New Resources, Opportunities for Practice Administrators
Every clinician in HM depends on a smooth-running hospitalist program to ensure the best possible patient care and efficiency. Even though they might not be visible to hospitalized patients, practice administration issues (e.g. compensation and incentives, reporting return on investment, or the Physician’s Quality Reporting System) are vital components to effectively running an HM group. And that’s what explains the growing popularity of SHM’s new resources for administrators.
In 2010, SHM presented five free online discussions for hospitalist practice leaders. Each session in the Practice Administrators’ Roundtable Series began with a formal presentation and was followed with open discussion from administrators and leaders from around the country.
SHM will continue the program in 2011 with such topics as Hospitalist Recruitment, Retention, & Orientation (Feb. 24) and Patient Satisfaction (May 26).
“The response to new programs for hospitalist administrators has been very positive,” says Kim Dickinson, MA, regional COO for Cogent Healthcare and a member of SHM’s Administrators’ Task Force, which has taken the lead on planning the roundtables. “As hospital medicine programs continue to evolve, there will be a growing need to address their administrative issues, too.”
The program will break new ground in 2011 with the first SHM Award for Excellence in Hospital Medicine. The new award, to be presented at HM11, will recognize a physician assistant, nurse practitioner, RN, pharmacist, administrator, case manager, or a nonphysician member of SHM.
“Hospital medicine groups depend on effective leadership, communication and administration,” says SHM president Jeff Wiese, MD, SFHM. “That’s why these new programs are so critical to improving quality, safety, and efficiency in hospital care. It is appropriate then that the best of the best should be recognized in this regard. I am personally excited to present the first SHM Award for Excellence in Hospital Medicine at the SHM annual meeting in Dallas.”
All of the roundtable discussions are archived in SHM’s Practice Management Institute (www.hospitalmedicine.org/practiceresources).
