Finally, financial penalties for readmis-sions have led many hospitalists to staff post–acute care facilities to improve coordination with col-leagues at acute care hospitals.

Conversely, some traditional programs may develophospitalist tracks that emphasize acquisition of theskills most relevant to inpatient practice. If suchtracks are developed, it will be important not to re-duce training in ambulatory care too aggressively,since the competent hospitalist will need a full un-derstanding of what can — and cannot — be donein the outpatient setting