On a recent visit to a hospital client, I was having coffee in the atrium between meetings, watching as new banners went up on the walls. These banners celebrated a milestone: the hospital’s 75th year of service to its community. This made me think about how the decisions being made today can impact the care delivered a generation from now. I believe there’s a way for physicians and administrations to use compensation as a tool to build a lasting legacy at their facilities.

Empowering your hospital’s most consistent and enduring asset

As a hospital’s most consistent and enduring asset, the medical staff has an opportunity to create a legacy of physician involvement in the decision-making surrounding compensation. Our programs are designed to give physicians a voice so they will be able to shepard their hospital’s compensation programs into the future regardless of how many times the hospital experiences changes in ownership or leadership. Physician involvement not only creates continuity and consistency, it also lends invaluable insights. For example, when we’re designing call compensation programs, physicians are given the chance to share their experiences and give their peers a glimpse into the frequency and intensity of their unassigned call coverage. These discussions give physicians a better understanding of who’s sharing this workload, which helps establish a standard of fairness in a call pay program.

Decreasing the likelihood of closure by improving sustainability

Administrators make decisions everyday that will impact the future of their facilities. In today’s environment, more and more hospitals are closing due to financial constraints. If administrators take a long-term approach and utilize compensation packages designed with sustainability in mind, this trend could be reversed. Our programs: the Physicians’ Advantage Plan, the Hospital Executive Advantage Plan, and Physician Employment Strategies, all incorporate funding methods that allow hospitals to recover a portion of their compensation expense, making it more affordable to recruit, retain, and reward their physician and executive talent. When compensation packages are more sustainable, it is easier for a hospital to maintain its financial viability, especially in today’s competitive landscape.

Many hospitals are narrowly focused on reducing cost and increasing margins for the next quarter. While these are pressing goals, it is equally important to keep an eye on the future to ensure the banners in our hospitals will one day boast 200 years of service to their communities.