Hospitalists' COVID-19 management roles in hospitals without infectious disease specialists.

Hospitalists may work in a variety of clinical settings to manage COVID-19 cases. However, the extent of their involvement in COVID-19 care is unknown, particularly in hospitals without infectious disease (ID) specialists. This study aimed to confirm whether hospitalists provided COVID-19 management in various clinical settings when ID specialists were unavailable. We conducted a multicenter cross-sectional study using a web-based questionnaire. The participants were full-time hospitalists working in Japanese academic community-based hospitals. The study period was from 15 January 2021 to 15 February 2021, during Japan's third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. The primary outcome was the rate of hospitalists participating in COVID-19 inpatient management in hospitals with or without ID specialists. ID specialists were absent in 31% of small hospitals (those with fewer than 249 registered beds), but only 4% of large hospitals ( Hospitalists were more likely to provide COVID-19 inpatient care in various clinical settings in hospitals without ID specialists.