Healthcare Executive - September/October 2013 - 8

Perspectives

New Conversations to
Foster Collaboration
Deborah J. Bowen,
FACHE, CAE

Strong relationships with physicians are built
conversation by conversation.

the call for collaboration in healthcare
has been ringing loud and clear for quite
some time. While the pursuit of the triple aim fills our leadership agendas, our
partnerships with physicians remain an
essential ingredient for success.
Having worked for healthcare executives
for nearly 20 years and physicians during
the first decade of my career, I continue
to be amazed by the power of the common goals we share. Yet payment reform
and missing links in financial incentives
complicate our relationships with physicians and often make it more difficult to
see the road ahead. At the same time we
know the strength of our future lies in
our collective talent to define what is
forthcoming for the patient populations
we serve. Great leaders are great relationship builders, and strong relationships
begin conversation by conversation, leading us to a greater understanding of what
we need from each other. As clinical
integration is foremost in the minds of
leaders, I am reminded that at the heart
of our work, we share a great deal with
our physician colleagues.
A strong passion for patient care.
Healthcare is both a calling and a business. As leaders who care, we share a
desire to make patients better. We
know about the brightest and darkest

Healthcare executive
Sept/oct 2013

moments of patient care—the power of
medicine to heal, the joy of new life,
the comfort provided during a natural
disaster and the suffering endured from
chronic illness or loss. As administrative and clinical leaders, leveraging our
collective passion to fix what isn’t right
and care for those who need our help is
something embedded in our DNA.
And our future patients need our help
as we reshape care delivery.
A commitment to excellence. Great
organizations that deliver cost-effective,
quality care bring out the best in all of
us. In the patient room and the boardroom, we have countless opportunities
to combine our individual and collective
talents. clearly, innovations in caring for
patients—such as improved ways to
coordinate care—are advancing quality
outcomes. Yet successful strategies and
the achievement of goals can only be
accomplished with a distinct understanding of mutual interests and needs.
making sure we connect and involve
both primary care and specialty physicians in meaningful ways will result in
our ability to develop and execute sound
strategies to improve patient care.
A dedication to lifelong learning. It’s
true we bring different skills and perspectives to the table. that is exactly

why we will need to be dedicated to
helping each other succeed. While
physicians can help executives on the
clinical side, healthcare executives can
play stronger roles in helping physicians develop business, management
and leadership skills. that means
developing organizational plans that
ensure a strong educational foundation for physicians and providing
opportunities for physicians to use
these skills in meaningful ways to
advance the work of the organization.
As we reinvent the delivery of care, we
have new opportunities to partner with
physicians as we never have before.
AcHe is committed to providing you
with the resources to do this. In addition
to the on physician relations column
in this magazine, Health Administration
press books and educational seminars,
including the physician executive boot
camp, we now offer the physician
executives Forum, a package of
resources designed for physician leaders
in management roles who wish to further enhance their leadership skills. to
learn more about this resource package,
visit ache.org/PEForum.
Healthcare executives must lead the way
in forging strong relationships with physicians for the good of patients, organizations and communities. partnerships
are built conversation by conversation,
and it all begins with you. s
Deborah J. Bowen, FACHE, CAE, is
president/CEO of the American College
of Healthcare Executives. She can be
reached at dbowen@ache.org.

Healthcare Executive - September/October 2013

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