During the recent professional meeting at the American College of Healthcare Executive’s (ACHE) Congress on Healthcare Leadership in Chicago, Illinois and in the recent Healthcare Executive journal, navigating the future, creating a culture of safety & improved outcomes, global healthcare perspectives, enhancing physician relations, applying strategic thinking, information technology integration, and meeting financial reporting challenges were key issues discussed in some of these venues. Several of these discussions emphasized many critical lessons learned including:
•Directly involving the CEO and senior healthcare leaders in discussions with the organization’s employees about future economic and financial issues that affect the community
•Providing opportunities for other managers & staff members (other than the traditional executive leaders) to practice leading the organization
•Communicating the Vision to front-line staff members as well as clinical professionals
•Access change and/or lean management experts
•Benchmarking to industry best practices both regionally and nationally
•Including patients & family members in discussing treatment options to improve outcomes
•Standardizing procedures and processes to increase efficiency and quality outcomes
•Enhancing physician relations via joint responsibilities and risk sharing activities
•Current methods of acquiring & managing physician groups
•Best practices for sustainability and social responsibility toward the environment
•Consistently educate & training staff using the most practical and user-friendly methods
•Continuously seek recommendations regarding improvement via personal rounding as well as other means of useful feedback and timely evaluation techniques
•Transparency & leadership within quality & safety measures
•Healthcare diplomacy and global perspectives that have local implications
•Adopting collaborative methods in the deployment & integration of IT solutions
•Current challenges & implications regarding new financial reporting requirements
•What new healthcare reform initiatives will be proposed (and possibly implemented) during the President Obama administration.
Increased funding for MEDICAID, indigent care, the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) are just a few of the programs that have been discussed. However, because of the recent economic downturn and the government’s stimulus packages and expensive bailout programs, the healthcare reform initiatives may be placed on hold or have serious funding problems for the next few years.
Many of these issues, presentations, and articles can be examined by accessing various professional healthcare websites. If you not yet a member of this professional association or another healthcare management professional association, you may find that joining such an association will provide you tremendous value regarding education, networking, and career development opportunities. I will be happy to discuss any of these career opportunities or some of the healthcare issues listed above.