Striving for Organizational Excellence in the New Year

Striving for Organizational Excellence in the New Year

It’s tough being a healthcare professional these days, a fact confirmed recently by the findings of the 2006 American College of Physician Executives (ACPE)’s Physician Morale Survey, which revealed that:

• Nearly 60 percent of the 1,205 physicians who participated in the survey have considered leaving the practice of medicine because they’re discouraged over the state of U.S. healthcare today.
• Almost 70 percent said they actually knew of at least one doctor who stopped practicing medicine due to low morale.
• The top five factors contributing to low morale were identified by the survey respondents as: low reimbursement, loss of autonomy, bureaucratic red tape, patient overload and loss of respect.

How is the low morale affecting physicians? The doctors in the survey listed fatigue as the No. 1 problem, coming in at 77 percent. Emotional burnout, 66 percent, was a close second.

Both marital or family discord and depression were experienced by about 32 percent of the respondents and 4 percent have had suicidal thoughts.

According to the ACPE, some physicians who took the survey are resigned to the idea that low morale is here to stay. “I think that it is safe to say that no physician is optimistic about the future of medicine at this point,” one participant wrote. Others seemed downright hopeless: “One thing that rarely gets mentioned is that, unlike other industries that are cyclical, the practice of medicine continually gets worse and worse, more intolerable, more onerous, with absolutely no hope or reason for any optimism either in the near or remote future.”

The looming specter of medical malpractice, coupled with the ridiculous challenges to physician ownership and self-referral the past few years, can make even the most robust and dedicated physician lose his/her will to practice. That’s why an increasing number of ASC owners, operators, and administrators are trying to reignite the concept of organizational excellence within their facilities in order to counter these negative forces that are sapping the financial and medical strength of their medical and surgical practitioners.

Stephen C. Beeson, MD, in his new book, Practicing Excellence: A Physician’s Manual to Exceptional Healthcare, observes that the process of physician engagement is critical to creating organizational excellence, noting, “Physician alignment and tools to improve the care provided to patients by physicians are powerful drivers for performance change. Organizations that possess the ability to change and rise to the top are the organizations that are led by engaged physicians who create excellence by leadership and example. The organization that has implemented a culture of excellence becomes a living, breathing advertisement for itself from the testimony of every patient who walks through the doors.”

Beeson says that getting physicians on board will yield several distinct benefits, including improved patient compliance and outcomes; improved growth, market share, and loyalty; decreased risk of malpractice litigation; improved staff performance through physician leadership; and improved physician satisfaction through collaboration and collegiality. The physician’s role in workplace operations and performance is critical,” says Beeson. “Physicians are in a leadership position and will influence the perception, attitudes, and behaviors of others.

For the New Year, I wish you the wherewithal necessary to create and sustain your own culture of excellence throughout 2007. As Beeson says, “This is the right thing to do for our patients, the right thing to do for our staff, and the right thing for us to do. We will succeed by providing exceptional care to patients in the kind of collaborative, purposeful work environment that will make us the best.”

Until next month, 
Kelly M. Pyrek 
Group Editor 
kpyrek@vpico.com