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Empowered employees, unified philosophy crucial to financial resilience

By Rene Letourneau

Physician practices that create an empowered, deft workforce aligned around a central philosophy have the ability to react and adjust quickly to change and are better prepared to maximize revenue and flourish during tough economic times.

That’s the central message Sarah Holt, PhD, practice administrator of Cape Giradeau Surgical Clinic in Cape Giradeau, Mo. will deliver in her presentation, “Financial Resilience in Uncertain Times,” at the Medical Group Management Association’s annual conference in San Antonio on Oct. 22.

“Functional organizations, as opposed to dysfunctional organizations, create a culture that is nimble and can adjust quickly to change when necessary,” said Holt. “These organizations understand the fundamentals and execute them well.”

According to Holt, these fundamentals include effective people, governance, processes and technology.

“Governance in healthcare organizations must be well understood by all and applied fairly to all parties, and must be designed to empower employees,” she said. “The right people in the right place, empowered to use their judgment and creativity, allow the organization to thrive.”
 
An organization’s IT systems should also be designed to support employees, said Holt.

“Implementation of best processes that are constantly monitored, and technology that supports the work of the organization rather than causing the organization to modify its work based on the limitation of the technology, permit organizations to maximize revenue cycle dollars and succeed when other organizations struggle and fail financially,” she said.

Among the financial challenges that concern Holt as the administrator of a practice with eight general surgeons and one nurse practitioner are the sustainable growth rate, the development of ACOs, the implementation of ICD-10, the need to meet meaningful use, the increase in practice costs and the decline in reimbursements.

However, she believes there is an even greater challenge that trumps everything else.

“The biggest financial challenge facing physician practices today is the internal behavior in the organization,” she said. “On the other hand, if everyone in the organization recognizes the role they play in the financial responsibility of the organization, buys in to the unified philosophy of the organization and lives the patient-centered mission of the organization, the organization will succeed financially.”