1. Have an inclusive decision-making process. If your philosophy is to be more inclusive rather than exclusive it has a direct effect on participation and buy in with changes and improvements to processes and procedures. At the quarterly strategy meetings, the Virginia Spine Institute gathers employees from all levels of the organization to discuss what the current initiatives from each department and how they can improve, says Thomas Schuler, MD, a spine surgeon, founder of the Virginia Spine Institute. “These meetings build ownership by the employees of the organization,” says Dr. Schuler.
2. Keep physicians and staff members informed. Administrators should share practice data with physicians and staff members, such as financial statistics or patient evaluations, to keep them informed about the status of the practice. This is especially important when physicians or staff members are involved in decision-making processes. “If you give physicians the facts in a brief and concise way and then give them a recommendation as to what course of action they should take, they will be supportive of your decision making as an administrator,” says Patrick Hinton, executive director of the Jacksonville (Fla.) Orthopaedic Institute.
Additionally, when the administrator provides a synthesized report about a potential change in the practice, it shows that the administrator is able to competently research the topic and is coming to them with a realistic and valid request.
3. Promote transparency and open dialogue. One corollary to the commitment to quality is transparency of data, says OrthoCarolina CEO Daniel B. Murrey, MD, MPP. OrthoCarolina’s physicians have access to data about all aspects of the practice, including the number of patients seen, revenue generated, charges dictated, referrals made and payor mix. Each physician at OrthoCarolina has access to this information about every other physician in the practice, which has cut down on arguments about which physicians might be seeing a higher volume of patients or might deserve special treatment for one reason or another.
“When you have the data there, it really quiets those arguments,” Dr. Murrey says. “If you don’t have the data, then physicians will question the decision-making until you have the data available.” Physicians also buy into the practice’s vision more readily when they can see for themselves the outcomes in the database, he says.
4. Assess physician satisfaction. One way to gauge physician satisfaction is by distributing annual physician satisfaction surveys to see which of the practice’s weaknesses and strengths are contributing to physician happiness. The survey should measures a myriad of parameters, including physicians’ comfort level with the staff, confidence in the staff, staff preparedness and satisfaction with the administration and administrative processes.
5. Hold physicians and staff members accountable for breaking policies. Have a written set of practice policies that all physicians agree to uphold. When a surgeon or staff member breaks the rules or goes against the policy, make sure you hold them accountable for their actions. “You want policies that reward people for doing the right thing, not for people to get away with doing the wrong thing,” says Dr. Murrey. “Surgeons don’t want to see others getting away with doing the wrong thing. Our physician leadership is willing to call people out when they don’t follow our policies. This is uncomfortable for a lot of physician groups, but it’s a key to our success.”
