Sierra Nevada Memorial Hospital (SNMH) introduced hospitalists to its care team about a decade ago, and today “ they are a vital piece of our organization,” according Dr. Joseph Britton, vice president of medical affairs. Hospitalists are physicians specializing in inpatient treatment, who direct the care of patients while they are in the hospital. “It’s an essential program that benefits our patients, our hospital and the primary care physicians in the community when the time for hospital rounds is not realistic,” he explained. At the same time, he noted there are some primary care doctors who continue to prefer to …