Effects of a hospitalist model on elderly patients with hip fracture

Background: Hospitalists' increased role in perioperative medicine allows for examination of their effects on surgical patients. This study examined the effects of a hospitalist service created to medically manage elderly patients with hip fracture. Methods: During a 2-year historical cohort study of 466 patients 65 years or older admitted for surgical repair of hip fracture, we examined outcomes 1 year prior to and subsequent to the change from the standard to the hospitalist model. Results: The mean (SD) time to surgery (38 [47] vs 25 [53] hours; P <.001), time from surgery to dismissal (9 [8] vs 7 [5] days; P=.04), and length of stay (10.6 [9] vs 8.4 [6] days; P <.001) were shorter in the hospitalist group. Predictors of shorter time to surgery were care by the hospitalist group (P=.002), older age (P=.01), and fall as the mechanism of fracture (P <.001), while American Society of Anesthesia scores of 3 and 4 were associated with increased time to surgery (P <.001). Receiving care by the hospitalist group (P <.001) and diagnosis of delirium (P <.001) were associated with increased chance of earlier dismissal, while admission to the intensive care unit decreased this chance (P <.001). Diagnosis of delirium was more frequent in the hospitalist group (74 [32.2%] of 230 vs 42 [17.8%] of 236; P <.001). There were no differences in inpatient deaths or 30-day readmission rates. Conclusion: In elderly patients with hip fracture, a hospitalist model decreased time to surgery, time from surgery to dismissal, and length of stay without adversely affecting inpatient deaths or 30-day readmission rates.