Top 3 Reasons Healthcare Systems are Turning to Physician Executives

There was a time when doctors used to work for endless hours throughout the week. They used to come early in the morning (even before dawn) and stay with their patients until their condition was stable. From reviewing test reports to diagnosis results to X-ray results, each and everything used to be one man’s task. In simple words, a doctor was expected to be a one man army. But things have changed a great deal now. What used to be a one man’s job, has now become a team effort. It’s not just one physician working on a patient, but a whole team of senior and junior doctors who make every possible effort to treat the patient. This is where physician leadership comes into play. When its about getting the whole team together and making all the participating individuals work as cogs in a wheel, the whole picture changes! No wonder experienced physicians are trying their best to become the physician executives. Here are three reasons why healthcare systems are turning to physician executives.

1. Experience

Earlier, it was a common practice among medical institutions to hire CEO’s, CFO’s etc from other industries, solely because they didn’t have experience in handling the administrative and management level responsibilities. But it was noticed that CEOs from other industries didn’t have experience in working with a medical institution, and thus, it became a necessity to search for management level personnel who have worked as physicians too, and hence, physician executives came into the picture. Their experience as a practicing physician and their present management skills make them a suitable choice for making management level decisions.

2. Resource

Needless to say, the experience of a physician executive as a practicing physician also helps a lot in patient care, operational issues, as well as in building relations with other medical institutions and realms of this particular market. This is where the management skills of a physician executive blend with their medical experience. They are able to communicate with the other hospitals and discuss things with ease, because, for them, medical jargons are not an issue, they are the terms that the physicians and physician executives use on a daily basis.

3. Qualification Matters

While a physician is able to work as a medical practitioner, it is also a responsibility of a physician executive to have ample management skills to be a good match for the job. MBA in hospital management, total quality management (TQM), marketing, accounting and financial understanding are some of the strong suits of a physician executive. The versatile skillset of physician executives empowers them to play the role of a physician administrator as well as of a CEO for the institution. A manager who also knows the work done by the operations department is a big advantage for the organization.

When a doctor is also able to work as an administrator or a CEO, CFO or operations head, everything starts falling into place for a hospital. It’s like having an experienced hand and a well-learned authority to look up to. See, it all comes down to one question:

Who would you choose as your medical institute’s CEO? 

Someone who knows how to handle a company but has no prior knowledge of the industry? Or someone who has worked up from the operations to management, accumulating all the necessary skills along the journey?