The post-acute care landscape is evolving, redefining the role of medical directors. Increased regulatory measures and heightened expectations of post-acute facilities have raised the importance of, and attention on, medical directors, placing them in an even greater position of organizational influence.
Post-acute medical directors must bring a high level of knowledge to meet the clinical demands of an aging population and the administrative and multidisciplinary understanding to improve facility and patient outcomes.
“The expectations that medical directors face in our post-acute care space right now are to be as knowledgeable as they can be,” says Dr. Esperanza Fernandez, national director of clinical education in post-acute care at TeamHealth.
Here are three things facilities should know and consider when hiring, and later supporting, their medical directors.
- Your medical director brings team leadership and specialized knowledge
Fernandez practiced medicine for 15 years before transitioning into teaching in 2010. She joined TeamHealth in 2013 as a clinical educator and regional medical director, and knows just how critical a medical director is today. They partner closely with directors of nursing and executive directors or administrators — known as the triad relationship — to improve outcomes.
“In working with the triad relationship we are improving patient or resident and facility outcomes, and that would be both clinically and for safety,” Fernandez says.
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.”
- Your medical director benefits from targeted education
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.
Facilities can use targeted education to help their medical directors stay on top of regulatory changes. This 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.
“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.”
- The TeamHealth Leadership Academy provides crucial support for medical directors
TeamHealth’s Medical Director Leadership Academy is an example of the targeted and comprehensive education that providers are bringing to medical directors.
Created by eight clinical leaders, including Fernandez, the 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.”
This article is sponsored by TeamHealth. To learn more about partnering with TeamHealth for post-acute care services, visit TeamHealth.com.
