Researchers suggest that a growing number of hospital physicians in the US could be taxing Medicare resources.

The study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, is one of the firsts to follow hospitlist patients after they are discharged.  Approximately 58,000 patients were studied, and more than a third were cared for by a hospitalist. Patients who had been seen by hospitalists, where discharged earlier, however, ultimately incurred an average extra expense of $332 when compared to that of primary care physicians.

Physician services are currently provided to numerous hospitals throughout the US.  It is estimated that there are more than 30,000 hospital physicians in the US, according to the Society of Hospital Medicine.  To read more about this story about hospital physicians, read the full article here at Reuters Health.