One of the most compelling aspects of the growing hospitalist program in Vicksburg is that government didn’t invent it, nor does government compel it.

Instead, the model approach to health care delivery is “market-driven,” in that it makes better use of physicians’ time without compromising — and perhaps even improving — patient care.

Hospitalists are physicians — Dr. William Wooten and Dr. James Hall at River Region Medical Center — whose services are limited to people when hospitalized. They work in tandem with clinical physicians who see these patients in their offices and, of course, can still see them when hospitalized and consult with Wooten and Hall daily or on an hour-by-hour or minute-by-minute basis as needed.

As our Wednesday story explained, some patients will be more accepting of the arrangement than others, but its pluses are many. For one thing, the hospitalists are specialists in hospital care. For another, clinical physicians can be relieved of travel time, added paperwork and other matters associated with caring for their patients when those patients are in an in-patient setting.

No one knows exactly what’s coming down the pike with federal health care legislation, but it is clear demand for services will be increasing as a byproduct of more people eligible for regular checkups and other health maintenance visits. This is the type of care that America’s uninsured have, for the most part, not received.

Reports are that up to 32 million more people might be calling on clinics for appointments, joining about 250 million now covered by public or private insurance plans.

Dr. W. Briggs Hopson, vice president for medical affairs at River Region, said he’s confident the approach of using hospitalists will spread. It has been shown to be more cost-effective. It has been shown to result in excellent patient care. And insurance companies like it, too.

It’s good to see the hospital in Vicksburg continuing to explore better methods and procedures and adopting ideas that work. And to those who insist government can be a better manager of health services than the private sector, we hold up hospitalists as yet another example that those who walk the walk usually know a lot more than those who talk the talk.