The “Surgeon on Service” Model for Timely, Economically Viable Inpatient Care of Tracheostomy Patients in Academic Pediatric Otolaryngology

The traditional practice model for pediatric otolaryngologists at high-volume academic centers is to simultaneously balance outpatient care responsibilities with those of the inpatient service, emergency department, and ambulatory care clinics. This model leads to challenges with care coordination, timeliness of nonemergency operative care, and consistent participation in care and consultation at the attending surgeon level. The "surgeon on service" (SOS) model-where faculty members rotate to manage the inpatient service in lieu of outpatient responsibilities-has been described as one method to address this conundrum. The operational and economic feasibility of the SOS model has been demonstrated; however, its impact on care coordination, time from consultation to surgical care, and length of stay (LOS) have not been evaluated.