Physician executives fill a variety of roles in many different kinds of health care organizations. Below is a list of activities that physician executives will sometimes do as part of those roles. The list was compiled from many job descriptions which vary tremendously from organization to organization.

ACPE cautions you not to just read 8 or 9 job descriptions and pick items to create one for your organization. Instead, you need to first ask yourself and your senior leaders this question: What is the ultimate purpose of this person being here?

Example: The VPMA is here to improve clinical performance.

Next, focus on what you want the person to accomplish. What activities will lead to accomplishing those goals? “Liaison between administration and physicians” means nothing unless there is an ultimate purpose for that. The purpose is to create an effective team of administrators and medical staff.

ACPE doesn’t support any particular job description, and what works well in one organization may not work well in another. There must be a well-defined, specific purpose (or set of purposes) behind the description. You need to create outcomes that can be measured and then list activities that will accomplish it.

Potential Activities

• Improve clinical performance
• Oversee conversion to evidence-based medicine
• Head up safety initiatives
• Direct quality assurance
• Direct utilization review activities
• Recruit physicians
• Oversee credentialing and privileging of physicians
• Evaluate physician performance and recommend corrective action
• Manage physician performance
• Coordinates activities of the Hospital’s Infection Control Program
• Serve as liaison between physicians and administrative personnel
• Serve as liaison with outside organizations about issues such as marketing, consumer affairs, public relations, community support
• Develop provider relations
• Resolve member or provider grievances
• Prepare medical expense budget
• Develop staffing plans
• Assure compliance with corporate policies, by laws, and mission statement
• Assure that medical staff efforts meet or exceed standards of the various accrediting and approving bodies
• Assist in design of educational programs for hospital employees
• Perform special projects as assigned by the board of directors
• Mediate professional disputes and interdepartmental problems
• Member/ex-officio member of the board of directors.

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Sample VPMA/CMO Job Description

VPMA/CMO Job Responsibilities Primary Responsibilities:

• Provides leadership and expertise for hospital quality and clinical effectiveness. The VPMA/CMO will evaluate and optimize the care management approach, process of disease management, patient satisfaction, patient safety and develop processes to assure appropriateness of care including length of stay and ancillary resource utilization.
• Provides an environment of quality and cost improvement that is data driven and develops systems to review utilization of resources and objectively measure outcomes of care in the inpatient and outpatient settings. Monitors physician and group patterns, presents data, analysis and interpretation to physicians and physician and hospital committees for review.
• Assures that quality management programs are carried out in all clinical areas through the development and implementation of effective disease management programs, clinical protocols and guidelines, other decision tools, and review of the outcomes. Develops a performance database incorporating JCAHO and other key quality indicators to provide leadership necessary to meet regulatory requirements and guidelines.
• Partners and collaborates with the medical staff and management team, facilitating teamwork and shared goals. Help represent medical staff viewpoints to administration and relay administrative views to medical staff.
• Develops a clinical decision support system to access utilization, quality and cost data. Provides strategic leadership by focusing teams and organization units on visions and distinctive strategies that result in excellent short and long-term performance in clinical, service and financial outcomes. Integrate evidence-based medicine practices wherever possible, building this into new and existing patient care delivery systems.
• Provides on-going counsel and advice to the Chief of Staff and Chief of Staff Elect of the medical staff on physician matters. The primary responsibility and authority for dealing with medical staff matters and concerns will rest with the Chief of the medical staff. Facilitates, intervenes and moderates all major physician-physician, physician-patient, and physician-staff concerns in collaboration with Chief of Staff and other appropriate medical staff and executive team members.
• Establishes and maintains an ongoing program to orient and develop management expertise for Chiefs of Staff, members of the Medical Executive Committee, Clinical Chiefs, and other medical staff leaders. (S)he will develop and prioritize goals/objectives and work plans, including the definition and measurement of outcomes, which are consistent with the overall organizational strategy and mission.
• Leads the Integrative Care Management Team in achievement of clinical outcomes, length of stay, denial reduction strategies and achieving best practice goals. Work closely with the Chief Nursing Officer and Vice Presidents for Clinical Services to achieve effective care management processes and develop new initiatives to improve clinical quality.
• Provides oversight and leadership for all medical education programs. The placement will assure strong and continued relationships with Wright State University School of Medicine.
• Implements organizational structures which promote shared accountability, high achievement and compliance with applicable laws and regulations; this to include electronic linkages and care delivery tools.
• Ensures medical staff development plans and programs are implemented and maintained as required by policy.
• Integrates clinical care quality and management with nursing, operations and finance; partners with members of the senior management team, particularly the Chief Nursing Officer, in this endeavor.
• Dedicates resources and time to developing physician leadership in an incremental manner, with a focus on the existing medical staff officers and clinical chiefs.
• Interacts with HealthCare Partners at the corporate level, coordinating reporting and collaboration with hospital and system physician leadership and physician peers.
• Facilitating collaboration and teamwork with the medical staff.
• Takes a lead role on sentinel events team.

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Education and Experience

Education:

• Medical education and training at institutions of high repute; Board Certification in a clinical discipline is required.
• Additional education and coursework in management and business would enhance candidacy. An MBA or equivalent business experience preferred.

Experience:

• At least 10 years of clinical practice, with a reputation as an excellent physician.
• Demonstrable leadership role and achievement in a complex healthcare delivery system.
• Experience in fiscal accountability and budgeting.
• Knowledge and experience of quality infrastructure is needed, including how to develop and implement decision tools, clinical protocols and guidelines, care management programs, and outcome measurement assessments.
• Needs working knowledge of information technology, including statistical analysis, clinical epidemiology, and medical informatics; understanding of best practices and how to successfully introduce information technology into clinical practice.

Attributes Sought:

• A philosophy of collaboration and teamwork.
• A demonstrable track record in forging physician/management relations.
• Clinical credibility with physician constituencies.
• A mission-driven individual who can embrace and commit to Mission and Core Values; articulate about stewardship.
• A philosophy of management by walking around, and high visibility in the clinical forum.
• A self-starter, results-oriented personality.
• High tolerance for complex, ambiguous, and ever-shifting environments, including a matrix management structure.
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills, with the ability to build consensus given a high premium; noticeable skills in engaging physicians and finding synergies; an interactive style which is pleasant.
• The ability to relate well to a wide variety of individuals.
• Comfortable working in groups, forming teams of physicians and management, with an ease in working with other diverse groupings.
• Understanding of how to create change through influence and not through direct authority.
• Evidence of showing firmness of resolve with both Administration and the physicians.
• Strong persuasive abilities.
• Demonstrated results in spanning the dichotomy between practicing physicians and Administration effectively.
• Analytical with the ability to draw conclusions from the data.
• Has the attitude of prioritization not scarcity.
• The ability to hear, to understand, to reflect, and to mediate on issues.
• An appreciation of the importance of the clinical team, and what nursing, patient care departments and operations brings to the patient care endeavor, and the strength of that clinical partnership.
• A sense of humor and the ability to generate optimism in fellow team members.

Expectations:
In the first eighteen months to two years, significant progress should be demonstrated in the following areas:

• Trust will continue to have increased between administration and the medical staff and there will be a stronger sense of collaboration and partnership in the patient care enterprise.
• Integration of the position of the Vice President for Medical Affairs/Chief Medical Officer as a key and co-equal member of the senior management team.
• Effective working relationship with Chief of Staff and other medical staff leaders.
• Promote honoring of a culture of consensus, but streamline decisions through collaboration and a matrixed structure in conjunction with the medical staff leadership.
• Clinical excellence will be further recognized and affirmed through quantifiable metrics in performance.
• There should be discernible evolution of the existing and newly identified physician leadership at HealthCare Partners and James Valley Hospital.
• There should be a stronger sense that Administration is mindful of physician issues when setting direction and policy.
• The entire medical community will have a sense of the continued success of James Valley Hospital, and an appreciation of the growth, expansions, and resources necessary to maintain health services leadership in the Compton community.
• There will be measurable improvement in physician and patient satisfaction.
• Be an advocate for the medical staff vantage point in promoting collaboration with Administration and the Board of Trustees.

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