Hospitalists are young, energetic, and optimistic. We want to be part of the solution, not another self-interest group demanding our needs be met and the heck with the dysfunction they might create. We also have most of our professional lives ahead of us, and we have seen that when we work extra hard to correct our local hospital’s glitches, it helps us function better.
The problems won’t go away if we ignore them. We have no choice but to step up and take a chance at change. We challenge you to step up, be a leader, and dare to make a difference. We suggest you:
- Figure out a way to get all Americans insured;
- Create a value proposition in healthcare and set up a new payment system that rewards value, efficiency, and effectiveness; and
- Reward and incentivize a new paradigm of healthcare delivered by teams of health professionals performing in functional systems of care.
There are many entrenched institutions and constituencies that will see any change as a prescription for them to lose. Hospitalists are the future. We embrace change and accept that staying in a system that is not working is not an option. We can’t predict the outcome, but when you look for partners to take the healthcare system forward, hospitalists are ready to do their share and more. But we need your help, and we need it now. TH
Dr. Wellikson is CEO of SHM.