• Eelam Adil, Roy Xiao, Trevor McGill, Reza Rahbar, and Michael Cunningham.
• Department of Otolaryngology and Communication Enhancement, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts2Department of Otology and Laryngology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts.
• JAMA Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 2014 Sep 1;140(9):809-14.

ImportanceMaintaining an outpatient practice and providing high-quality inpatient care pose significant challenges to the traditional call team approach.ObjectiveTo introduce a unique rotating hospitalist inpatient program and assess its clinical, educational, and financial impact. The chief of service (COS) program requires 1 attending physician to rotate weekly as chief of the inpatient service with no conflicting elective duties.Design, Setting, And ParticipantsThis was a retrospective internal billing data review performed at a tertiary pediatric hospital. A total of 1241 patients were evaluated by the COS from October 2012 through October 2013.InterventionsAll patients were treated by the inpatient service under the supervision of the COS.Main Outcomes And MeasuresA retrospective analysis of patient encounters and procedures, including International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision (ICD-9) and Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) codes, locations of service, clinicians, service dates, and average weekly relative value units (RVUs).ResultsOver the study period, the COS was involved in the care of 1241 patients, generating 2786 billable patient encounters. The COS averaged 11.2 patient encounters per day. The most common reasons for consultation were respiratory distress, dysphagia, and stridor. Of patient encounters, 63.0% resulted in a procedure; 82.8% of those procedures were performed in the operating room with the most common being lower airway endoscopy (340 [19.4%]). The average weekly RVUs for the COS (232) were comparable with those of the average weekly outpatient clinic and procedural RVUs of the other otolaryngology faculty in the group (240).Conclusions And RelevanceThe COS program was created to meet the clinical, educational, and organizational demands of a high-volume and high-acuity inpatient service. It is a financially sustainable model with unique advantages, particularly for the staff who maintain their outpatient practices without disruption and for the trainees who have the opportunity to work closely with the entire faculty. Patients are provided supervised evaluations and continuity of care. This rotating hospitalist program is a viable alternative to the full-time hospitalist staff model.

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