The Power of Physician Executives: Why They're Vital in Healthcare Business

Written By Adam Brown

By: Dr. N. Adam Brown

In today's ever-changing and challenging healthcare environment, there is a growing demand for physician executives with a combination of medical expertise and business understanding. Physician executives have served as clinical operational leaders, innovators, and tactical business collaborators, all while ensuring patient quality, compassion, and safety. As hospitals, start-ups, investment firms, and investors consider their future strategic plans, it is crucial that physicians are included to provide valuable insights and expertise.

 

Physician leaders offer invaluable insight for business decisions like:

·  Acquiring new companies or physician groups

·  Investing in healthcare tech start-ups

·  Optimizing your clinical workforce or clinical operations

·  Developing a clinician and patient engagement plan

·  Identifying and implementing value-based care strategies, or

·  Growing your hospital and outpatient services.

From strategic focus to healthcare innovations and trends, here are five reasons why every team needs a physician executive on board:

1. Strategic Focus.

Ideas are plenty, but successful ideas that improve healthcare for patients, businesses, and providers are rare. We've heard this story before : a founder attempts to solve a pressing healthcare problem, assembles a team, and develops a product, only to discover late in the game it won't work. Bringing a physician executive in early allows a team to leverage their knowledge of the clinical operational, medical, and financial aspects of the business and make effective decisions, analyzing the short and long-term impacts, saving time and money. 

 

2. Key Operation, Business, and Leadership Skills.

When putting new strategies into place and judging how well they work, clinical leaders with a lot of experience can help make better decisions. Clinician executives have a long history of team-based care and leading multidisciplinary teams. Physician leaders understand the operation of the organization as well as the needs of its patients, allowing them to contribute helpful insights. Their management experience in clinical departments, clinical service lines, and operations can assist organizations in evaluating products and services and selecting the most effective tool and implementation strategy for their business model. An experienced clinical leader can help organizations understand the impact of these changes on the organization and its operations, providing valuable insight into the business impact.

 

3. Systemic Awareness.

The clinical and management skills of physician executives and their knowledge of the healthcare industry provide a solid foundation for making decisions and reducing risks. From inpatient and outpatient services to understanding payer contracts to having a thorough understanding of the regulatory environment to improving the revenue cycle, these executives have a broad knowledge of the critical stakeholders who can influence business. Their viewpoint assists organizations in developing and implementing effective strategies to ensure that their services remain responsive to the needs of their patients while remaining financially viable.

 

4. Credibility and Trust.

Physician leaders deeply understand medical science and are experts in various medical, health, and health-related sciences and how they can be used to treat patients. They know how to treat patients in a practical, kind, and appropriate way, and they constantly review and change their care plans. In addition to analyzing and incorporating the latest scientific information into practice, strong doctor leadership is essential to reducing potential harm. Medical centers and private equity companies recognize that including physicians in decision-making can ensure that businesses, projects, and optimization plans protect the patient and doctor's well-being.

 

5. Healthcare Innovation and Trends.

Doctors in leadership positions sit at the crossroads of medicine, technology, and management, interacting with other doctors and administrators. They can drive a thriving organization by connecting daily patient care with management, authority, and governance. Physicians in executive positions are closer to delivering care and are aware of the most recent advancements in safety, health, and quality. They are tasked with identifying ways to provide top-notch care at a lower cost, from patient satisfaction statistics to quality metrics, workforce engagement, new technologies, and cost and utilization. Medical administrators are often involved in hiring new healthcare providers, checking their credentials, and keeping an eye on how well they do their jobs. Physician executives are also knowledgeable about reimbursement trends and how to negotiate payer contracts.

Healthcare businesses need to have a medical director, a doctor forming the company, or a chief medical or health executive working with them from the beginning. And while a new business may not need a full-time physician executive or may not have the funding for a full-time executive position, other solutions exist. That's where ABIG Health comes in.

At ABIG Health, we have physician executives and healthcare executives who have extensive experience. Irrespective of the organization's future needs, having physician with extensive executive experience collaborating around the boardroom table is paramount in helping healthcare organizations and start-ups navigate the ever-changing healthcare landscape. Their perspective helps organizations develop and implement effective strategies to ensure that their services remain responsive to their patients and other providers' needs while remaining financially viable.

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Article written by Adam Brown

Adam Brown
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