IMPROVING THE PERFORMANCE OF EMPLOYED PROVIDERS
Declining reimbursement is causing hospital leaders to closely evaluate physician performance and whether they should be insourcing or outsourcing physician employment. How do you know if your current model is performing optimally?
During a June 26th webinar, SCP Health experts Lisa Fry and Chris Lutes joined Dr. Scott Ellner of Centura Health to discuss best practices for emergency and hospital medicine programs with employed providers. The entire webinar can be accessed at modernhealthcare.com/ Employed Providers.
Create physician incentives that encourage doctors to play a part in improving performance.
Leaders should leverage a mix of base salary, productivity, quality and citizenship metrics that are attractive to clinicians and are aligned with organizational goals. This will require an internal effort of listening, follow-up and message discipline. Leaders must identify key provider influencers to endorse and carry their message. That means creating early wins and showcasing top performers, while still holding abject non-performers accountable with unassailable data — accuracy is crucial.
Most hospitals choose to maintain control while utilizing outside, specialized expertise in key areas.
Many hospital leaders have opted for the employed physician model to preserve influence and allow for flexibility. Others are also leveraging outside partners that can offer specific knowledge and maximize opportunities in service lines that may be more complex or challenging to manage. Subject matter experts may be able to more efficiently implement proven strategies in specific areas, giving hospital leaders more time to focus on other priorities.
Regardless of the model they choose, the end goal for any hospital executive is to optimize resources to ensure access to affordable high-quality care.
The consistent challenge for systems with employed providers is the financial strain on earnings that can arise from the costs associated with employed practices. The average health system subsidizes $250,000 per physician per year for employed practices. Nonetheless, there’s a wide variety of strategic reasons for systems to employ providers — it’s the right choice for many systems. Administrators must effectively manage employed practices to optimize these investments.
Effective communication is crucial to success.
Employed physicians will look for leadership to steer them on their improvement journey. That’s why it’s crucial for health systems to select and invest in the right clinical leader who can build a culture of success. That leader should establish expectations, directly address underperformance, and communicate frequently and broadly. Administrators should clear barriers to success, and retrain leaders who tend to engage in siloed behavior and avoid crucial conversations.
Hospital executives should invest in technology and processes that offer frequent and actionable reporting.
Physicians are scientists by nature, and therefore respond well to data. Leaders who offer consistent reporting to providers will be better positioned to encourage them to make meaningful changes that support organizational goals. Technology and data play a crucial role in informing decisions related to staffing, training and clinical operations. Executives must leverage data to prioritize challenges, and ensure reporting is disseminated on time to avoid losing provider trust.