Physician Alignment
Case Study:
Medical Staff Development Plan
Challenge
Mission Hospitals in Asheville, North Carolina represent the only tertiary service providers in a 20 county area in western North Carolina. The hospital needed a physician manpower plan to help ensure that it was meeting the needs of the community in the near term. They also needed a better understanding of the long-term demand for physician care. Those long-term needs influenced by evolving technology, demographics, and limited supply of some specialties, represented issues that needed to be addressed through the strategic plan.
In addition, the organization required physician support for its final conclusions. Thus the process had to be transparent, and physician leaders had to understand and accept the process and assumptions used.
Solution
Healthcare Strategy Group implemented a comprehensive physician manpower planning process. Evaluating current needs was completed through community interviews, physician interviews, an age analysis, a survey of the medical staff and several manpower models, which project need per 100,000 population. The process was further refined so that manpower models reflected the reality of local practice, and the prevalence of illness in the local market.
An additional product was an evaluation of long-term demand for medical care. A separate analysis identified the specialties where risk of shortage was greatest, and suggested strategies to reduce those risks. This included review of 500 + articles related to trends in care, trends in manpower demand, new technology, and an evaluation of relevant local trends as well.
Results
The end result was a set of recommendations that addressed the needs and were transparent to the physician leaders. Mission executives got the plan they needed that defined the needs for new physicians in an objective manner. They also got support from medical leadership.
