In the last few years the scope of responsibilities and duties delegated to medical directors has been evolving to include more responsibility over measures of quality within their healthcare organizations.
In a recent Medical Group Management Association (MGMA) benchmarking report, "Medical Directorship and On-Call Compensation Survey: 2013 Report Based on 2012 Data," it was found that 40 percent of responding medical directors reported their duties were now tied to quality metrics, including length of patient stay, patient safety and patient satisfaction.
[See also: Quality of care increased by strong work environment ]
In addition, quality metrics noted as being tied to directorship duties and compensation include compliance, readmissions, staff and provider satisfaction and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services' core measures.
"I think the thing that really stuck out for me was that more and more of medical directors' salaries are tied to quality metrics. On the practice side, that's where medicine is going – it's being all tied back to quality," said MGMA member Jeffrey W. Smith, chief executive officer of Pottstown Medical Specialists Inc. in Pennsylvania. "I think that the role of that position has really evolved. In the past, they were looking for someone overlooking the practice, saying 'hey, sign your charts.' Today I think that [the position and who they are looking for to fill the position] has morphed into someone who truly understands the contracts with health insurance carriers, someone can work through this day-in and day-out. They need to understand electronic health records, measure their quality, report it and affect change within the organization."
Smith added that when hiring new medical directors for their organizations, CEOs are now likely looking for individuals who "are tech-savvy and can make changes within the organization."
"Organizations really need someone who can sit down with physicians to obtain and explain the necessary pieces of information needed from them [in regards to quality], rather than someone just focused on the numbers," he said. "They need to be able to explain to physicians the ultimate impact these quality measures have on patients, how it affects their quality of life and brings down costs at the same time."
[See also: Quality reports can be facility's best friend]
Smith believes because of the new roles medical directors must play within an organization, practices are going to have to look for what he says is an "unique individual."
"It's a tough position to fill - not many people can fill this roll. They have to be able to go to doctors and say 'hey you need to change.' He or she will have to make them change things they've been doing for years, like not ordering drugs at the appropriate times," he said.
He also added that with the way a medical director's job is now so directly correlated with quality measures, "it's getting easier to monitor how he or she does their job – based upon the quality reports of a hospital. An organization can compensate a medical director based on the scores of their quality metrics."
[See also: MGMA issues paper on physician practice safety]
According to Smith, almost 30 percent of medical directors reported compensation for their duties was received in the form of a monthly stipend. Almost 25 percent received an annual stipend for directorship duties and almost 42 percent received an hourly rate as compensation for directorship duties.