Advanced Practice Provider
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HSG’s Advanced Practice Provider (APP) Program Development and Support is designed to meet clients where they are and take them where they want or need to go. Our approach assesses your current state, explores your desired future state, and respects your organizational culture while customizing a process to help get you to where you want to be.

The APP Program Development and Support consists of five (5) broad elements which can be pursued collectively for global impact or separately for individual gap or pain point emphasis. The following elements comprise the HSG program: Utilization, Compensation, Recruitment and Onboarding, Leadership and Professional Support.

Advanced Practice Provider Utilization

Utilization focuses on top of license APP utilization within various care delivery scenarios, including evaluating patients relatively independently (often seen in primary care settings), evaluating patients as part of a team (often seen in surgical specialties), or covering a shift (often seen in emergency department or urgent care settings). Utilization in each of these circumstances is unique and the inherent differences need to be considered.

Advanced Practice Provider Compensation

Ideally compenastion aligns APP and associated physician efforts, incentives, and rewards with that of each other and of the organization; links with the associated physicians’ compensation model; and is guided by business and clinical operations inherent in the targeted area as noted in the previous section.

Advanced Practice Provider Recruitment and Onboarding

Recruitment and onboarding starts with determining the best employment model – usually a distinction between a specific employment contract or exempt employee relationship. Many organizations are moving to mirror the physician employment contract model.

Thoughts then proceed to the recruitment process, which should proceed as a facet of and within the boundaries of the overall Medical Staff Development Plan. The APP presence forms a portion of the total “physician” need in a given specialty, within defining overarching parameters.

Finally, onboarding should mirror the process used for the associated physicians, but customized for the APP’s anticipated utilization – with particular attention given to the required collaboration process. Proper assimilation into the practice, the network, and the community is crucial to retention – just as it is for physicians.

Advanced Practice Provider Leadership

Leadership addresses incorporation of APPs into the network leadership structure, which should include design elements that support APP program goals and functions. Identifying and developing APP leaders should mirror the process in place for physicians.

Advanced Practice Provider Professional Support

Support for APPs has traditionally been lacking in employed networks and in associated hospital Medical Staffs leading to feelings of isolation and lack of support. Active mentoring through collaboration agreements and inclusion in the network committee structure are overt examples
of support that promote professional development and provider retention.

Terrence R. McWilliams, MD, FAAFP

Chief Clinical Officer and Managing Director, Employed Provider Networks