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Executive
Summary:
Exploring
Dual Commitment Among Physician Executives in Managed Care
Timothy J. Hoff, Ph.D., assistant professor, School of Public Health,
University at Albany, State University of New York
The growth
of a medical management specialty is a significant event associated with
managed care. Physician executives are lauded for their potential in bridging
the clinical and managerial realms. They also serve as a countervailing
force to help the medical profession and patients maintain a strong voice
in healthcare decision making at the strategic level. However, little
is known about their work loyalties. These attitudes are important to
explore because they speak to whose interests physician executives consider
and represent in their everyday management roles. If physician executives
are to maximize their effectiveness in the healthcare workplace, both
physicians and organizations must view them as credible sources of authority.
This
study examines organizational and professional commitment among a national
sample of physician executives employed in managed care settings. Data
used for the analysis come from a national survey conducted through the
American College of Physician Executives in 1996.The findings support
the notion that physician executives can and do express simultaneous loyalty
to organizational and professional interests. This dual commitment is
related to other work attitudes that contribute to success in the management
role. In addition, it appears that situational factors increase the chances
for dual commitment. These factors derive from a favorable work environment
that includes both organizational and professional socialization in the
management role. The results of the study are useful in specifying the
training and socialization needs of physicians who wish to do management
work. They also provide a rationale for collaboration between healthcare
organizations and rank-and-file physicians aimed at cultivating physician
executives who are credible leaders within the healthcare system.
For more
information on this article, please contact Dr. Hoff at: thoff@albany.edu.
Executive
Summary:
Value-Based
Partnering in Healthcare: A Framework for Analysis
David W. Young, D.B.A., professor, Healthcare Management Program, Boston
University School of Management, Massachusetts; Diana Barrett, D.B.A.,
senior lecturer, Harvard Business School, Boston, Massachusetts; John
W. Kenagy, M.D., M.P.A., F.A.C.S., visiting scholar, Harvard Business
School, Boston, Massachusetts; Diane C. Pinakiewicz, M.B.A., senior director,
Schering-Plough Pharmaceuticals, Kenilworth, New Jersey; and Sheila M.
McCarthy, M.B.A., senior associate, The CrimsonGroup, Inc., Cambridge,
Massachusetts
Value-based
partnering is designed to move the healthcare system beyond cost-based
competition. It recognizes that the healthcare "product "is not a commodity
and that much of the value in the system comes from relationships between
and among four stakeholders: consumers, providers, health plans, and employers.
Given the difficulty of measuring such benefits as quality of care, improved
health status, and increased employee productivity, stakeholders within
the system traditionally have focused on easily measurable financial considerations
such as premium rates. This focus has led to a system that defines relationships
in purely financial terms. In contrast, the value-based partnering model
presented in this article recognizes the range of factors that stakeholders
consider in their relationships with each other.
This
approach has the potential to change the nature of competition and presents
opportunities for those organizations that can effectively partner with
other stakeholders and demonstrate value, rather than just lower cost.
Moreover, by recognizing the interdependencies among stakeholder groups,
the approach creates a strategic reason for employers, health plans, providers,
and consumers to exchange information and create long-term alliances.
For more
information on this article, please contact Ms.McCarthy at: www.thecrimsongroup.net.
This
article was prepared with support from Schering-Plough Pharmaceuticals.
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