Creating peer relationships with providers

Creating true partnerships in medical organizations requires an investment of time and effort that is essential for success, said industry experts during “Leadership that works: Physician-administrator dyads,” an MGMA online discussion.

One barrier to success: a misperception that practice administrators work for doctors instead of practices. Recognizing that difference helps establish peer relationships, which opens the door for honest dialogue, said Rebecca Fox, MD, MGMA member, owner, Loudoun Pediatric Associates, Leesburg, Va., who provided insight from a doctor’s perspective. “Doctors are motivated to do what’s in their patients’ best interests,” she said. “As administrators, your patient is really the practice.”

These common denominators are important, said Fox, who joined Debra Wiggs, FACMPE, MGMA Board chair, senior principal consultant, Wier Management Solutions, Bellingham, Wash., and Dea Robinson, FACMPE, director, MGMA Health Care Consulting Group, in the discussion.

“In a true dyad, you are working together,” Robinson said. “Do not see your role as subordinate to physicians.”

Fox concurred. “As a physician, when I run into a clinical problem that I can’t solve, I refer the case to a specialist,” she said. “I look at administrators in the same light: I am hiring an administrative specialist.”

To establish peer relationships:

• Don’t use lingo or “administrator speak” with doctors, who might not be familiar with business terms and might not admit it.
• Always be honest, admit mistakes and move on.
• Create a safe space to ask questions and discuss difficult topics.
• Meet regularly and keep doctors apprised of all business issues.

Wiggs recommended covering these five topic areas when meeting with doctors:

• Strategy status (List three to five goals from the strategic plan.)
• Financial accountability (Cover accounts receivable and income to budget.)
• Quality metrics based on physicians’ decisions
• Human resources
• Heads-up about other practice issues 

During the hourlong discussion, the panelists also answered audience questions, including the following question directed to Fox:

Q: As a physician, how do you like new projects introduced to you? As an administrator, I believe that a particular product is better-suited for our strategic plan, but the local hospital uses another product so doctors assume that it is the best choice.

Fox: [Physicians] are experiential learners so there’s an assumption that what we’re used to must be best. Consider how you present the information (preferably on one page with colors and graphics) and include this information:

• What are the costs?
• Is it going to save us money?
• Is it going to expedite accounts receivable?
• What is it going to do for me/the physician?

Wiggs: It’s important to educate physicians on the difference between hospital-based and office-based businesses. Hospitals are in the business of beds and we’re in the business of bodies. What works for each business isn’t always the same. 
Robinson: State your case and make it appropriate. When I wanted to add a new billing person, I ran the numbers, presented them to the finance committee and explained what we needed, what they’d get and how much it would cost instead of just saying, “I want to add a new biller.”

Listen to the full conversation.