Physicians as Practice Administrators
Introduction
Physician practices are a vital part of the United States healthcare system. A large proportion of revenue generated in the healthcare industry is directly associated with the care that physicians offer to their patients. Furthermore, physicians in the medical practice increase the medical stream by admitting patients, prescribing drugs, implementing home-based care, and referring patients to other healthcare providers. This essay will compare the various types of medical group practice. Furthermore, it will analyze how the role of physicians in medical practice has evolved and identify competencies that a physician should have to be a manager. In addition, it will assess the benefits of effective HRM and determine aspects of consumer behavior that should be considered. Hire our assignment writing services to save yourself tons of time and energy required for your assignment papers.
Medical Group Practice
Group practice is when three or more permanent physicians pool their expenditures and incomes from their medical practice and share the income between themselves according to a formulated plan (Zwiep et al., 2018). Doctors can use several medical practices, including hospital-based, locum tenens, large Health Maintenance Organizations (HMOs), and group practice. Group practice enables physicians to work for shorter hours with more working capital. This leads to the creation of a stress-free environment. One of the primary limitations of group practice is that there is less freedom for an individual doctor, bureaucratic decision-making, and slow growth of incomes.
Large HMOs are another type of group practice. HMOs contract workers to take care of their beneficiaries (Falkson & Srinivasan, 2021). HMOs can operate in a staff model or group model. HMOs aim to reduce medical costs for their beneficiaries. It is beneficial to physicians since there is a stable work-life with reasonable working hours regulatory responsibilities, and paperwork. There is, however, a lack of independence from the individual doctors. The other form is hospital-based practice. In hospital practice, doctors earn an anticipated salary with a constant stream of patients and a laid-down referral network (Penson, 2015). The benefit of hospital practice is a steady work plan with little commercial or legal risk and a steady income. The main limitation is that physicians lack independence.
The final type of medical practice is locum tenens, where physicians settle in areas that other specialists do not prefer. Locum tenens give short-term employment and have higher salaries when compared to permanent occupations (Blumenthal et al., 2017). In this practice, a physician can practice in different areas with flexible work schedules and a low cost of living. The major limitation is that they may not pay well with an inconsistent workflow. It is not suitable for physicians with salaries.
The most appropriate form of medical practice for a newly licensed doctor is a group practice. Group practice enables them to enjoy shorter working hours and have more working capital. They also have a less stressful work environment.
Role of Physician
The role of doctors in medical practice is to diagnose conditions, manage diseases, restore wellness, and do medical procedures in the healthcare delivery industry (Van der Wees et al., 2017). There have been changes in medical practice in the past two decades. Technology is currently significantly influencing how medical practice is conducted. The role of the physician must also adapt to the incorporation of technology into the medical practice. Technology is being used in the diagnosis and treatment of disease. Physicians are shifting from general practice to specialties. The technological changes currently present and influence physicians’ roles include telemedicine (Mishina et al., 2019), telepathology, the use of robotics, and the globalization of healthcare. Technology has made physicians rely on technology to offer healthcare services. The main challenges that physicians face are the need to be current with new technology and comply with regulations governing technology use, as well as ethical and legal issues that may arise from sharing patient information without their consent.
Physician Competencies
The main competencies of a practice manager include being excellent in core areas such as being clear in communication, being a leader who facilitates change, being familiar with current healthcare administration, being proficient, and having good business etiquette. The main hurdles that a physician might face as a practice manager include administrative requirements, patient satisfaction, and employee turnover (Figueroa et al., 2019). A manager should have excellent communication skills to communicate organizational objectives. In addition to this, he must be aware of administrative requirements and be a visionary leader who implements change. There is a high employee turnover due to competition, a shortage of workers, and unsuitable working environments. Patient satisfaction is also an issue due to the demand for high-quality care with low costs. Finally, practice managers face the challenging task of balancing administrative work, medical practice, and personal life.
Human Resource Management (HRM)
HRM is critical since it ensures the provision of quality patient-centered care, leading to optimum patient outcomes. The three primary functions of HRM that can attract and retain employees needed to deliver quality care include staffing, compensation, and development (Ramadevi et al., 2016). Staffing involves hiring and terminating part-time and full-time employees. Human resource managers must identify employees with talents and professionalism during the recruitment process. Employee development is also essential since employees must be trained and allowed to develop professionally. This will improve their job satisfaction and, hence, retention. The organization must also provide the resources needed to perform tasks. The final task is compensation. Human resource managers must identify employees who are performing well and reward them. Employee rewards include promotions and bonuses. This will motivate employees. In turn, a healthcare organization can attract more employees and retain the already existing ones.
Consumer Behavior
Consumer behavior can be defined as the study of consumers and their strategies when choosing and discarding products and services to satisfy their physical and emotional needs and wants (Peighambari et al., 2016). The three aspects of customer behavior that physicians should consider include personal, psychological, and social factors. Personal factors are personal opinions and interests that are influenced by demographics. On the other hand, psychological factors are how individuals respond to marketing messages due to their attitudes. Lastly, social factors involve educational levels, socioeconomic factors, and friends. All these three factors influence consumer behavior. The rationale for selecting these factors is that they influence how consumers perceive marketing. It also helps in the formulation of marketing strategies (Peighambari et al., 2016). It will inform the physician segmentation needs, pricing, and practice locations.
Conclusion
There are different types of medical practices, with group practice being the most suitable for newly licensed physicians due to the flexibility of working hours. The paper also discussed how physician practice has primarily been attributed to the incorporation of technology into healthcare. Physicians should have good communication skills, proficiency, and vision for change to be effective as practice managers. This paper has also determined that the critical functions of HRM that can lead to employee retention are staffing, development, and compensation. Finally, the three aspects of consumer behaviors that physicians should be aware of are social, personal, and psychological factors since they help formulate marketing strategies and pricing.
References
Blumenthal, D. M., Olenski, A. R., Tsugawa, Y., & Jena, A. B. (2017). Association between treatment by locum tenens internal medicine physicians and 30-day mortality among hospitalized Medicare beneficiaries. JAMA, 318(21), 2119. https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2017.17925
Falkson, S. R., & Srinivasan, V. N. (2021, March 11). Health maintenance organization. National Center for Biotechnology Information. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK554454/
Figueroa, C. A., Harrison, R., Chauhan, A., & Meyer, L. (2019). Priorities and challenges for health leadership and workforce management globally: A rapid review. BMC Health Services Research, 19(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-019-4080-7
Mishina, I. E., Gudukhin, A. A., Sarana, A. M., & Urazov, S. P. (2019). Analysis of modern practice of remote forms of medical consultations and dispensary observation of patients with ischemic heart disease (literature review). CardioSomatics, 10(1), 42-50.
Peighambari, K., Sattari, S., Kordestani, A., & Oghazi, P. (2016). Consumer behavior research. SAGE Open, 6(2), 215824401664563. https://doi.org/10.1177/2158244016645638
Penson, D. F. (2015). Re: Vertical integration: Hospital ownership of physician practices is associated with higher prices and spending. Journal of Urology, 193(1), 256-257. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.juro.2014.09.028
Ramadevi, D., Gunasekaran, A., Roy, M., Rai, B. K., & Senthilkumar, S. (2016). Human resource management in a healthcare environment: Framework and case study. Industrial and Commercial Training, 48(8), 387-393. https://doi.org/10.1108/ict-03-2016-0014
Van der Wees, P. J., Wammes, J. J., Jeurissen, P. P., & Westert, G. P. (2017). The role of physicians and their professional bodies in containing health care costs. Family Practice, 34(6), 637-638. https://doi.org/10.1093/fampra/cmx079
Zwiep, T. M., Greenberg, J. A., Balaa, F., McIsaac, D. I., Musselman, R. P., Raiche, I., Williams, L., & Moloo, H. (2018). Impact of group practices on patients, physicians, and healthcare systems: Protocol for a scoping review. BMJ Open, 8(9), e022164. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2018-022164
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Question 
Physicians as Practice Administrators
Physician practices are a key component of the U.S. healthcare system. According to the text, a significant amount of revenue that the healthcare industry generates can be directly linked to the care that physicians provide for their patients. In addition, physicians in a medical practice add to this revenue stream by admitting patients to a hospital, prescribing prescription medication, ordering home health services and medical equipment, and referring their patients to other health care providers for care and treatment. As a future healthcare administrator, it is important for you to demonstrate an understanding of the challenges and opportunities that today’s physicians face in providing quality healthcare services.
Write a 4–6 page paper in which you:
1. Compare the main various forms of medical group practice. Next, select the form that would be most attractive to a newly licensed physician. Justify your selection.
2. Analyze how the role of the physician in a medical practice has changed in the past twenty years. Assess three specific challenges that today’s physicians face as members of a medical group practice. Support your response.
3. Suggest three specific competencies that a physician should demonstrate to be successful as a practice manager. Next, determine three hurdles that a physician might face as the leader of a group practice. Provide a rationale for your response.
4. Assess the value of effective Human Resources Management (HRM) in a medical practice. Suggest three functions of HRM that are necessary to attract and retain the type of employees needed for the practice in order to achieve long-term success. Support your recommendations with specific examples of how each function impacts the overall success of the practice.
5. Determine three aspects of consumer behavior that the physician’s practice management should consider as part of an effective marketing strategy for medical practices. Provide a rationale for your response.
6. Use at least three quality academic resources. Note: Wikipedia does not qualify as an academic resource.
The specific course learning outcome associated with this assignment is:
Determine physician competencies, HRM functions, and marketing strategies a group practice must assume to ensure the long-term success of the practice.