Feature
Administrative advocacy
How to effectively negotiate with hospital administration By Melanie Padgett Powers
F
acilitating change and advocating for interventional radiology in your hospital requires strong communication
skills and knowing how to approach hospital administration. However, effective communication, negotiation and consensus-building are not typically taught in medical schools. How can you improve these skills to strive for patient- centered care in your hospital setting?
The ask “Over the years, I have realized that it gets easier when you are collaborative, when you don’t make it about us versus them,” said Nishita Kothary, MD, FSIR, professor of interventional radiology at Stanford School of Medicine and
chair of value-based care and medical co-director for supply chain for Stanford hospitals.
IR leaders must often approach hospital administration for capital expenses such as new equipment, new devices, support to expand services including staff as well as processes that best suit IR workflow. Unfortunately, just asking for money is no longer enough. Before one even approaches administration, the first step is to build a true business case, with a clear visual of their return on investment (ROI).
“You really have to build a logical argument. So, you need to frame the problem. Show the current status quo,” said Kush R. Desai, MD, FSIR, the
systemwide medical director for value analysis/supply chain at Northwestern Memorial HealthCare in Chicago. Dr. Desai is also associate professor of radiology and of medicine and surgery.
When it’s a staffing issue, show what you’ve done already with billing and volume, Dr. Desai said. Share any related patient satisfaction issues, such as missed calls and follow-ups, that may be due to overworked staff. Show how additional staff would improve upon all those areas, he said. When asking for new equipment, explain how current equipment is either outdated or how new equipment would increase business or add a new revenue stream.
Dr. Kothary gave examples of capital investments in new technology that Stanford has made over the years, such as new imaging modalities.
“In those situations, you have to make a good business case as to why that equipment’s better,” she said. “When you’re making a business case for a hospital, two things need to come through. First, it has to somehow be better, safer and faster for the patient— that should always be our North Star. The second question the hospital will ask
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