Radiology Partners leverages physician expertise with leadership boards

California-based radiology practice Radiology Partners (RP) has created internal physician boards to drive improvement and allow the appointed MDs greater input on nationwide support functions. The boards will focus on human resources, radiology service coordinators, and RP’s physician leadership curriculum.

RP is a practice with more than 300 radiologists in seven states, necessitating a split in decision-making between local practices and nationwide administration. Individual clinics are given freedom with facets that directly affect patient care, but scalable systems like PACS or revenue cycles are standard nationwide.

While RP has internal feedback mechanisms already in place, formalizing the process is a drastic improvement, according to COO Anthony Gabriel, MD.

“Before this we had monthly conference calls and meetings where we would solicit feedback in these categories, hoping people might chime in. Now, these are paid positons and we’ve got doctors we can depend on, consistently working with HR or support leadership every month,” he said.

Physicians make up approximately 5 percent of today’s hospital and clinic leaders, but the shift from volume- to value-based care is pushing administration to welcome more doctors into the ranks. They can bridge the gap between the clinical and business operations of a practice, and a shared history and language gives physician leaders credibility among the doctors they represent.

This physician input into non-clinical parts of the practice is what makes the boards so valuable, according to Gabriel, pointing to the HR board’s guidance on how they conduct employee reviews.

“The board-appointed doctors are writing the questions and deciding who gets the surveys, ensuring that our review process has physician-driven information,” he said. “They’re driving important aspects of the practice."