Exploding physician employment has resulted in a dearth of executive leadership of multi-specialty physician groups. In many cases, rapid growth of these physician enterprises has outpaced the management infrastructure and executive talent required to lead them.
Four telltale signs your network growth has exceeded your management infrastructure and abilities include:
- Responsibilities for making physician acquisition deals are shared among several different executives
- Senior leadership is not receiving weekly and monthly dashboards regarding network performance and operations are not being monitored to identify opportunities for improvement
- Per physician losses are growing
- You’re receiving daily calls from disgruntled physicians
HSG’s interim management services have helped many clients get through this transition. Recruiting the talent to lead multispecialty groups can take three to six months. We can place interim leadership on the ground (Executive Director, Administration, VP of Physician Services) in a matter of weeks. During the transition period, the interim executive:
- Assesses and prioritize the most pressing issues;
- Provides recommendations for improvement;
- Help implement those recommendations through action planning; and
- Begin monitoring the results.
This process ensures that while the organization is searching for new leadership, a seasoned executive is paving the way for a smooth transition, making the tough decisions and insulating the hospital from endangering physician relationships when making needed changes.
HSG Group Manager, Martin Shehan, talks about his own experiences as an interim manager during his 20-plus year career in physician practice and network management:
“Having served in the interim manager role, I found this to be an excellent opportunity to cast an unbiased eye on the network, physicians, leadership and staff. In this role you can perform reconnaissance to gain insights into opportunities to strengthen the infrastructure of the network. I have found that physicians, leadership and staff see the interim as an objective participant who is looking to identify obstacles and help pave the way for their successor.
“The knowledge gained in the interim role is invaluable when I participate in the interview role to identify my successor. It allows me to probe for strengths in the candidates to be able to address opportunities and their ability to move the network to the next level.”
