5 Ways Hospital Leaders Can Address Financial Challenges

Preparing for a Locum Tenens Provider’s Arrival at Your Facility

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PLUS:Conferencesand Events

Did You Know?

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A Newsletter Dedicated to Providing Innovative Staffing Solutions for Healthcare Leaders

Q4 | 2018

TIPS FOR IMPROVINGPHYSICIAN ENGAGEMENT

AND MEETING ATTENDANCE

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Table of Contents

features

Tips for Improving Physician Engagement and Meeting Attendance

Preparing for a Locum Tenens Provider’s Arrival at Your Facility

5 Ways Hospital Leaders Can Address Financial Challenges

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Resources

Did you know?Tips for healthcare leaders

Conferences and EventsSymposia, assemblies, webinars, and more

Case StudyTransition Psychiatric Program, Exclusive Partnership for Scope Coverage, New Standalone Behavioral Health Facility

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Staffing your facility can be a challenging task. With constantly fluctuating reimbursement rules and regulations, diminishing profits, and an aging population – effectively managing your hospital to meet patient needs is harder than ever before. Instability can be caused by the following scenarios:

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Your strategic

Groups or physicians leavingUnexpected absencesInability to fill 100% of your call coverage on your ownVacationsStaffing shortages due to restructuringGrowth (e.g. an increase in practice lines)

At Medicus Healthcare Solutions, we are committed to ensuring that your facility is fully staffed with the high quality supplemental and permanent doctors you need during times of transition or uncertainty – so you can focus on what really matters, your patients.

A full service solution to help you manage and mitigate gaps in coverage during periods of change, growth, or instability.

A turn-key solution for all your supplemental physician and advanced practitioner needs.

Our dedicated team conducts performance assessments built on industry knowledge and best practices to help you achieve long term physician alignment and satisfaction.

Our strategic alliance with Optimum Permanent Placement Services ensures an end to end solution to all your physician and advanced practitioner needs.

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engagement and look forward to attending meetings are hurdles today’s healthcare leaders must clear.

Where should you begin? For a start, do all you can to ensure physicians in your organization feel valued. Provide opportunities for them to participate in policy development and improvement practices. Cultivate a transparent environment, which will help in promoting trust and feelings of inclusion. If you have open positions and/or regular staff members who are preparing for vacation, consider arranging for locum tenens staffing services or using consulting services, project and resource management, and other solutions to help absorb the impact of these scenarios.

When it comes to meeting agendas, healthcare executives must focus on critical issues and solutions. Still, while vital information and action items are of the utmost importance, including fresh perspectives, the unexpected, and a little fun in your meetings could boost both their efficiency and staff turnout. Consider:

Varying the location. Every now and then, move your meetings to a different setting. Seek spaces that are relaxed, conducive to open exchanges, and equipped to comfortably accommodate the group. A change in location can, quite literally, offer attendees a new point of view.

Organizing a memorable meal. A lunch or dinner meeting could be something your physicians won’t soon forget. Think about having it catered by a restaurant celebrated for its regional fare or coordinate a night on the town for providers and their spouses/significant others. By making meetings more of an occasion, you will demonstrate how much you appreciate your physicians and their time. Make reservations at a trendy bistro; arrange an evening of dinner theater (time permitting); or—if you are

based in or near a large city, like Chicago or New Orleans—sign attendees up for a food tour. The options are limitless.

Getting social. Give clinicians the chance to bond through a simple team-building exercise. For instance, ask everyone attending to bring a personal photo—be it a vacation snapshot or picture of the family pet—to the meeting and to share it and its significance with the group. Or, before the meeting starts, place enough icebreaker questions for all in attendance on slips of paper in an envelope or small bowl. Then, invite everyone to select a question without peeking at it beforehand. (You can find some great ones at SignUpGenius.com.) The spontaneous questions and answers offer a fun and relaxed way to become better acquainted on a personal level.

People are more inclined to participate in activities they enjoy. By creating opportunities to engage and making meetings more pleasurable for your physicians, you will not only encourage creative collaboration, but also an increase in satisfaction and better outcomes.

To learn more about Medicus Healthcare Solutions and how our locum tenens staffing, consulting, and project and resource management services could benefit your organization, call 855.301.0563 to speak with one of our experienced representatives.

Physician engagement is essential to a healthcare organization’s success. Group practices and health systems as well as

hospitals and other facilities with high levels of physician engagement realize increases in significant areas—such as performance, efficiency, inpatient and outpatient referrals, and revenue—according to a study highlighted by the Gallup Business Journal.

However, driving engagement and keeping clinicians interested in taking part in meetings and associated initiatives has proved to be an enduring challenge for many practice managers, hospital administrators, and other healthcare executives. After all, doctors have demanding schedules and limited “spare” time. If they do not feel supported, getting them involved with plans to advance their

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TIPS FOR IMPROVINGPHYSICIAN ENGAGEMENT AND

MEETING ATTENDANCE

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5 Ways Hospital Leaders Can Address Financial Challenges

As findings from the American College of Healthcare Executives’ annual survey regarding issues top of mind among hospital

CEOs revealed earlier this year, economic challenges remain the most pressing concern affecting healthcare organizations today.

That being said, there are a number of measures hospital executives can take to address financial issues head on, according to Wipfli, LLP. Read on to learn about five strategies recommended by the accounting and business consulting firm that are geared to help facility leaders achieve performance improvement and sustainable results at their hospitals.

Use data to establish in which areas (and in what manner) suitable modifications to staffing should be made to increase efficiency and decrease expenses. Regulators to consider include staffing to demand, skill-mix changes, and capacity utilization.

Assess the current organizational structure to pinpoint circumstances where tiers of management and supervisory jobs can be reduced. Start by putting together a plan to reorganize the entire leadership structure in effect to focus on impending operational and tactical challenges as well, instead of simply cutting positions.

Consider engaging the services of professionals who—together with department managers—can distinguish and create concepts for better operations and lower costs. Providing decision makers with training, tools, and support to effectively oversee their divisions and promptly respond to serious matters can make a significant, positive impact on a facility’s bottom line.

Optimize core processes. Core practices, from patient flow to emergency department operations, are essential to staff accountability, effective communication and teamwork between departments, and physician engagement. Using “a nonbiased, data-driven approach to identify key areas for improvement and allow all stakeholders the opportunity to objectively assess their current role and realize how they may be contributing to inefficiencies” allows for a productive environment, according to Wipfli, LLP partner David Kim.

Review supply chain management costs and expenditures unrelated to labor to determine further opportunities for reductions. This approach can improve quality, too. Areas to evaluate include medical/surgical supplies, purchased goods and services, and floor stock.

Read Medicus Healthcare Solutions’ case studies and blog for more helpful information. To learn how we can help your healthcare organization through project and resource management, consulting, and transition services, and locum tenens, call 855.301.0563 to speak with a knowledgeable business development executive today.

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Conferences and Events

Date Event Location

Nov 09–11

Nov 15–16

Nov 25–30

Dec 07–09

Jan 15–19

Family Medicine Education Consortium Annual Meeting

2018 Midwest Recruiters Conference

RSNA 2018

Pri-Med East

EAST Annual Scientific Assembly

Rye Brook, NY

Chicago, IL

Chicago, IL

Boston, MA

Austin, TX

Medicus Healthcare Solutions participates in many national and regional industry conferences and events throughout the year. In addition, we routinely host webinars. If you’re attending one or more of the events listed below, please look for us. And be sure to register for any upcoming Medicus presentations. We look forward to meeting you!

Did you know?If you are a hospital administrator seeking quality locum tenens staffing solutions, you will want to confirm the firm(s) you partner with are members of the National Association of Locum Tenens Organizations®, often simply referred to as NALTO. Here, we share helpful information about the only locum tenens industry organization dedicated to promoting sound business practices.

NALTO was founded in 1991, and has a total of 88 membersPhysicians, medical practices, hospitals, health systems, and other healthcare facilities cannot become members of NALTONALTO provides ongoing educational programs and resourcesThe NALTO Board of Directors is comprised of locum tenens industry professionals, including Cristina Muise, MBA, PhD, president of Medicus Healthcare SolutionsMember firms are expected to adhere to the high professional principles of the association’s Code of Ethics and industry Standards of Practice and ProceduresIf a NALTO member agency is found to have violated the association’s Code of Ethics, it may face sanctions

For additional information regarding this topic, read “A NALTO® Primer for Locum Tenens Providers and Healthcare Executives”.

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Preparing for a Locum Tenens Provider’s Arrival at Your Facility

Whether you are getting ready for the arrival of a locum tenens physician, nurse practitioner, physician assistant,

or CRNA, you want to ensure he or she feels welcome, comfortable, and prepared. Apart from being the right thing to do, it creates a great first impression and will likely instill a genuine interest in your organization’s success. (It could even motivate an independent contractor to consider becoming part of your regular staff.)

Here, we share seven steps to make a provider’s introduction to your healthcare organization a thoroughly positive experience.

Begin the process before the start date. Give the provider an overview of whom he or she will be working with, and send him or her a map of the building with parking instructions and preferred point(s) of entry. In addition,

arrange for someone to meet the locum tenens professional at a predetermined location. Be sure to tell the provider the greeter’s name, title, and contact information; time to arrive; and whether to pack lunch and/or another meal.

Prepare your current staff for the provider’s arrival. Advise everyone who needs to be aware of it that a supplemental staff member will be coming into your organization. Be sure to include the start date and assignment duration. If you opt to make the announcement via a digital newsletter or email, consider adding a headshot photo of the clinician and a brief bio, too.

Extend an enthusiastic “welcome aboard!” Take the provider around and make introductions to the staff members he or she will be working with and other employees he or she should know. You may choose to take it further by bringing in a healthy “getting to know you” breakfast or hosting an informal lunch, giving team members a chance to make introductions and talk a little about their roles. Either scenario can help the temporary clinician feel a part of the team and assimilate more quickly.

Give a tour of the facility as well as the department, if the job is within a hospital or health system. Having a good sense of his or her new practice environment—as well as where supplies, equipment, and other essentials are kept—will help the provider feel more at home and prepared to work.

Designate a mentor or “buddy.” Although the provider will receive an orientation, questions are bound to arise as he or she becomes accustomed to a new setting. Having a dedicated contact person who can readily provide answers and direction will go a long way toward putting him or her at ease and ensuring a smooth transition.

Equip the provider for success. Collect all the items he or she will need to practice—from an ID card and keys to a parking permit and a security pass—and present them to the provider on day one. In addition, make sure the clinician has email access, if needed, along with a secure login and temporary password, and a phone number and extension, if applicable. Additionally, assemble a binder of important items, such as organizational policies and procedures, a facility phone directory, a list of

commonly used medical codes, reference material, an operations overview, an org chart, and other helpful resources.

Provide a thorough orientation. While its length can vary based on factors like practice or facility size and the duration of a provider’s commitment—if it is a short-term contract—make certain the provider has a comprehensive orientation and keen understanding of what is needed to do his or her job. Ensure the provider knows how to use your electronic health record (EHR) system, coding guidelines, and phone system.

Once the clinician begins to work at your organization, check in with him or her regularly to offer feedback and additional support, if required.

To discover how Medicus Healthcare Solutions can further help you set the stage for positive transitions, call 855.301.0563 to speak with one of our knowledgeable business development executives.

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Consider providing a map of the building with parking instructions

WHITE PAPERS

How to Improve a

Fractured Hospital Medicine ProgramO’Neil J. Pyke, MD, SFHM, CMO

How to Attain Successful

Physician Alignment Goals at Your FacilityCristina Muise, MBA, PhD - President, Medicus Healthcare Solutions

Read our latest white papers to learn:How to boost patients’ trust and support the delivery of higher quality careHow healthcare organizations in rural areas effectively recruit and keep top talentHow hospitals should interpret and respond to the shortage of qualified hospitalists

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