» Retention of a Capable, Strong Healthcare Team

In today's marketplace it is imperative for healthcare organizations to provide programs that reduce the turnover of staff. How much money is your organization wasting every year due to inappropriate behavior, unresolved conflicts and friction? Statistics have shown that a single disruptive physician can cost an organization $150,000 per year in employee turnover.* Replacement and retraining costs for an employee is estimated to be between 70-200% of the departing employee's annual income.*
Does your organization have that money to spare?
Staff retention among physicians, nurses, and allied professionals is an objective of every solid, stable healthcare delivery program. The Balanced Physician Program is designed to influence staff turnover in important ways. Here are the facts:

• When employees quit their jobs, they don't quit the organization - they quit the people they work with. One of the most important determinants of retention is the relationships between people. These are ties that bind. They strongly influence the desire to stay... or the perception that life would be better elsewhere.
  
  
• In a survey of medical staff personnel who had decided to change jobs, 74% did so because of problems associated with team relationships.

» Improvement of Productivity and Employee Satisfaction

Results of a physician retention survey released in 2005 concluded that early preventive care taken to maximize physician satisfaction can play a key role in preempting physician turnover.

A key finding of the survey shows that more than half (54 percent) of physicians who leave their medical groups do so within the first five years. The Balanced Physician program is a great tool to develop the skills that guarantee a smooth integration in the group and an increased productivity and satisfaction.

A case stuy on the return on investment of executive coaching revealed that productivity (60% favorable) and employee satisfaction (53%) were cited as the most significantly impacted by the coaching. Respondents defined productivity in this context as relating to their personal or to their work group productivity and half (50%) documented annualized financial benefits.

Prepared by: Merrill C. Anderson, Ph.D, MetrixGlobal, LLC, November 2, 2001

» Reduction of Medical Malpractice Risk

Medical malpractice has a huge impact on the reputation and the financial performance of a healthcare organization.

Consider that 83% of all medical malpractice lawsuits are stimulated by inappropriate behavior of the physician in combination with a medical error, while only 17% stem from a medical error alone.

This means that we can expect nearly a 500% decrease in malpractice claims when inappropriate behavior is eliminated. It stands to reason that when a physician improves their interpersonal skills the likelihood of a medical malpractice lawsuit would be dramatically reduced.

» Improvement of physicians' well-being as required by JCAHO

As of January 1, 2001, all hospitals are required by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) to have a process to address physician well being. The Balanced Physician program focuses on the personal well-being of the physicians and its measurable improvement. As a result the Balanced Physician program can contribute to a decrease of physician stress, illnesses and burnout.

» Cost-Containment in a Market-Driven System of Healthcare

A successful organization is not only measured financially by the revenue they bring in, but also by the expenses they keep low. Healthcare is a sensitive industry that requires a high level of financial management and tight fiscal policy with regard to expenses.

By focusing on the interpersonal skills and self-management skills of physicians, healthcare organization can reduce expenses by:

• Increasing patient satisfaction and retention.
  Patients who like their physician and enjoyed a positive experience in a medical practice will refer friends and family members to the medical practice.
  Attracting new patients costs 6 times as much as it does to keep the ones they have by ensuring they are satisfied.
  
  
• Increasing healthcare employee satisfaction and reduced turnover
  which means keeping more of the money that they make.
  
  
• Reducing medical malpractice lawsuite likelihood
  Patients who like their physicians will less likely sue them. Enhanced patient and employee satisfaction and increased physician personal effectiveness, communication and interpersonal skills will lower the medical malpractice liability.

» Availability of Valuable Education Programs

Successful physicians (success measured by satisfaction of the physician, satisfaction of patients, satisfaction of staff and financial rewards) are physicians with strong personal leadership skills.

Therefore as a provider and resource of educational programs, a healthcare organization needs to provide educational programs that focus not only on clinical skills but also interpersonal and self-management skills. This allows physicians to function at higher levels of productivity and to enjoy more fulfilled lives professionally and personally.

The reputation of an institution is established by the multitude of experiences. The most important component of these is the people that are encountered, including patients, employees, vendors and physicians. The physician, in particular, is a strong influence on the atmosphere there, not only as a place to practice their clinical skills, but as an environment to live out their lives, to develop relationships, to impact people's lives.

It is this latter aspect that The Balanced Physician Program is designed to enhance.

The personal well-being of physicians and hospital staff, and the relationships among this talented group of professionals, are perhaps the most important influencers of the overall reputation of the institution. This is because the attitude expressed by these people to each other, to patients, to the world, is the underlying chord that binds the institution and its reputation within the community.

Improving performance on a personal and intra-personal level with physicians is the mission of The Balanced Physician Program.

This is done by a specific series of seminars that raise awareness of the issues, and encourage self-examination. Discussion of the root causes and effects entwined within the stresses and strains of healthcare delivery, and presentation of proven strategies to manage these issues is at the heart of the two-stage process enacted by the Balanced Physician Program.

• If the performance, well-being, cooperation and professionalism among physicians, staff, and administrators is of importance to your organization and
• if your organization is looking for a way to reduce expenses by increasing physicians' and employees' satisfaction and performance

... the Balanced Physician Program is a unique tool to establish such a goal.

We want to hear about your situation and brainstorm with you how the Balanced Physician program can make an impact in your healthcare organization.