Putting 2011 Physician Engagement Findings to Work

by Patrick Corrigan, VP, Physician Surveys and Services

As we enter into 2012, now is a great time to reflect on what we have learned from 2011. In fact, the timing is perfect for our upcoming February 21 webcast, "2011 in Review: The State of Physician Engagement."

This annual webcast is typically one of our most widely attended, and frankly, that makes sense. We know how important the overarching themes of physician-hospital relations are to healthcare leaders and understand the diversity of challenges these leaders face on a number of fronts. Whether it’s the implementation of a Patient-Centered Medical Home (PCMH) model or the build out of an Accountable Care Organization (ACO), healthcare and physician leaders all seem to understand the importance of measuring an organization’s physician engagement. It’s encouraging to see how healthcare leaders are hungry for this type of data and how anxious they are to put it to good use.

Physician engagement surely plays a role in the ever-changing environment of hospital and physician alignment and influences how an organization proceeds down various strategic pathways. I wonder if there has ever been a time when getting it right, with regard to how hospitals and healthcare administrations measure and use engagement data, has ever been more important. Understanding what physicians are telling us plays a critical role in the development of an organization’s strategy and approach to change.

In this upcoming webcast, we will explore the 2011 summative physician engagement findings from employed/staff physicians’ perspectives. We’ll discuss the key drivers of physician engagement as compared to previous years, overall historical trending from a longer-term perspective, and overall opportunities for maximizing hospital-physician relations in 2012. We invite you to join us on February 21.

In the meantime, I would love to hear from you as healthcare leaders and physician leaders. How are you integrating physician engagement measurement and findings into your organization’s physician-hospital relations strategy?