For providers

A physician-referral inpatient care service

Abbott Northwestern Hospitalist Service is a group composed of internal medicine and pediatric physicians that provide in-hospital care to patients who are referred to us primarily from hospitals and clinics within the Twin Cities metro area, as well as in greater Minnesota and western Wisconsin. An Abbott Northwestern Hospitalist Service physician is available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

The Abbott Northwestern Hospitalist Service provides personal, well-coordinated, quality care to a variety of patients who present with a single problem or with multiple complex medical problems.

About the hospitalists

Our physicians are board-certified with specialized clinical skills specific to the hospitalized patient and are comfortable in the tertiary care setting. They may serve as a patient's primary attending or as a medical consultant. Regardless, they visit patients daily and are available for patient and family consultation when necessary.

Timely communication

Allina Health referring physicians are able to follow their patient's hospital course in the electronic health record by reviewing daily hospitalist progress notes. They receive telephone communication at the time of discharge and at any critical points that pertain to treatment planning and/or specialty consultations. Discharge summaries are completed the day of discharge.

Effective discharge planning

Case management teams evaluate all patients admitted to the service. They work together with the referring hospitalist physician, specialists involved with the case, and the patient's loved ones to develop an effective care/discharge plan. They also assist in coordinating the services needed after the patient returns to their home community.

Services we provide

  • Preoperative & postoperative medical consultation
  • Critical care co-management in cardiac, neurosurgical, surgical, and medical intensive care units
  • Care of all patients without a primary care physician admitted through the emergency department
  • Care of all patients with a primary care physician without Abbott Northwestern Hospital privileges admitted through the emergency department
  • Direct admission of patients from regional outpatient clinics
  • Direct admission of patients transferred from referring hospitals in and around Minnesota
  • Medical coverage of the Abbott Northwestern Hospital overnight observation unit (CDART)
  • Champion hospital-wide quality/safety initiatives