The Master of Arts in Medical Humanities and Bioethics Program presents
A Montgomery Lecture
with
Eric J. Keller, MA
MD Candidate
Member, Center for Bioethics and Medical Humanities
Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine
The Painful Puberty of Physician-Administration Relationships in a Growing Healthcare Organization
Healthcare in the United States is increasingly delivered by large healthcare organizations, bringing together clinicians, healthcare administrators, and hybrid physician-administrators. Numerous op-ed pieces and scarce studies suggest that both administrators and physicians have struggled to collaborate and, at times, feel their goals are contradictory.
Despite various administrative efforts, including the creation of a physician engagement committee, physician engagement scores at a large academic healthcare system have remained relatively low. In response, I was asked to perform an in-depth analysis of semi-structured interviews with 40 administrators and physicians across all levels (practice managers to presidents) and specialties (colorectal surgeons to pathologists) about their roles and views of physician-administration relationships. The preliminary results revealed a dramatic disconnect between these groups that varied in interesting ways across various healthcare areas.
During the talk, I will propose my hypothesis regarding what drives this disconnect and what could be done to lessen it.