The post-acute care landscape is shifting. Increased regulatory measures and heightened expectations of post-acute facilities have impacted the medical directorship role significantly in recent years. Post-acute medical directors must bring a high level of knowledge to meet not only the clinical demands of an aging population but also the administrative and multidisciplinary understanding to improve facility and patient outcomes.
Dr. Esperanza Fernandez is the national director of clinical education in post-acute care at TeamHealth and has been practicing medicine for 15 years before transitioning into teaching in 2010 and joining TeamHealth in 2013 as a clinical educator and regional medical director. “I’m really passionate about this,” Fernandez says of post-acute care education, and particularly TeamHealth’s Medical Director Leadership Academy.
Medical directors bring quality, knowledge
In today’s post-acute environment, medical directors must be as knowledgeable as possible. They partner closely with directors of nursing and executive directors or administrators – known as the triad relationship – to improve outcomes.
“The expectations that medical directors face in our post-acute care space right now are to be as knowledgeable as they can be, to not only be a partner with the director of nursing and the executive director or administrator but also to make sure that in working with the triad relationship we are improving patient/resident and facility outcomes, and that would be both clinically and for safety,” Fernandez says.
In years past, facilities had medical directors to fulfill the requirements for clinical oversight. However, the expectations placed on medical directors continue to evolve.
Fernandez says that facilities need medical directors to:
- Be present and participate
- Be engaged and lead
- Bring value to quality meetings
“There are steps that you can take to improve these,” Fernandez says. “And that’s what we’re teaching our medical directors.”
Meeting and exceeding regulatory needs
The post-acute setting is highly regulated. Post-acute care facilities must meet strict regulations and requirements to avoid citations and tags – particularly during surveys – that can negatively impact the health of the facility and the quality of their patient outcomes. To meet this demand, facilities and medical directors must enhance the leadership and administrative skills needed to successfully improve outcomes in the post-acute regulatory environment.
“Now we need medical directors that will help grow the facility and drive these patient outcomes, the quality measures, star ratings and improve the facility,” Fernandez says.
“An education reset opportunity”
Targeted education is a vital step in cultivating strong medical directors to provide them with the skills and opportunities to promote quality care. Education can also decrease variability in expectations and outcomes.
“In other words, it’s a medical director education reset opportunity,” Fernandez says. “Our medical directors are being educated in a standardized and consistent fashion, with education topics that are most important and relevant to our environment today.”
TeamHealth’s Medical Director Leadership Academy is an example of this targeted and comprehensive education.
TeamHealth’s leadership academy
Created by eight clinical leaders, including Fernandez, TeamHealth’s Medical Director Leadership Academy includes several digital education modules aimed at post-acute clinicians and administrators, with dedicated modules providing education directly speaking to the medical director role. In addition, there are foundation courses open to anyone needing general post-acute care education.
“We like to step outside the box and see what works,” Fernandez says of the Medical Director Leadership Academy. “We didn’t go outside to look for this program. We created it, and I think that’s what makes it even more special.”
As the academy evolves, Fernandez hopes to increase the amount of education available to equip TeamHealth clinicians and administrators with the necessary knowledge and skills to meet challenges in the post-acute care landscape.
“Our medical directors are leaders, and as leaders, they’re held to certain responsibilities and expectations,” Fernandez says. “So, what we want to do is enhance their leadership skills, which is what we’re doing with the knowledge and the team building in the program.”
To learn more about partnering with TeamHealth for post-acute care services, please reach out to our team.