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Focus on hospitalist leadership responsibilities

Hospitalist Leadership Connection, April 14, 2009

Effective hospitalist leaders must balance their clinical responsibilities with their administrative duties. In fact, full-time hospitalists spend a median 20% of their time on administrative activities, according to the “2007–2008 Biannual Survey” by the Society of Hospital Medicine.

Finding time to focus solely on one’s administrative responsibilities, which vary from practice to practice, is quite challenging. Most programs do not have the luxury of providing the program leader with administrative time, as this would negatively affect the program’s budget. Thus, efficiency is a premium for program leaders.

Hospitalist program leaders may have a variety of responsibilities within the hospitalist practice. In addition to providing direct patient care, their responsibilities may include:

•  Supervising all hospitalist providers:
  
  • Clinical performance
  • Administrative performance
  • Relationships with key stakeholders

• Teaching residents and medical students
• Monitoring provider incentive plan performance
• Overseeing appropriate provider coding and documentation
• Ensuring providers’ adherence to all practice policies and procedures
• Providing oversight of the quality assurance program
• Providing annual reviews for all clinical staff members
• Participating in provider scheduling
• Participating in the creation of clinical pathways and protocols
• Participating in utilization review
• Running hospitalist staff meetings
• Serving as the practice liaison with hospital administration and key stakeholders
• Monitoring customer satisfaction and troubleshooting problems
• Developing an annual budget
• Providing oversight of program strategic planning
• Providing effective leadership and change management
• Participating in the recruitment of providers
• Monitoring practice billing and collection performance

This excerpt is adapted from The Hospitalist Program Management Guide, 2nd edition, by Kenneth G. Simone, DO, and Jeffrey R. Dichter, MD, FACP, published by HCPro, Inc.

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