Hospitalists: in-house docs can ease some vexing problems, but first you've got to win over the skeptics.

In-house physicians can alleviate many headaches, such as keeping the ED staffed and making sure a doctor is on hand when a patient's regular physician is unavailable. Success depends on resolving turf wars between hospitalists and other docs, dearly defining duties and workload, and designing pay to reward both volume and quality.