HCPro.com: Medical Staff Briefing

July 2008 (Volume 18, Issue 7)	view entire issue

The effect on exclusive contracts
Hospitals that engage physicians in exclusive contracts or employment agreements need to be aware that such arrangements-if not crafted carefully-can create potentially dangerous loopholes. Michael Callahan, Esq., a senior healthcare attorney at Chicago-based Katten Muchin Rosenman, LLP, says Robert Lee Berry, the anesthesiologist at the center of the Kadlec case (see "Kadlec overview" below), fell through a pretty big one. Berry was a member of Covington, LA-based Lakeview Anesthesia Associates, which had an exclusive contract with Lakeview Regional Medical Center. Callahan says physicians under exclusive contracts with hospitals typically waive their fair hearing rights.

Measuring interpersonal and communication skills
Editor's note: In the June MSB, we saw how one hospital is measuring practice-based learning and improvement according to the ACGME/Joint Commission six core competencies. This month, we explore how Vanderbilt University Medical Center is measuring and improving physician communication skills. The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME)/Joint Commission's six core competencies are: 1. Patient care 2. Medical knowledge 3. Practice-based learning and improvement 4. Interpersonal and communication skills 5. Professionalism 6. Systems-based practice According to the ACGME, the interpersonal and communication skills competency requires physicians to "demonstrate interpersonal and communication skills that result in the effective exchange of information and collaboration with patients, their families, and health professionals."

Other recently-published articles from Medical Staff Briefing:

Competency of the month: Measuring systems-based practice

Practice makes perfect: Physician refresher/re-entry courses

Post-Kadlec best practices

Simplifying the medical staff structure

Competency of the month: Measuring professionalism

Florida Supreme Court makes peer review transparent

Measuring interpersonal and communication skills

The effect on exclusive contracts

Step 4a: The right relationship

Ensuring adequate FTEs for an efficient MSO

Measuring practice-based learning and improvement

The dos and don’ts of conducting fair hearings

Improving the patient experience through communication

Competency of the month: Measuring medical knowledge

Developing a physician recruitment strategy

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