Doug Slakey, MD, MPH, FACS, serves as Chief of Surgical Services at CMC AdvocateAurora Health.
On May 26th, Dr. Slakey will serve on a panel "Connecting Quality, Finance and Analytics to Deliver Value Across the Continuum" 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. Slakey'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.)
Doug Slakey: Providing a platform where the continuum of patient health is considered as opposed to focusing primarily on isolated episodes of care. This is true for surgical services and requires a significant culture change to accomplish.
Q: What, if anything, should hospitals be doing now given economists' projections of a forthcoming economic downturn?
DS: Advocate for and concentrate on value and outcomes. Safety and reliability can and should contribute more to economic viability and sustainability than resorting to cost-cutting as the primary solution to inadequate margins.
Q: What's one lesson you learned early in your career that has helped you lead in healthcare?
DS: That the honor and responsibility of caring for others is a commitment that provides for an understanding of human relationships that few are privileged enough to experience in life.
Q: What do you see as the most exciting opportunity in healthcare right now?
DS: I believe we are honestly at a tipping point where we are moving from “paying (doctors and hospitals) for doing things, to paying for how our patients do”. The opportunity is to realize the potential in applying knowledge and technology to establish a highly reliable and safe healthcare environment that promotes.