Implement physician councils to enable better physician-hospital communication

The concept behind physician councils is that physicians should have multiple avenues for communicating with the hospital’s decision makers and vice versa. Physician councils are meetings established to support constructive dialogue between physicians and the hospital about what matters most to the people in the room. Physicians and hospital managers should be communicating about issues, such as patient care quality issues, community needs, new technology, and new service line opportunities. Less obvious topics include the hospital’s business future and the future of physician practices.

Physician councils can take many forms. A council can be a separate MEC meeting during which the only items on the agenda are concerns physicians would like management to address. One hospital implemented a monthly one-hour MEC meeting with senior hospital management, followed by a second hour during which selected physicians are invited; each month, a different group of physicians is invited. Physicians and administrators can raise any issue, and it will be discussed thoughtfully. Another hospital moved to weekly MEC meetings. This allows physicians and administrators to discuss important issues without the constraints of mandated MEC activities and created a culture of openness and productive discussion. It also reflects an exceptional level of commitment from medical staff leaders.

At other hospitals, the CEO may choose to hand pick a group of physicians to form their own “kitchen cabinet,” so to speak. CEOs may choose physicians who admit a large number of patients to the hospital, informal opinion leaders, senior medical staff members, entrepreneurial drivers, etc. They may also invited board members or other senior executives to kitchen cabinet meetings, and the chief of staff and other officers may participate to ensure that the medical staff’s elected leaders are part of the process.