Medical Staff Newsletters

This monthly resource acts as a support system by providing time-saving tools, expert advice, and analyses to help you effectively manage an evolving medical staff organization.

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Medical Staff Briefing

Issue 12, December 1, 2009 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Competition forces industry to up the recruitment ante

  If bending over backward hasn’t always been part of the physician recruitment process, it...

• MSPs think outside the box: Next-generation tips to save time, money, and resources

  There is no time like an economic downturn to get people thinking about how to do more with less...

• Case study: Make leadership education a priority

  Whether the funds come from the medical staff, hospital administration, or both, one of the best...

• ABIM announces focused practice in hospital medicine certification

  If hospitalists felt like they were trapped by a glass ceiling in the past, they can consider it...

Issue 11, November 1, 2009 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Tips for a successful medical staff leadership retreat: Involve leaders in training the next generation

  Medical staffs need to take the initiative to provide current and future leaders with the tools and...

• MSP neutrality: Maintain diplomacy during medical staff-administrative conflicts

  When medical staff members and the hospital administrative team are pitted against each other, MSPs...

• Joint Commission Alert puts leaders behind the wheel of patient safety: Steps for navigating the road ahead

  With the release of Sentinel Event Alert #43, The Joint Commission is driving home a message that...

• FHM designation gives hospitalists long-awaited recognition: What it takes to be a Fellow of Hospital Medicine

  The Society of Hospital Medicine (SHM) earlier this year introduced the first class of fellows in...

• Specialty series: Obstetrics Four tips for launching and maintaining an effective OB hospitalist program

  Although solid numbers on OB hospitalists (aka: laborists) are unavailable from the Society of...

Issue 10, October 1, 2009 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Understanding employment contracts: What docs need to know about restrictive clauses

  Before physicians sign any contracts, they should familiarize themselves with the fine print...

• Joint Commission task force inches toward an MS.01.01.01 resolution: What the working draft means for medical staff bylaws

  vThe standard formerly known as MS.1.20 is on the move again

• Lessons learned: VA quality concerns trigger hospitals to polish peer review practices

  If you read news reports of the troubled brachytherapy program at the Philadelphia VA Medical...

• CMS aims to fill Stark Law loopholes with new joint venture rules

  Your facility may need to rethink its joint ventures before October 1. That’s the date the...

• Specialty series: Is a neurohospitalist program right for your institution?

  When debating whether to implement a neurohospitalist program, consider the losses that your...

• Helpful or hurtful? Proposed bundled payments make waves

  As they say, the devil is in the details, and no one yet knows whether a bundled-payment system...

Issue 9, September 1, 2009 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Five steps to crafting foolproof contracts with independent groups

  As physicians increasingly opt to work for independent companies that contract with hospitals to...

• What your medical staff can expect during a DNV survey

  DNV survey activities are not very different than those of The Joint Commission (formerly JCAHO...

• ED call compensation: Create sustainable solutions

  Office of Inspector General (OIG) Advisory Opinion 09-05, issued in May, states that it is...

• Sailing the seven Cs: Influencing culture

  Culture is extraordinarily powerful and has the potential to either fuel or undermine your...

• Small hospitals may win with hybrid schedule

  Rather than hiring hospitalists to compete with the internal medicine department at Metro Health...

• The business side of pediatric hospitalist programs

  Are pediatric hospitalist programs profitable? It depends on how you look at it. Physician...

Issue 8, August 1, 2009 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Special report: Despite barriers, more inactive physicians seek to reenter work force

  The Association of American Medical Colleges has recommended a 30% increase in total medical school...

• The changing face of CME: Creating accountability and measuring improvement

  The good old days when physicians could take a tax-deductible vacation disguised as continuing...

• Agree to disagree: Managing generation gaps on the medical staff

  You’ve been in the meeting at which the physicians who’ve been on the medical staff...

• Special report: Integrating PAs and NPs into hospitalist practice

  Although increased medical school enrollment will help meet future healthcare needs, several...

Issue 7, July 1, 2009 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Emergency preparedness: Disaster veterans share experiences and lessons learned

  Even if your hospital is in a safe haven out of the path of hurricanes and tornados, you should...

• Medical directorships: Define responsibilities to ensure fair pay

  Nurses provide care to patients. Radiologists read and interpret x-rays. Hospital CEOs ensure a...

• Physician orientation: An essential retention tool

  Although many physicians consider the orientation process unnecessary, it can help make the...

• Find data to assess the competency of APPs

  Measuring the competence of advanced practice professionals, such as nurse practitioners and...

• Physician-hospital competition and collaboration: Sailing the seven Cs: Managing competition

  Given a lack of economic alignment, shrinking or flat reimbursement, and the emergence of new...

• Which came first: The pediatric hospitalist or the program?

  Pediatric hospitalist programs are blossoming. In fact, 25% of current pediatric hospitalist...

• Contract or homegrown hospitalist staffing?

  How much experience does the hospital have managing physician practices? If your hospital is like...

Issue 6, June 1, 2009 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Evolving physician practices create challenges for state licensing boards

  A report published in the February Pediatrics, reveals that only 34% of state licensing boards...

• All in the family: Effectively manage conflicts of interest that hit home

  How familial relationships work in real life, especially with conflict of interest on the top of...

• Prep medical staff leaders for Joint Commission surveys

  Because MSPs manage the nitty-gritty medical staff services department details, they are often the...

• Case study: Understanding FPPE, OPPE, and--IPPE?

  When the medical staff was confused about the two types of FPPE, the chief of surgery suggested...

• Physician-hospital competition and collaboration: Sailing the Seven Cs: Improving communication

  Hospitals that provide communication training to board members, administrators, and medical staff...

• Turning over the coin: Could the hospitalist boom hurt continuity of care, PCPs, and hospital revenue?

  A March 12 New England Journal of Medicine article confirms what we already know: The hospitalist...

• Partnerships with case managers to streamline patient care

  Case managers assigned to hospitalists may find that their jobs have become a little easier. Unlike...

Issue 5, May 1, 2009 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Fair market value: Determine reasonable compensation packages to avoid legal trouble

  There is no single equation hospitals can use to pinpoint fair market value for all paid physician...

• Let's talk leadership: Greeley experts answer your questions

  Many leaders are thrown into positions with little notion of what the hospital expects of them or...

• A look in the mirror: 360-degree evaluations improve physician performance

  In most cases, 360-degree evaluations are used to assess residents, but they can be easily adapted...

• Medical staff leadership training: Make the most of your first six weeks in office

  You've volunteered or been elected to take on a medical staff leadership role. So now what? In...

• Physician-hospital competition and collaboration: Sailing the seven Cs: Improving communication

  Communication especially in this 24/7 age of instantaneous news must be timely, accurate, and...

• The good, the bad, and the ugly: Economic crisis presents a mixed bag for inpatient services

  As lenders tighten their belts, hospitals are finding it more difficult to secure the funding they...

Issue 4, April 1, 2009 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Leadership reviews: Rating department chairs' performance

  Most medical staff bylaws include a clause that requires medical staff leaders to attend a minimum...

• Comply with LD.02.04.01: Manage conflict with help of organizational ombudsmen

  Various industries have embraced organizational ombudsmen to help handle employee-to-employee and...

• Create a culture of disclosure: Providers should maintain communication after adverse events

  Many healthcare providers have been taught that when an adverse event occurs, they should cut off...

• Physician-hospital competition and collaboration: Sailing the Seven Cs: Achieving Collaboration

  It is important for leaders to understand that how they respond to conflict is somewhat dependent...

• Board certification opening new doors for hospitalists

  If you've been waiting patiently for one of the major certifying boards to formally recognize...

• IOM recommendations for resident hours may affect hospitalist programs

  According to a brief of its December 2008 report, Resident Duty Hours: Enhancing Sleep...

Issue 3, March 1, 2009 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Joint Commission updates standards to comply with CMS regulations

  As part of its application to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to receive...

• Ailing economy has physicians asking hospitals for help

  It’s not news: The economy is a mess, and as a result, the economics of healthcare are even...

• Hospitals doing more to manage doctors’ industry ties

  When the healthcare community hears that a physician is working with a device manufacturer on an...

• Create partnerships to unclog the ED

  Emergency department (ED) overcrowding may not solely be an ED issue, according to a new study by...

• Communication in the hospitalist-PCP relationship

  For many, marriage offers stability and a trusted partner. Having a solid relationship takes a lot...

Issue 2, February 1, 2009 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• HHS releases final rule for patient safety organizations under PSQIA

  Healthcare providers are one step closer to reaping the legal protections provided by the Patient...

• Integrate recruiting and credentialing practices

  Recruit the right physicians It’s no secret that hospitals tend to work in silos, but lack...

• Physicians think twice over ‘loser pays’ rule

  A physician at the receiving end of a negative credentialing or peer review decision may want to...

• Creative ideas for celebrating Doctors’ Day

  March 30 is just around the corner, so it’s time to start planning your Doctors’ Day...

• Introduction to the new C-suite

  Healthcare organizations have traditionally relied on a core group of C-suite executives to make...

• Q&A with IPC's Adam Singer, MD: Hospitalist programs must take new direction to stay viable

  HLA spoke with Adam Singer, MD, CEO of IPC The Hospitalist Company and Modern Healthcare's 2008...

Issue 1, January 1, 2009 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• DNV takes the stage as new hospital accreditor

  It’s not every day that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) grants...

• Tips for writing an effective code of conduct policy

  As of January 1, 2009, The Joint Commission will require hospitals to develop a formal process for...

• Medical Staff Briefing 2008 index

  Bylaws Hospitals still waiting for verdict on MS.1.20. March, p. 6. Joint Commission stands...

• Transitioning from resident to hospitalist

  To fend off the ongoing physician shortage, many academic medical centers are recruiting from their...