Admitting physicians must round daily

By Edward Pyun, MD, Good Samaritan Chief of Staff

As a reminder, all admitting physicians are required to round on patients daily, according to our Medical Staff Clinical Rules.

Recent changes in the practice of medicine have elevated advanced practice professionals, who are now integral members of our teams and natural extensions of our care for patients. With that shift, there has been some stretching of the interpretation of the ‘rounding’ rule: Some physicians are allowing their APPs to round for them, without being present to provide oversight or support.

Now, our APPs are excellent, which is why our physicians have the utmost confidence in their ability to round independently. But in the best interest of patient care and according to our rules – which were written to ensure quality, oversight and safety in patient care – physicians themselves need to round every day.

Exceptions: Only in two areas – Hospice and Well Newborn – are advanced practice professionals able to lead rounds independently. But in all other care areas throughout the hospital, the admitting primary physicians need to round on their patients every day.

Pulled directly from the Clinical Rules
The patient’s attending Practitioner or APRN (for Well-Babies and inpatient hospice patients only) shall be responsible for managing and coordinating the patient’s overall medical care, treatment and services (including appropriate supervision) within the Practitioner’s or APRN’s Privileges. The Practitioner’s or APRN’s responsibilities include evaluating each patient daily, completing, or arranging for the completion of, the medical history and physical examination as required by the Bylaws and these Rules, the prompt completion and accuracy of the medical record, necessary special instructions, and transmitting information regarding the patient’s status to the patient, the referring Practitioner, if any, and to the patient’s family.

Physicians with questions about this rule can contact me or Georgeann Bell in Medical Staff Services.

Thank you all for understanding the importance of practicing within our Clinical Rules.