Ed Chewens serves as Senior VP of Physician Practices and Ambulatory Networks for NYU Winthrop University Hospital.
On April 2nd, Ed will speak at Becker's Hospital Review 10th Annual Meeting. As part of an ongoing series, Becker's is talking to healthcare leaders who plan to speak at the conference, which will take place April 1-4, 2019 in Chicago.
To learn more about the conference and Ed's session, click here.
Question: What do innovators/entrepreneurs from outside healthcare need to better understand about hospital and health system leaders?
Ed Chewens: Hospitals are responsible to deliver care to an entire city or community without regard for the ability to pay. Often, that care can be quite expensive in terms of manpower and technology. Hospital and health system leaders report to boards of directors and are overseen by local, state, and federal regulatory agencies. Hospitals are regulated and accredited by the Joint Commission and operate under the oversight of policies, procedures and bylaws which are established by the Executive Committee of the Medical Staff. Healthcare is one of the most heavily regulated industries in the United States. Further, hospitals function in a highly regulated industry structure based upon quality and patient outcomes. Introduction of new procedures or drugs needs to be studied very carefully over a long period of time to ensure that changes are truly in the best interest of the patient and their overall health condition.
Additionally, now patients are consumers and can go on-line to view publicly available outcomes data and chose where to receive their care. The cost of bringing healthcare products to the marketplace can be extremely time consuming and expensive due to the level of approvals needed before introducing a drug or piece of new medical equipment. It is a longhaul industry. Hospital and health system leaders watch over an expansive dashboard of metrics and are responsible to plan and anticipate the short and longterm needs of the communities they serve. They have vision and the ability to bring that vision to positively impact the constituencies they serve. With always the mission to build healthier communities outside innovators/entrepreneurs should focus their creative energies in helping realize this goal.
Q: What one strategic initiative will demand the most of your time and energy in 2019?
EC: The continual building of the physician networks throughout the catchment area of the health system of which I am a part. With limited resources plan to launch practices and network expansion that will return the most for the investment made in talent and capital. Healthcare is experiencing a movement from the hospital inpatient setting to the ambulatory setting. We need to be preparing and planning for this continued movement while improving quality, accessibility, and the customer service experience of the patient. This will be key as the industry transitions to risk sharing based reimbursement models and there is greater stress on the organization for EMR installations, maintain productivity, and prevent physician burnout.
Q: Can you share some praise with us about people you work with? What does greatness look like to you when it comes to your team?
EC: The strength of a team can be an organizations most valuable asset. I work with a team of people who are supportive of each other. When there is a problem you never feel as if its only on you. People share their experiences and ideas with each other in a collaborative and supportive fashion in what is now a matrixed environment where all facets are intertwined. When I look at the people on my team I know that there is nothing that cannot be overcome because we work together as a team. You never feel alone.