Question

List the components for the appropriate culture of collaboration recognized by the Center for Healthcare Governance (2003) which suggests factors the governing body can incorporate to improve the relationship between health systems and their physicians. In addition, identify the nine steps the Walker Company (2009) has identified that the board can take to understand needs, align focus, and build bridges. Provide a brief description of each step.

Answer 1

Following are the components for the appropriate culture of collaboration recognized by the Center of Healthcare Governance (2003), to improve the relationship between health systems and their physicians.

1. Instead of having an operational relationship, one should move beyond into physician based partnerships for governance, system-wide services, accountability and incentives

2. Nurture an environment that motivates physicians to work on quality of care, business development, customer service, and simplifying internal processes and systems

3. Build an entrepreneurial infrastructure based on collaboration that pushes and develops key funding for investments, develops new business opportunities and publishes the results

Walker company has identified that the following nine steps that the board can take to understand needs, align focus and build bridges:

1. Assess the service area - Gather demographic profiles, market information, economic data, community health status and risk, payer mix and projected market trends

2. Develop a medical staff - Conduct assessments of medicals staff bu age, specialty, admission patterns and affiliation

3. Obtain physicians' front-line point of view - Survey the medical staff regarding their viewpoints about the hospital, equipment, support needs and other major issues facing physicians. Can also include ideas or concerns regardingcommunity health issues, competition and strategy

4. Obtain non - physicians' front-line point of view - Survey the governing body and administrative team regarding similar issues for comparison

5. Develop analysis of patient outmigration trends - Includes information regarding location by ZIP code and major diagnostic code or diagnostic related group (DR)

6. Conduct assessments of community perceptions of care - Survey residents' viewpoints regarding physician and hospital quality of care, availability of resources, barriers to access, and perception about unmet needs

7. Identify gaps in community helath needs and medical staff supply - Involve the medical staff in the assessment of the data and information to indentify gaps and engage them in developing solutions

8. Summarize findings and gap analysis - Collaborate to identify opportunities and threats in relation to the mission and vision of the organization and utilize the information to project future need of medical and staff development

9. Reach consensus - Present information to hospital and medical staff leadership and government staff for stratgeing planning and deeper thinking and discussion