At HSG, one of our major services is managing and operating hospital employed physician networks. As our management activities have grown, we’ve developed a management tool dubbed our “100-day plan.” This process has forced us to identify and implement key action items essential to establish the direction for the group practice going forward. Through the implementation of the 100-day plan, we find we do a better job of focusing our resources and efforts on issues that are critical for success. This ensures we get off to a good start!
The same thinking can be applied to your physician organization when adding new physicians or practices to your group. That means identifying the steps you must take to avoid:
- lost productivity;
- poor collections due to credentialing issues with payers; and
- low patient volume, due to lack of marketing and promotion of the new physician.
In these situations, the 100-day plan should encompass time and activities both prior to the physician’s start date and during the initial couple of months after hiring. Key areas to consider include:
- Credentialing, licenses, etc.
- IT issues and training on systems
- Training on how to obtain needed clinical consults, tests, and support for patient care
- Human resources
- Defining expectations for productivity, quality, and work effort
- What it means to be part of the group
Though every organization has unique requirements, some of the most common concerns that should be identified in a 100-day onboarding plan include:
- Managing the new physician’s credentialing, both for medical staff privileges and payers-set dates, and assigning accountability;
- Establishing expectations for productivity, behavior, culture, and patient care requirements to avoid misunderstandings;
- Identifying the key professional relationships that need to be put in place so the new physician can practice effectively;
- Assigning each new physician a physician mentor from within the organization to ensure the new physician is integrated into the culture and operational hierarchy;
- Setting expectations for the new physician regarding getting out into the community and meeting other members of the group and medical staff;
- Assigning responsibility to practice staff to make sure the new physician is fully practice ready on day one;
- Assigning responsibility to the front desk team for building a scheduling template and making sure that patient scheduling is handled appropriately;
- Developing an orientation schedule for the new physician that includes department managers, nursing leadership, and key physicians within the hospital departments.
While your situation may have different requirements, identifying these requirements and melding them into a “100-Day Plan” will minimize difficulties in getting a new physician off to a proper start.