Hospitals across the U.S. are continuing to adopt OB hospitalist programs at a rapid rate, with many employing the original Obstetrics Emergency Department (OBED) architecture in line with the vision of OBHG’s founder, Dr. Chris Swain.
Although there is a variation between types of programs, a wide body of evidence supports that the OB hospitalist model delivers benefits for patients, obstetric providers and hospitals.
See below for our compilation of some of the research that’s been published about the impact of OB hospitalist programs.
Safe, effective care. Improved outcomes.
- A Journal of Patient Safety study, “Use of Obstetric and Gynecologic Hospitalists is Associated with Decreased Severe Maternal Morbidity in the United States,” supports the role OB hospitalists have on positively impacting maternal morbidity. The study concludes that severe maternal morbidity increases with delivery volume, level of neonatal care and 24/7 coverage. Of hospitals with 24/7 coverage, units that staff with OB/GYN hospitalists have lower levels of severe maternal morbidity than those that use non-hospitalist providers.
- Another study, Impact of an obstetrical hospitalist program on safety events in a mid-sized obstetrical unit, compared outcomes measured by the occurrence of safety events before and after the implementation of an OB hospitalist program in a mid-sized OB unit. The results demonstrated a statistically significant decrease in OB safety events after the OB hospitalist program implementation.
- Other research validates the risk-benefit. In 2016, OBHG and one of our system partners undertook a study to analyze the key risk mitigation strategies that resulted in favorable loss trends/claim reduction for the system in recent years. The study found that a 31 percent reduction in perinatal serious-harm events at hospitals was attributable to one factor: the implementation of an OB hospitalist program at those facilities.
- Full-time ob/gyn hospitalists have been shown to reduce the likelihood of cesarean deliveries. In one study, a dedicated, full-time OB/GYN hospitalist service was associated with a 27% reduction in cesarean delivery rate as compared with the traditional model of care.
- Another study also associated a significant reduction in the cesarean delivery rate with care managed by OB/GYN hospitalists in conjunction with certified nurse–midwives, versus a traditional ob-gyn care model.
Impacting the safety culture as maternal safety champions
- An assessment published in the Journal of OB/GYN Hospital Medicine, “Assessment of OB Hospitalist Level of Engagement on Labor and Delivery,” shows that OB hospitalists truly flourish and make a difference as the maternal safety champions of the entire labor and delivery unit at hospitals that consistently focus on patient care with the mentality that every physician, midwife and nurse on the unit share responsibility for patient outcomes.
- The positive impact of a multifactorial safety program that incorporates OB/GYN hospitalists was demonstrated in a Yale-New Haven Hospital study. Improvements in obstetric adverse outcomes, assessment of the safety culture and reduction of median annual malpractice claims and medium annual payments per 1,000 deliveries were documented. The authors concluded that an obstetric safety initiative can improve liability claims exposure and reduce liability payments.
Racial disparities in maternal outcomes
- While maternal outcomes differ significantly based on patient race, they can be improved by obstetric (OB) hospitalist-based care, according to an OBHG report released last year. To better understand the role of OB hospitalists in the delivery of high-quality, racially equitable care and outcomes, OBHG launched a data collection initiative. The analysis showed that clinical outcomes at hospitals with OB hospitalists significantly outpace national performance measures across all races – demonstrating that OB hospitalist programs elevate community maternal health.
Positive impact on patient satisfaction
- In a study assessing patient satisfaction, it was found that patient satisfaction does not appear to be affected adversely by initiation of the OB/GYN hospitalist model.
Return on investment
- Measurable return on investment. Analyses of successful hospitals with full-time OB hospitalists noted that the programs pay for themselves many times over in reductions in liability and compensation costs.
If you have feedback or questions about the studies supporting OB hospitalist programs or you’re interested in learning what’s involved with bringing an OB hospitalist program to your hospital, let’s talk! If you’re a clinician looking for an opportunity as an OB hospitalist, let’s connect! Send us an email at recruiting@obhg.com