Reenergizing, and refocusing, healthcare

I very much enjoyed being with many great colleagues at the State Medical Association meetings last week, hearing the concerns of many physicians and healthcare providers.

Many of our best and most talented providers are tired. Tired of the litany of forms, documents, bills, compliance measures and a myriad of elements of the business of medicine.

Of interest, Albert Wright, CEO of WVUHS and my partner in WVU Medicine, showed that the fastest rising employee group is made up of administrative folks that work on compliance, billing, reimbursement and other important components of the business of medicine.

These experiences underscore the fact that we are lost as a profession, while we have grown immeasurably as a business.

The business of medicine has gone a different direction from the purpose of medicine. It is time for us to rebalance this equation.

How?

First of all, we need to embrace the reason or the magic that got many of us hooked on healthcare as a profession.

Serving and caring for others.

In a world that values metrics and analytics, we need to understand that cognitive workers, like doctors, nurses and other healthcare workers, focus on autonomy, mastery and purpose, not on financial incentives for their best work.

Could WV be the place that we rediscover the magic that attracted us to our field?

Like Field of Dreams, we are building it and they are coming.

From places like Duke, Ohio State, UPMC, Stanford, UNC, Mayo, Cleveland Clinic, Mt Sinai, MD Anderson, and many others.

Drawn by our purpose – which is not only to improve the health of our state’s citizens, but also to change medicine.

Sick to well. Healthcare to health. Business to purpose.

Lets go!

Special thanks to Angie Brown for her photos from the event!