Peter Charvat, MD, MBA, serves as the Vice President and Chief Medical Officer at Johnston Health.
On May 10th, Dr. Charvat will serve as a panelist at Becker's Health IT + Clinical Leadership 2018. As part of an ongoing series, Becker's is talking to healthcare leaders who plan to speak at the conference, which will take place May 10-11th 2018 in Chicago.
To learn more about the conference and Dr. Charvat's session, click here.
Question: All healthcare is local. What about your market influences your organization's business or operations most?
Dr. Peter Charvat: To provide patient care at Johnston Health, just like other organizations, we need providers — physicians and advanced practice providers on the front lines of patient care. However, these providers have numerous job opportunities within a short drive of our campuses. Physician recruiting is very competitive as supply and demand strongly favor providers over employers. To develop and expand — and in some cases simply maintain a service line — we are in constant recruitment mode and compete with other local healthcare entities to offer attractive employment packages while meeting the lifestyle needs of physicians. Our ability to maintain our operations and execute our strategic initiatives is highly influenced by the success we have in recruiting and retaining providers
Q: What change in reimbursement is your organization feeling most acutely and how is it affecting your 2-5-year strategic plan?
PC: As payers increasingly emphasize outpatient care models, we have had to significantly adjust our strategic plan. No longer do we view our self as an acute care center capable of taking care of patients within the four walls of the hospital. Payers and patients are demanding access to efficient outpatient care models where care can be delivered at a lower cost. This shift has caused us to rethink how we deploy capital and other limited resources. We are looking to expand our footprint in outpatient and ambulatory care centers while delivering service to patients in a cost effective and patient centered manner.
Q: As a leader, what is the best investment you made in your own professional development in the past five years?
PC: Personally, seeking additional education has been the best investment for me over the last five years. Twenty years ago, upon completing my residency, I was under the false impression that I was largely done with formal education. The successful transition to a hospital leadership position has encouraged me to seek additional educational opportunities to expand my skill-set and knowledge base. Over the last five years, I returned to school to obtain an MBA in health administration and at the same time have maintained my board certification. As both a physician and healthcare executive I remain a lifelong student and continue to invest time and energy in further learning.