Communication between the primary care physician and the hospitalist at the time of patient admission

• Objective: To assess the response of primary care physicians (PCPs) to a faxed request for patient information from the admitting hospitalist at the time of a patient's hospital admission. • Methods: On the day of admission, the attending hospitalist faxed a form to the PCP requesting 7 items of standard medical record information that are important for optimal patient care. Receipt was confirmed by telephone follow-up. The total number of responses and timing of responses were recorded. • Results: Of the 77 faxes that were sent, 41 (53%), were completed. 82% of responses were received within the first 24 hours. Five (15%) of the responses were 100% complete. Medication list was the most frequently completed item and code status was the least frequently completed. Two PCPs made phone contact, no PCP used email contact. • Conclusion: Communication between the PCP and the hospitalist at the time of admission is suboptimal. Fax, telephone, and email methods are underutilized.