Loving Austin

Recently, I served as a faculty co-presenter at an ACHE fall cluster in Austin, TX.  The mnemonic that resonated with the healthcare executives who participated in Practical Strategies for Engaging Physicians was CRITTERS, to enhance clinical integration:

• Communication: inviting physicians to provide input before any major decisions are made
• Representation: making sure that clinical champions, who have earned their colleagues’ trust, are at the table
• Incentives to improve quality and safety, as well as the bottom line
• Transparency: helping physicians understand how decisions are made and according to what timelines
• Trust: stemming from transparency, so that there are no decision-making surprises
• Engagement: meaning two sides coming together in a spirit of inquiry rather than enmity
• Reimbursement: involving ways for both sides to increase revenues by enlarging the pie
• Speed: understanding that when physicians feel that their time is not respected, they feel personally disrespected

Austin was a conducive setting to reflect, as seen in the photos of walking paths adjacent to the hotel where the seminar took place.  The lake was created by the Longhorn Dam of the Colorado River in 1960 and named after Ladybird Johnson when she died in 2007.

With its eclectic music, restaurants, and parks, Austin is a city to which I look forward to returning.

As always, I welcome your input to improve healthcare collaboration where you work.

Kenneth H. Cohn

© 2011, all rights reserved

Disclosure: I have not received any compensation for writing this content. I have no material connection to the brands, topics and/or products that are mentioned herein.

Posted in Physician Engagement

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