In a session at the VHA 2013 Navigating to Excellence Forum in Las Vegas on May 1, 2013, Jim Doty, physician services and strategies senior principle at VHA, discussed best practices for including physicians at the decision table for economic and clinical outcomes.
Mr. Doty began the session by discussing the importance of physician leadership to drive efforts to reduce costs, improve quality and improve population health.
“Physicians are the only ones that can do that,” he said. “They do it with their pens or their mouse.”
This creates an opportunity and challenge for health systems, he explained. Physicians must be aligned with the health system “enterprise” – the continuum of care (including ambulatory, acute and post-acute care) from cradle to grave that a system should provide. Systems use various structures to align physicians, but in order for these structures to be successful, they must be physician-led and governed, explained Mr. Doty. A major challenge for many health systems, though, is developing physician leaders to take on these roles.
“The biggest weakness is physician leadership,” said Mr. Doty.
He provided the following three best practices to begin to develop physician leaders.
1. Immediately launch a physician leadership training program. Mr. Doty explained that systems should expect to invest a significant amount of money in these programs, and can either develop them on their own or partner with a vendor to provide the training.
2. Find early adopters. Identify physicians – both young and old – who demonstrate leadership and an interest in efforts to achieve the “triple aim” of better care, lower costs and population health.
3. Decide on what clinical data information system will bridge the care continuum. Find a system that brings both the hospitals’ and physicians’ best practices together.
Mr. Doty began the session by discussing the importance of physician leadership to drive efforts to reduce costs, improve quality and improve population health.
“Physicians are the only ones that can do that,” he said. “They do it with their pens or their mouse.”
This creates an opportunity and challenge for health systems, he explained. Physicians must be aligned with the health system “enterprise” – the continuum of care (including ambulatory, acute and post-acute care) from cradle to grave that a system should provide. Systems use various structures to align physicians, but in order for these structures to be successful, they must be physician-led and governed, explained Mr. Doty. A major challenge for many health systems, though, is developing physician leaders to take on these roles.
“The biggest weakness is physician leadership,” said Mr. Doty.
He provided the following three best practices to begin to develop physician leaders.
1. Immediately launch a physician leadership training program. Mr. Doty explained that systems should expect to invest a significant amount of money in these programs, and can either develop them on their own or partner with a vendor to provide the training.
2. Find early adopters. Identify physicians – both young and old – who demonstrate leadership and an interest in efforts to achieve the “triple aim” of better care, lower costs and population health.
3. Decide on what clinical data information system will bridge the care continuum. Find a system that brings both the hospitals’ and physicians’ best practices together.
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