Hospitalists provide many benefits to you and your doctor.n Hospitalists keep a close eye on you. In case of an emergency, your hospi-talist is never more than a few minutes away. That’s because hospitalists work in the hospital and will see you more than once a day, if needed. Your hospitalist knows every specialist and department in the hospital. Hospitalists assist you through a smooth and speedy recovery by following up on tests and adjusting your treatment regimen throughout the day based on those tests.

n Hospitalists help your primary care doctor to be more available to you. Because hospitalists are in the hospi-tal all day, your doctor can be with you in the office with fewer delays and interrup-tions. Your doctor will be able to devote more time to keeping you and your family healthy. At the same time, the hospitalist is available to care for you in the hospital when you are at your sickest.

n Hospitalists answer questions for you and your family. Hospitalists are here to provide the answers in person whenever possible.

During critical and stressful moments, they provide honest and considerate answers to your questions. There is no time more impor-tant to communicate about your care than when you might be critically ill.

How does the hospitalist know about me? Hospitalists talk to primary care physi-cians, emergency room physicians and refer-ring physicians frequently. When you are ad-mitted or referred to the hospitalist service, your physician calls the hospitalist, informs him or her of your condition and provides as much information about your illness as possible. The process is similar to what your physician does when he or she refers you to a specialist. During the course of your treat-ment, your hospitalist and your primary care physician or attending physician may talk fur-ther about your treatment. At discharge your hospitalist will com-municate with your primary care physician to discuss your further treatment needs, help arrange follow-up, and prescribe necessary medications.

When will my doctor see me? The hospitalist on duty begins patient visits at 7 a.m. each day. These visits continue throughout the day. In most cases, all pa-tients are seen before noon. Patients with the most urgent medical needs will be seen first.

When can my family speak to the doctor? So that everyone’s questions can be answered and misunderstandings can be avoided, we suggest that the patient and family talk with the doctor at the same time. That is most easily accomplished during the time the physician visits your room. We suggest you keep a notepad by your bed to write down questions you or your family members have. If meeting together is not possible, a family member may leave a note with your nurse requesting that the hospitalist call him or her.

What if I need another specialist while I’m in the hospital? The hospitalist physician will coor-dinate your treatment and will help you get specialty care if needed. Depending on your medical condition, the hospital-ist may turn over your care to a specialist such as a surgeon, cardiologist or other specialist.

Will this affect my hospital bill? Mercy Hospital will send you a sepa-rate bill for the services you received from the hospitalists. This bill will be labeled “Mercy Hospital Professional Services” and it will arrive at your home separately from the bill for your other hospital care. If you have any questions about this bill-ing, please contact Patient Accounts at 319-339-3616.

Hospitalist are in house 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, trained and available to respond to medical emergencies

and provide timely and high quality medical care.

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500 East Market Street • Iowa City, Iowa 52245319-339-0300 • www.mercyiowacity.org

Mercy On Call 319-358-2767 or 800-358-2767

Who are hospitalists? Hospitalists are physicians spe-cializing in inpatient internal medi-cine who do not have an outpatient medical practice. They are responsible for managing the care of patients while they are hospitalized, either as attending physicians for patients with medical conditions or as consultants for other specialists. Hospitalists will:n Personally provide you with a con-sistently high level of care throughout your hospital stay.n Order tests and procedures, follow up on the results, and adjust your treatment plan accordingly.n Coordinate consultations with sub-specialists.n Work closely with your primary care physician or referring physician to en-sure that your medical needs are met. All of our hospitalists are trained in internal medicine and certified in Advanced Cardiac Life Support.

HospitalistProgram

Information for Patients

Vikas Sharotri, MDKristin Saehler, DO

Daniel Leary, MD, PhD

Wassef Karowni, MD

Nyle Kauffman, MD

Brett Hronek, MDH. Gudmundsson, MD

Rebecca Craig, MD Eric Eliason, DO

David Fishbaugher, MD

John Bennett, MD

Mercy Hospitalist Team, continued

Phyllis Hemerson, PharmD

Bruce Anderson, ARNP

Mercy Hospitalist Team includes:

Lori Beireis, DOAssistant Medical Director of Hospitalist Program

Martin Izakovic, MD, PhD, CPE, FHM, FACP, FACPEMedical Director of Hospitalist Program;Vice President of Medical Staff Affairs Susan Kluever, MA,

Program CoordinatorDeb Butler, RNDischarge Planner

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