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Patient Care

The Hospital Medicine services at OU Health serve as the primary inpatient care teams for patients with acute medical conditions and for surgical patients with complex medical comorbidities, providing comprehensive, coordinated care throughout the hospitalization from admission through discharge. The service routinely manages highacuity, medically complex patients, including those with complications of malignancy, advanced liver disease, severe diabetic complications, infectious diseases, gastrointestinal bleeding, acute kidney injury, multisystem organ dysfunction, and other advanced conditions.

As the state’s premier comprehensive academic health system, OU Health functions as Oklahoma’s quaternary referral center, entrusted with the care of patients with the most advanced and complex disease states often after care needs exceed the capabilities of other institutions. This role reflects OU Health’s integration of specialized expertise, multidisciplinary collaboration, and academic leadership in caring for the most critically ill and diagnostically challenging patients in the region.

Clinical Services

The Direct Care Hospitalist Service at OUMC is a non‑teaching inpatient service staffed by hospital medicine physicians and APPs who provide direct care to admitted medicine patients. Admissions are assigned on a rotating basis between the hospitalist and resident teaching services. The service operates with separate admitting and rounding shifts and maintains an average daily census of approximately 14 patients per provider.


Resident Teaching Hospitalist Service

The Internal Medicine Residency Program staffs seven inpatient general medicine teams. Four of these teams are structured in a traditional academic teaching model consisting of one attending physician, one upperlevel resident, two interns, and three to four medical students (MS3 or MS4). Attending coverage for these traditional teaching teams is provided by faculty from Hospital Medicine, General Internal Medicine, and other Internal Medicine subspecialty divisions.

The remaining three general medicine teams follow a hospitaliststyle teaching model composed of one attending physician, one upperlevel resident, and two medical students (MS1-MS4). These teams operate on a 7day on/7day off schedule and are staffed almost exclusively by Hospital Medicine faculty. These teams are occasionally supplemented by Clinical Pharmacy faculty, pharmacy interns, and pharmacy students to enhance interprofessional education and patient care.


Acute Hematology Hospitalist Service

“Onco-hospitalists” on the acute hematology hospitalist service are the primary attending physicians for inpatients with established acute leukemias, lymphomas, and other malignant hematologic disorders admitted for induction or salvage chemotherapy, as well as for complications related to disease or treatment. They provide care within a collaborative co‑management model alongside board‑certified malignant hematologists, APPs, and hematology/oncology fellows, integrating general inpatient expertise with specialized oncologic care.


Medical Oncology Hospitalist Service

The Medical Oncology Hospitalist Service is staffed by dedicated oncology‑focused hospitalists who serve as the primary attending physicians for hospitalized patients with solid tumor malignancies admitted for cancer‑related complications or treatment‑related toxicities, or acute-medical issues requiring inpatient management. Care is delivered in a collaborative co‑management model with board‑certified medical oncologists, APPs, and hematology/oncology fellows, integrating expert general inpatient management with specialized oncologic care. This team also provides Medical Student rotation opportunities.


Cardiology Hospitalist Service

The Cardiology Hospitalist Service provides dedicated inpatient care for patients admitted with acute cardiovascular conditions or complex medical issues in the setting of underlying cardiac disease. Hospital medicine physicians serve as the primary attending physicians, delivering comprehensive general inpatient management while coordinating closely with cardiology consultants. Care is provided through a collaborative model with board‑certified cardiologists, APPs, and cardiology fellows to support evaluation and management of conditions such as acute decompensated heart failure, arrhythmias, ischemic heart disease, and cardiac‑related complications of multisystem illness.

Procedural Consult Hospitalist Service

The Procedural Consult Hospitalist Service provides specialized bedside procedural care for hospitalized patients across medical and surgical services. Hospital medicine physicians with procedural expertise collaborate with primary teams and subspecialty services to deliver timely, high‑quality inpatient procedures that support diagnostic evaluation, therapeutic management, and efficient patient care. The service collaborates closely with primary inpatient teams and subspecialty consultants to perform procedures such as paracentesis, thoracentesis, lumbar puncture, and central venous access, with an emphasis on ultrasound guidance, patient safety, and efficiency of care.

Consult and Co-Management Hospitalist Service

The Consult/CoManagement Hospitalist Service provides inpatient consultation and comanagement for medical and surgical patients with complex medical conditions. Hospital medicine physicians collaborate closely with primary and specialty teams to support comprehensive medical management, perioperative optimization, and efficient, highquality inpatient care.

Intake/Triage Hospitalist Service

The Intake for medicine admission is operated by the Hospital Medicine division and serves as the central point for inpatient admission requests, transfers, and triage decisions. Hospital medicine physicians function as the primary contact for emergency department admissions, ICU downgrades, and outside hospital transfers, determining the appropriate level of care, facilitating efficient distribution across inpatient teams, and optimizing utilization of Edmond Medical Center and outpatient resources while supporting continuity, timely access, and high‑quality patient care.

Admission Hospitalist Service

The Admit Hospitalist Service provides real‑time attending oversight for emergency department admissions, direct admissions, interhospital transfers, and ICU downgrades to the Hospital Medicine service. Hospital medicine physicians serve as the primary admitting provider, supervising and co‑signing APP‑led admissions and transfer documentation while providing close consultation to ensure safe, efficient, and high‑quality inpatient transitions of care.

Moonlighting Hospitalist Service

The Swing/Moonlighting Hospitalist Service is a voluntary, evening admission‑focused service staffed by residents, fellows, and chief residents to support peak nighttime admission volume. Providers admit new patients with attending supervision, coordinating closely with the Intake Hospitalist and Nocturnist to deliver timely, efficient inpatient admissions while enhancing night‑time operational capacity and continuity of care.

Nighttime Hospitalist Service

The Nighttime Hospitalist/Nocturnist Service provides comprehensive overnight inpatient coverage for the Hospital Medicine service. Hospital medicine physicians serve as the primary attending physicians during nighttime hours, overseeing admissions, cross‑cover care, ICU downgrades, and urgent clinical issues to ensure safe, timely, and high‑quality inpatient care. The nighttime service is comprised of a nocturnist(s), 2-3 APPs, and moonlighters who collaboratively admit new patients and provide cross-coverage to the hospitalist services.