David Kim, MD, serves as Chief Executive at St. Joseph Heritage Healthcare.
On May 26th, Dr. Kim will serve on the panel "Physician Compensation Ideas and Models, What Works What Doesn’t Work? What’s Your Best Suggestion For Physician Compensation?" at Becker's Hospital Review 11th 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 on May 24-26, 2021 in Chicago.
To learn more about the conference and Dr. Kim's session, click here.
Question: What, from your perspective, is the biggest challenge about the future of work for hospitals, and what can they do about it? (i.e. automation, desire for more flexibility, clinician shortages, etc.)
David Kim: From my perspective, the biggest challenges that hospitals face in the near future is the continuing pressure on reimbursement from payers‘ (both commercial and government) and the focus of moving care out of the hospital setting into off licensed ambulatory settings whenever clinically appropriate. Both will have many downstream effects on the staffing and productivity that hospitals will be able to support. Hospitals will also need to focus on AI, automation, and practicing at the top of license across all roles within the hospital in order to be a cutting edge system, and take the necessary steps to become a flourishing hospital system.
Q: How can hospitals reconcile the need to maintain inpatient volumes with the mission to keep people healthier and out of the hospital?
DK: One way is to focus on what services and care are best provided within a hospital setting. Instead of focusing on high margin service lines, the focus should be on increasing volume in clinical areas that truly need the resources and expertise a hospital can provide. This will allow hospitals to continue to be vital hubs within our health care Ecosystem.
Also, our advocacy efforts should be less defensive in trying to maintain the status quo, and more proactive in pursing payment for models of care that incentivize high-quality care rather than high volume care. If we are truly tasked, held accountable, and responsible for our communities’ health, then keeping individuals healthy, helping heal those that are not, and supporting those that are chronically ill, will not be financially competitive endeavors. Instead, a hospital can be a high-quality continuum of care in which it is financially stable, highly valuable, and is providing high-quality care.
Q: What's one lesson you learned early in your career that has helped you lead in healthcare?
DK: Engaging true physician leadership and partnering with physicians in driving high-value care is critical. There has been a tendency to commoditize physicians and the services they provide, and this has only contributed to the volume-driven health care ecosystem that we find ourselves in today. Instead of engaging physicians as a workforce that can deliver a volume of business, we need to partner with them to create high-value systems of clinical excellence. This will be how we find our way forward to successfully deliver on the quadruple aim and help solve our nation’s health care dilemma.
Q: Where do you go for inspiration and fresh ideas?
DK: Mentorship has been critical. I have found that great leaders are often incredibly generous in their willingness to share and invest in up and coming leaders. There is a biblical expression that states, “There is nothing new under the sun” and I have found that listening to the sage advice of those that have spent decades successfully leading and driving change within health care has been an incredible resource and inspiration in my career.
Where do you go for inspiration and fresh ideas? Beckers, of course! In all seriousness, the conference speakers are the best in the industry and the sessions are relevant to leaders in hospitals both large and small. And I don't have to look any further than my inbox daily for the most recent healthcare news and best practices.
What do you see as the most exciting opportunity in healthcare right now? The most exciting opportunity in healthcare today is the move to value-driven care with the patient at the center focusing on wellness and prevention instead of treating signs and symptoms with volume-driven sick visits and hospitalizations. Accountable care, the merit-based incentive payment system (MIPS) and value-based payment programs are driving providers from volume to value-based care with incentives to reward both the physician and the patient!
Healthcare has had calls for disruption, innovation and transformation for years now. Do you feel we are seeing that change? Why or why not? Yes, hospitals that are driving change and transformation are receiving high marks in quality and patient-satisfaction. They are investing in technology to coordinate care and making access easier for their patients. At the same time, they are educating and preparing their workforce to be responsive to innovative change. The age of volume-driven fee-for-service medicine is gradually giving way to value-based care. Hospitals must transform to become organizations that reward value instead of volume and develop delivery methods that use evidence-based practices, procedures and technologies to attain optimal outcomes and achieve greater efficiencies. Many primary care providers have heard the call for value and are joining ACO's and working to meet this demand. Sadly hospitals that haven’t transformed to ensure the highest quality patient-centered care and the most competitive prices are being bypassed by the primary care physicians, the patients and the payers. "