The American Medical Association and American Hospital Association today released a new set of guiding principles for bringing clinical skills and business insights together at the leadership level to promote more collaborative and cohesive decision-making at healthcare organizations.
The list of principles, called, "Integrated Leadership for Hospitals and Health Systems: Principles for Success," provides a guiding framework for physicians and hospitals that choose to design an integrated leadership structure but are unsure how best to achieve the engagement and alignment necessary for working together to improve patient care and resource management. The principles are the result of more than two years of work between the AHA and AMA.
"To lead the changes needed to move the healthcare system forward, many physicians and healthcare organizations may contemplate options for greater alignment and strong relationships to cultivate an environment centered on teamwork," AMA President Robert M. Wah, MD, said in a statement. "The new principles support having more physicians in the boardroom and in key roles at the executive level so hospitals can succeed in the reformed models for healthcare delivery and payment."
A key element of successful healthcare organizations is integrated healthcare leadership between physicians and administrative colleagues that involves a functional trust-based partnership, according to the AMA and AHA. To accomplish this goal, "it is paramount that all management decisions related to the new structure's quality improvement and population health agenda are made jointly between the physicians and the hospital/health system managers," according to the principles.
To download the principles as a PDF, visit the AHA website.