MD, Winthrop F. Whitcomb MD
Journal of Hospital Medicine, February 2014

Five Reasons Hospitalists Should Participate in Compensation, Productivity Survey – Leslie Flores, MHA
Survey Insights
The Hospitalist, January 2014

Electronic Health Records Can Complicate Who Does What in a Hospital – John Nelson, MD, MHM
EHR adoption has had unintended consequences, both good and bad, on who does what in hospitals
The Hospitalist, January 2014

Get Ready for Transition to ICD-10 Medical Coding – John Nelson, MD, MHM
The International Classification of Diseases’ new diagnosis codes and how hospitalists can prepare to use them
The Hospitalist, December 2013

Multi-Site Hospital Medicine Group Leaders Face Similar Challenges – John Nelson, MD, MHM
Ensuring cohesion among groups, incorporating common operating principles, encouraging interaction among hospitalists key to managing different locations
The Hospitalist, November 2013

MGMA Surveys Make Hospitalists’ Productivity Hard to Assess – John Nelson, MD, MHM
Methodology used to assign doctors’ full-time work and extra shifts can be misleading
The Hospitalist, October 2013

MGMA Physician Compensation Survey Raises Questions About Performance Pay – John Nelson, MD, MHM
Survey includes extra-shift and bonus pay into median compensation figure for hospitalists, though not all physicians earn performance incentives
The Hospitalist, September 2013

Nonphysician Practice Administrators More Common as Hospital Medicine Groups Expand – Leslie Flores, MHA
Survey Insights
The Hospitalist, August 2013

Why Hospitalists Should Provide Patients with Discharge Summaries – John Nelson, MD, MHM
Simple act could help reduce health-care expenditures, readmissions
The Hospitalist, August 2013

Steps Hospitalists Should Take to Reduce Turnaround Time of Death Certificates – John Nelson, MD, MHM
Timely completion can avoid holdups of burials, cremations, delays of life-insurance payouts and estate settlements
The Hospitalist, July 2013

Advanced-Practice Providers Have More to Offer Hospital Medicine Groups – Leslie Flores, MHA
Survey Insights
The Hospitalist, June 2013

Effective Clinical Documentation Can Influence Medicare Reimbursement – John Nelson, MD, MHM
Standardization and coordination of documentation practices is key to successful hospital billing
The Hospitalist, June 2013

Coordinated Approach May Help in Caring for Hospitals’ Neediest Patients – John Nelson, MD, MHM
Care plans for frequent fliers can reduce readmission rates, ED visits, and stress
The Hospitalist, May 2013

John Nelson: Excessive Workload a Concern for Many Hospitalists – John Nelson, MD, MHM
Multiple factors contribute to workload concerns expressed by hospitalists
The Hospitalist, April 2013

Survey Shows Five-Year Decrease in Employee Benefits, Paid Time Off for Hospitalists – Leslie Flores, MHA
Survey Insights
The Hospitalist, March 2013

Fixing Complaints Between Primary-Care Physicians, Hospitalists Not Always Easy – John Nelson, MD, MHM
Hospitalists are encouraged to work with PCPs to solve sticking points over such issues as restrictive hospital admission policies
The Hospitalist, March 2013

Why Spinal Epidural Abcess Poses A Particular Liability Risk for Hospitalists – John Nelson, MD, MHM
The delayed diagnosis of, or treatment for, a spinal epidural abcess (SEA) could easily result in a malpractice lawsuit for hospitalists
The Hospitalist, February 2013

Accuracy Matters when Compensation for Hospitalists is at Stake – Leslie Flores, MHA
Survey Insights
The Hospitalist, January 2013

John Nelson, MD: A New Hospitalist – John Nelson, MD, MHM
How the hospital medicine practice has changed greatly over the past three decades
The Hospitalist, January 2013

Peformance Key to Federal Value-Based Payment Modifier Plan – John Nelson, MD, MHM
What the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ new pay-for-performance program means to hospitalists
The Hospitalist, December 2012

Turnover for Hospitalist Groups Steady at 10% – Leslie Flores, MHA
Survey Insights
The Hospitalist, November 2012

Learning CPT Coding and Documentation Tricky for Hospitalists – John Nelson, MD, MHM
Tips to keep physician CPT coding straight
The Hospitalist, November 2012

Heavy Workloads – John Nelson, MD, MHM
Dearth of data doesn’t green-light high patient census
The Hospitalist, October 2012

Hospitalists’ Evolving Scope of Practice – Leslie Flores, MHA
Survey Insights
The Hospitalist, October 2012

Post-Discharge Calls – John Nelson, MD, MHM
Follow-up contact is the most potent patient-satisfaction tool
The Hospitalist, September 2012

New Data on Hospitalist Schedules – Leslie Flores
Survey Insights
The Hospitalist, September 2012

Better Understand CPT Coding Intensity – Leslie Flores, MHA
Survey Insights
The Hospitalist, August 2012

Admit Resolution – John Nelson, MD, MHM
Service agreements, when adhered to, help solve admission disagreements.
The Hospitalist, August 2012

Conflict Resolution – John Nelson, MD, MHM
Solutions for physician disagreements over patient admissions
The Hospitalist, July 2012

Recognition, Promotion, Development Critical to Group Success – John Nelson, MD, MHM
Well-designed forms of nonmonetary compensation can have a greater impact on a hospitalist than providing a reward in dollars.
The Hospitalist, June 2012

HM’s Financial Support Requirement – Leslie Flores, MHA
Survey Insights
The Hospitalist, June 2012

The Unique Connection between Compensation and Productivity – Leslie Flores, MHA
Survey Insights
The Hospitalist, May 2012

Your Hospital Should Use Scripts to Describe Hospitalists to Patients – John Nelson, MD, MHM
Ideally, all communication about the hospitalist as an individual and the whole system of hospitalist care should help reassure the patient. Sadly, many people at the hospital unwittingly do the opposite.
The Hospitalist, May 2012

Morning Discharges and Length of Stay – John Nelson, MD, MHM
This month I will focus on what can be thought of as the two components of “back end” throughput: effective management of length of stay (LOS) and patient discharge in the morning rather than late in the day
The Hospitalist, April 2012

Specialty Hospitalists: Analyzing an Emerging Phenomenon – Nelson JR, L Wellikson, RM Watcher
JAMA, 2012:307:16, 1699-20

The Scoop on Pediatric Hospital Medicine – Leslie Flores, MHA
Survey Insights
The Hospitalist, March 2012

ED Patient Throughput Is New Core Measure – John Nelson, MD, MHM
Hospitals are likely to increase their customers’ satisfaction by improving “frontend” throughput from the ED to the inpatient unit. In fact, CMS added two new core measures (known as inpatient quality reporting, or IQR) that hospitals began reporting on Jan. 1.
The Hospitalist, March 2012

NPs and PAs in Hospital Medicine – Leslie Flores, MHA
Survey Insights
The Hospitalist, February 2012

Hospital Value-Based Purchasing – John Nelson, MD, MHM
The measures matter to patients, info is publicly reported, and money is at risk.
The Hospitalist, February 2012

Peeking Under the Hood of Academic HM – Leslie Flores, MHA
Survey Insights
The Hospitalist, January 2012

Reimbursement Readiness – John Nelson, MD, MHM
Documentation improvement, regulatory acumen key to maximization of Medicare dollars.
The Hospitalist, January 2012

It’s All Written in Code -Leslie Flores, MHA
Survey Insights
The Hospitalist, December 2011

Holdout Hospitals – John Nelson, MD, MHM
Few U.S. hospitals operate without an HM service, but they do exist—for now.
The Hospitalist, December 2011

A New Survey Approach – Leslie Flores, MHA
Survey Insights
The Hospitalist, November 2011

Good Citizenship – John Nelson, MD, MHM
Can a performance bonus help?
The Hospitalist, November 2011

Specialty Hospitalists Will Revolutionize Inpatient Care – John Nelson, MD, MHM
Health Leaders Media, Oct 14, 2011

How Compensation Amount Differs by Employment Model – Leslie Flores, MHA
Survey Insights
The Hospitalist, October 2011

Laborists, Defined – John Nelson, MD, MHM
Certain traits, practices make the OBGYN hospitalist model a breed apart
The Hospitalist, October 2011

Nocturnists’ Compensation Puzzles Practice Leaders – Leslie Flores, MHA
Survey Insights
The Hospitalist, September 2011

Hospital-Focused Practice – John Nelson, MD, MHM
As specialists adopt HM model, need for new terminology, cooperation grows
The Hospitalist, September 2011

Power Struggles – John Nelson, MD, MHM
Whose practice is it, anyway?
The Hospitalist, August 2011

New Developments – John Nelson, MD, MHM
Financial support grows, while hospitalist recruiting shows signs of slowing.
The Hospitalist, July 2011

Good Advice, Bad Advice? – John Nelson, MD, MHM
Professional development, career satisfaction depend on good decisions
The Hospitalist, June 2011

The To-Don’t List, Part 2 – John Nelson, MD, MHM
HM groups should eliminate “extra” shifts, standard shift duration
The Hospitalist, May 2011

The To-Don’t List – John Nelson, MD, MHM
Your HM practice would be better off without these
The Hospitalist, April 2011

Par Excellence – John Nelson, MD, MHM
8 easy-to-identify attributes of a high-functioning practice
The Hospitalist, March 2011

Referral Lists – John Nelson, MD, MHM
Physician latitude, practical application key to consults
The Hospitalist, February 2011

Health IT Hurdles – John Nelson, MD, MHM
Physician understanding, hospital compatibility among many concerns
The Hospitalist, January 2011

Hospitalists, PCP’s, specialists, and non-physicians:Too many cooks in the kitchen? – Brotman DJ, Nelson JR
J Hosp Med, 2011;6:8;433-434

Real Doctoring – John Nelson, MD, MHM
Why radiologists know more about lung infiltrate diagnoses than you do
The Hospitalist, December 2010

Toxic Employees – John Nelson, MD, MHM
Strategies for dealing with problem hospitalists
The Hospitalist, November 2010

Volume Control, Part II – John Nelson, MD, MHM
Additional staff, flexible hours can help solve unexpected surges
The Hospitalist, October 2010

Surge Protection – John Nelson, MD, MHM
The pros and cons of handling spikes in patient volume
The Hospitalist, September 2010

Financial Risk – John Nelson, MD, MHM
Hospitalists should press for a permanent payment-formula fix
The Hospitalist, August 2010

Hospitalist Salary Spike – John Nelson, MD, MHM
New survey shows compensation rising, but beware over-generalization
The Hospitalist, July 2010

Square Peg, Square Hole – John Nelson, MD, MHM
Ensure your hospitalists are recognized, valued members of medical staff
The Hospitalist, June 2010

The Earlier, the Better – John Nelson, MD, MHM
Simple strategies to increase early-day discharges
The Hospitalist, May 2010

Continuity Conundrum – John Nelson, MD, MHM
Special situations require answers for physician-to-physician transitions
The Hospitalist, April 2010

New Referral Distribution – John Nelson, MD, MHM
With no clear best practice, HM groups need to refine their own methods
The Hospitalist, March 2010

Patient Distribution – John Nelson, MD, MHM
Common and uncommon approaches to divvying up new patients
The Hospitalist, February 2010

Necessary Evil: Change – John Nelson, MD, MHM
Medicare wipes out consultation codes, which could benefit HM groups
The Hospitalist, January 2010

Compensation Conundrum – John Nelson, MD, MHM
Continued hospitalist demand fuels steady salary increases
The Hospitalist, December 2009

Fiduciary Responsibility – John Nelson, MD, MHM
Common areas to analyze—and improve—your group’s productivity
The Hospitalist, November 2009

Budget Checkup – John Nelson, MD, MHM
Review the reasons your group requires hospital support
The Hospitalist, October 2009

Role Refinement – John Nelson, MD, MHM
Identify, adjust, and maximize NPP responsibilities
The Hospitalist, September 2009

Volume Variables – John Nelson, MD, MHM
Who says 15 patients a day is the right number?
The Hospitalist, August 2009

Internal Peer Review – John Nelson, MD, MHM
Group feedback, Web tools can help customize your review process
The Hospitalist, July 2009

Bigger Isn’t Always Better – John Nelson, MD, MHM
Efficiency, economics might not translate from small to big HM groups
The Hospitalist, June 2009

The Bigger They Are… – John Nelson, MD, MHM
As HM grows, more large groups face more complex issues
The Hospitalist, May 2009

Top o’ the Morning – John Nelson, MD, MHM
The why and how of writing discharge orders early in the day
The Hospitalist, April 2009

Bridge the Attending Divide – John Nelson, MD, MHM
HM evolution extends to orthopedic asmissions and many other diagnoses
The Hospitalist, March 2009

Bonus-Pay Bonanza – John Nelson, MD, MHM
Stay ahead of the pay-for-performance curve with planning, metrics
The Hospitalist, February 2009

Satisfaction Scorecard – John Nelson, MD, MHM
Use your HCAHPS results to educate, train staff to better serve patients
The Hospitalist, January 2009

A New Narrative for Hospitalists – Young A, Schleyer A, Nelson J
J Hosp Med, 2009

Technological Advance or Workplace Setback? – John Nelson, MD, MHM
Personal, handheld devices can be more detrimental than helpful
The Hospitalist, December 2008

Really, It’s Switch Tasking – John Nelson, MD, MHM
Workplace interruptions take a mighty bite out of productivity, sanity
The Hospitalist, November 2008

Maximizing NPPs in Hospitalist Practices – John Nelson, MD, MHM
Non-physician providers can increase efficiency and patient satisfaction
The Hospitalist, October 2008

The 4-1-1 on NPPs – John Nelson, MD, MHM
Mid-level providers a certain help—when utilized correctly in HM
The Hospitalist, September 2008

Foster Ownership Culture – John Nelson, MD, MHM
Hospitalists who feel deeply vested in their organization succeed most
The Hospitalist, August 2008

We’re Hiring – John Nelson, MD, MHM
With hospitalist shortage likely to go on, constant recruiting is essential
The Hospitalist, July 2008

Follow the Money – John Nelson, MD, MHM
SHM data show hospitalist leaders must get better handle on finances
The Hospitalist, June 2008

Value Your Practice – John Nelson, MD, MHM
Use caution when trying to put a dollar amount on group’s market worth
The Hospitalist, May 2008

Data Daze – John Nelson, MD, MHM
Interpret results wisely to get the most out of hospitalist surveys
The Hospitalist, April 2008

Nocturnal Economics – John Nelson, MD, MHM
Weigh tradeoffs with dedicated night coverage vs. night-call service
The Hospitalist, March 2008

Duty after Dark – John Nelson, MD, MHM
How to find and keep dedicated nocturnists
The Hospitalist, February 2008

Avoid Bottlenecks – John Nelson, MD, MHM
Be diligent and efficient to manage ED and marginal admissions
The Hospitalist, January 2008

Achieving Hospital Medicine’s Promise Through Internal Medicine Residency Redesign – Glasheen J, Goldenberg J, Nelson J
Mt. Sinai J Med, 2008

Play by the Rules – John Nelson, MD, MHM
Establish strong bylaws to keep hospitalist unit functioning well
The Hospitalist, December 2007

A Surgical Surge – John Nelson, MD, MHM
Hospitalists specializing in surgery are poised for huge growth
The Hospitalist, November 2007

Haggle with the Hospital John Nelson, MD, MHM
How to negotiate for more financial support
The Hospitalist, October 2007

A Unit-Based Approach – John Nelson, MD, MHM
Practicality favors putting most hospitalist patients in one place
The Hospitalist, September 2007

Promote Proper CPT Coding – John Nelson, MD, MHM
Create a report to assess your group’s patterns
The Hospitalist, August 2007

Comp Close-Up – John Nelson, MD, MHM
How SHM, MGMA surveys of hospitalist pay and productivity differ
The Hospitalist, July 2007

How to Hire and Use Clerical Staff – John Nelson, MD, MHM
Nonclinical members of hospitalist groups are critical to efficiency and success
The Hospitalist, June 2007

Dodging Disaster – John Nelson, MD, MHM
Why hospitalist practices fail
The Hospitalist, May 2007

Contractual Caution – John Nelson, MD, MHM
Two provisions that require careful consideration
The Hospitalist, April 2007

The Vacation Conundrum – John Nelson, MD, MHM
Strategies to determine time-off arrangements for hospitalists
The Hospitalist, March 2007

The Hospitalist-Patient Conundrum – John Nelson, MD, MHM
How can we maximize continuity of care?
The Hospitalist, February 2007

Staffing Strategies – John Nelson, MD, MHM
The benefits of varying the duration of the work day and eliminating fixed duration shifts
The Hospitalist, January 2007

Keeping Patients in the Loop – John Nelson, MD, MHM
Consider providing your patients with a copy of their discharge summary.
The Hospitalist, October 2006

Hip Fractures to Head Bleeds – John Nelson, MD, MHM
The hospitalist’s ever-changing scope of practice
The Hospitalist, September 2006

Production-Based Compensation for Hospitalists Overlooked Too Often? – John Nelson, MD, MHM
How it increases your ability to decide for yourself how hard you want to work.
The Hospitalist, July 2006

The Sweet Spot – John Nelson, MD, MHM
Decide for yourself what comprises the right patient volume in your practice. Part one of two.
The Hospitalist, May 2006

Hospital Medicine: Growing Toward Specialty Status – John Nelson, MD, MHM
The Hospitalist, Jan/Feb 2005

Thriving and Surviving in a New Medical Career: the case of hospitalist physicians – Hoff T, Whitcomb W, Nelson J
J Health Soc Behavior, 2002

Organizing a Hospitalist Program: An Overview of Fundamental Concepts – Nelson J, Whitcomb W
Med Clin N Am, 2002

The Importance of Postdischarge Telephone Follow-up for Hospitalists: A View from the Trenches – John Nelson, MD, MHM
American Journal of Medicine, 2001

Characteristics and Work Experiences of Hospitalists in the United States – Hoff T, Whitcomb W, Williams K, Nelson J, Cheesman R
Archives of Internal Medicine, 2001

Financial Implications of Implementing a Hospitalist Program -Watcher RM, Whitcomb WF, Nelson JR
Healthcare Financial Management, March 1999

The Role of Hospitalists in Medical Education – Whitcomb WF, Nelson JR
The American Journal of Medicine, Vol. 111, Issue 9, p43–44. Published in issue: December 2001

Hospitalist Practice: A New Career Option – John Nelson, MD, MHM
Resident and Staff Physician, November 1999

An Update on Hospitalists – Nelson JR, Whitcomb WF
Today’s Internist, Sept/Oct 1998

Inpatient-Only Practice: Where did it come from, and where is it going? – John Nelson, MD, MHM
Today’s Internist- Jan/Feb 1997

An Inpatient-Only Delivery Model from Florida – John Neslon, MD, MHM
Cost & Quality, 1996