As hard-to-fill jobs continue to be, yes, hard to fill, the flexible staffing model is becoming the new norm for certain health professions. The locum tenens staffing model, offering flexibility and the freedom of movement, has formed career choices for an increasing number of professionals including physical therapists (PT) and physicians.

It is not uncommon for a PT to work three or more rehab centers at the same time — and this may hold true for physicians as well. PTs and physicians enjoying this model work well for vacant positions or other flex-hour staff positions. The arrangement creates a “win-win” situation for the practitioner and the business. These health professionals make their own hours, are well compensated and have time for other important interests in their lives. Businesses get the coverage they need and the patients are satisfied with the care they receive because attending physicians or therapists are the least stressed and much happier.

Health reform and changes in the marketplace are drivers for the growing appreciation for these locum tenens staffing models. As physicians opt out of private practice due to prohibitive costs and become employed in hospitals and large medical groups, the need for fill-in physicians rises.

There is a shortage of other health professionals, such as physical therapists, creating the need for more fill-in staffing. With increased prominence of flexible work schedules, moving into these roles has become especially attractive. With patient satisfaction directly related to a satisfied staff, introducing flexible work schedules may improve Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS) scores, which would positively impact the bottom line.

At this week’s Partnership for Patients meeting, hosted by the Texas Hospital Association, Texas Medical Foundation and Dallas-Fort Worth Hospital Council Foundation, one of the most intriguing presentations was the power of “influencers.” It set me to thinking about our wonderful employee nominees and award recipients at the Employee of the Year event on April 18. Their lives and stories influence me to do better, and the positive energy from the event seemed to buoy the entire room as we celebrated our work for patients in the community. Positive influences can make the difference in good outcomes – and now there is growing research to show just how much “influencers” affect our world.

The concept of influencers has become popular in recent years thanks to the books “The Tipping Point” by Malcolm Gladwell and “Influencer: The Power to Change Anything,” by Joseph Grenny, et al. The idea is based in marketing – an influencer motivates others to purchase, change, replace bad behaviors and generally makes things happen. In this month’s Harvard Business Review, Sinan Aral asks, “What would Ashton Kutcher do – and does it matter?” when discussing new research revealing the power and limits of influencers.

Our discussion at Partnership for Patients focused on making positive change in the care delivery model by using the power of influencers. The goal of harnessing this power for improvements in patient safety focused on the efficiency of peer-to-peer, word-of-mouth campaigns to achieve results. Further, we discussed how positive health maintenance and prevention behaviors could be enhanced through influencers.

It is difficult to measure the impact of human-influencers when evaluating the positive changes adopted in a healthcare setting. But there is no doubt influencers can improve performance. They can be one of the most powerful of the influential elements needed to change behaviors.

And we have video to prove it! See this amazing short video on hand washing – I promise it is fun (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=osUwukXSd0k). I think it is a great example demonstrating the power of an influencer – obvious peer support for positive behavioral change.

I hope this will help you think of your influence as you move around your hospital and community. Someone is always watching and listening to you as a leader and colleague. Your positive influence could change a life for the better. Your influence matters.

Austin, TX – At the forefront of health care is a push for individuals to become more active, engaged participants in their care. The upcoming Texas Partnership for Patients Conference in Austin focuses on how providers can practice patient-centered care and improve coordination for patients who transition across different health care provider types.

The educational event for health care providers, sponsored by leading health care organizations The Texas Center for Quality & Patient Safety, TMF Health Quality Institute and the Dallas-Fort Worth Hospital Council Foundation, emphasizes patient safety and preventive health to reduce unnecessary hospitalizations.

“Texas health care providers are focusing on the full range of factors that lead to unnecessary hospitalizations and how these affect not only patients but communities and the health care system as a whole,” said Earl E. Smith, III, MD, TMF’s Chief Medical Officer. “This conference provides a closer look into what we can do now to reduce rehospitalizations and improve the care experience for patients.”

Readmitting patients to the hospital within a month of discharge is a frequent—and costly—occurrence. Almost 25 percent of heart failure patients on Medicare, for example, are readmitted to the hospital within 30 days of discharge. The federal government says avoidable hospital readmissions cost the Medicare program billions of dollars a year.

Rather than focusing on the patient’s care in one particular setting (a doctor’s office or nursing home, for example), the conference takes a cross-setting approach to education that integrates outpatient physician office care with inpatient acute care.

Laura Townsend of the Louise H. Batz Patient Safety Foundation will deliver the keynote address. Townsend co-founded the Foundation in honor of her mother who passed away due to a medical error associated with a routine knee surgery. She will focus on empowering patients and families to be active participants in their health care.

Patrick Conway, MD, MSc, Chief Medical Officer for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), will provide a firsthand look at CMS’ approach to physician office quality reporting and measurement.

Additional sessions focus on topics such as health literacy, patients’ perception of care, cardiac care in women, the Million Hearts™ initiative, reducing hospital-acquired infections and conditions and improving patients’ transitions between care settings.

“The conference will bring together the best of Texas’ hospitals and staff who focus every day on improving care for Texans. Best practices in patient safety and patient engagement will be shared transparently between providers in an effort to accelerate the learning process,” said Kristin Jenkins, JD, MBA, FACHE, President of the Dallas-Fort Worth Hospital Council Foundation.

The conference takes its name from the national Partnership for Patients initiative, which aims to reduce hospital-acquired conditions by 40 percent and hospital readmissions by 20 percent. The larger goal is to engage patients in their care and provide for continuity across the continuum of care.

“Texas hospitals have taken proactive steps, such as engaging with the Texas Center for Quality & Patient Safety’s Partnership for Patients, which has led to tangible results in decreases in hospital-acquired infection rates,” said Mitzi Ressman, RN, FACHE, Executive Director of the Texas Center for Quality & Patient Safety.

Approximately 300 health care providers from various care settings are registered to attend the free conference in Austin, and several hundred more will attend remotely through a live webstream. For more information, including the full agenda and featured speakers, visit http://tinyurl.com/TexasP4P.

Texas Partnership for Patients Conference
Date: April 30 – May 1
Location: The Westin Hotel at the Domain in Austin
Attend on-site or through a live Internet webstream; continuing education credit offered for physicians, nurses and social workers.
Sponsors: Texas Center for Quality & Patient Safety, TMF Health Quality Institute and the Dallas-Fort Worth Hospital Council Foundation

On Thursday, April 18, the Dallas-Fort Worth Hospital Council Foundation provided a platform for hospitals to recognize their workforce through nominations to The Employee of the Year Luncheon. Opportunities for recognition beyond length of service are important in creating joy and meaning.

In a recent report from the National Patient Safety Foundation and the Lucian Leape Institute, “Through the Eyes of the Workforce: Creating Joy, Meaning, and Safer Health Care,” recognizing and celebrating workforce accomplishments with high visibility is one strategy recommended to improve patient safety and outcomes. This roundtable refers to Paul O’Neill, former chairman/CEO of Alcoa, who made staff safety paramount. In a prior roundtable he also challenged organizations to ask three questions of their workforce to determine excellence:

1. Am I treated with dignity and respect by everyone, every day, in each encounter, without regard to race, ethnicity, nationality, gender, religious belief, sexual orientation, title, pay grade or number of degrees?

2. Do I have what I need, including education, training, tools, financial support and encouragement, so I can make a contribution to this organization that gives
meaning to my life?

3. Am I recognized and thanked for what I do?

Thank you for sharing your inspirational stories which demonstrate joy and meaning by our regional hospital workforce. You are appreciated!

Joy and meaning will be created when the workforce feels valued, safe from harm and part of the solutions for change.

In my previous blog, I discussed five reasons why you should do physician data analytics including: 1) Improve communication, 2) Lower the overall costs, 3) Improve volume of patients seen, 4) Improve patient satisfaction and 5) Improve quality of patient care.

We recently obtained a tool for launching the pilot physician data analytics service. This project will involve developing a physician claims database (from the 5010 Professional EDI file) and applying analytical tools to the data. We can then compare financial and clinical parameters from the blinded data across different physician groups.

The new tool includes:
• The ability to aggregate data across demographic, financial and clinical areas;
• The identification and stratification of various populations based on configurable algorithms;
• The availability of standard reports including ACO, PQRS, HEDIS and cost versus quality metrics;
• Advance ad-hoc reports including comparative analysis across physician groups, i.e. group practice and system performance;
• Analytics and reporting
o Pilot project will focus on physician analytics and reporting from data contained in physician claims;
o With the addition of clinical information, the analytics can be more patient, clinical and case-management focused.

Once the analytics system is fully populated with administrative, financial and clinical data, functionality could be expanded to include:
• Predictive analysis based on over 20 risk factors;
• Population surveillance using population level guidelines at the patient level;
• Chronic illness tracking and management using evidence-based guidelines;
• Prevention, screening and wellness management;
• Integrated continuity of care record of the patient;
• Comprehensive case management functionality;
• Rx adherence and reconciliation management.

As you see from the functionality above, physician data analytics will be essential to effectively operate a physician practice group and provide the most efficient and effective patient care. The value equation or, Return on Investment (ROI), is very high!