Synergy - July/August 2014 - 18

INDUSTRY FEATURE

this means that the organization should have
a vision of what they want to achieve. What
would be the ideal onboarding process?
What are the organizational goals in working
to improve the onboarding process?
Here are some goals I've seen organizations
select (another way to present this would be
for an organization to define how it would
evaluate a successful onboarding process):
* Put the physician at the center of the
onboading process (i.e., make the
onboarding process "physician centric").
* Present the healthcare organization as an
integrated system, rather than siloed,
disconnected departments.
* Eliminate duplication of activities/effort by
multiple departments and/or individuals
(one healthcare system I worked with on
an onboarding project found that three
separate departments were obtaining
background checks on all onboarded
physicians-nothing was shared).
* Physician is asked for information once,
and it is shared with those individuals/
departments who need it (there is no
need for the physician to complete
multiple applications that ask for the
same information-it can be obtained
once, stored in a database, and shared
with those who need the data).
* Eliminate as much "dead time" as
possible (i.e., nothing is happening
because the organization is waiting for a
committee to meet, etc.).
* Contracts/employment are not offered to
physicians who do not meet criteria to be
credentialed/privileged.
* Activities related to onboarding are done
concurrently, whenever possible.
* The credentialing/privileging process is of
high integrity.
* If the onboarding process currently takes
"X" number of days/months (and the
organization would need to have this data
in order to make this one of their goals),
they may set a goal of cutting "X" number
of days/months out of the process.

Critical Elements of Successful
Onboarding
Once an organization has established its
goals, it will need to analyze its current
onboarding "system" (and the resulting
18

/

S Y N E R G Y J U LY / A U G U S T 2 0 1 4

flow charts may look like a patchwork
of disconnected activities). In order to
transition to new processes, you need to
know where you are starting. Organizations
I've seen be successful at significantly
improving their onboarding process have the
following similarities:
* Leadership on the project from the top
levels of the organization. Just telling
recruitment to work more effectively with
the medical staff office and hoping for the
best won't get the job done. Executive
leadership must be a presence throughout
the project. Those who work on the
project must be aware that executive
leadership cares about the project,
expects that it will be done, and that
goals will be achieved.
* Departments impacted by onboarding
must be willing to collaborate. They must
be willing to give up some control over
processes that they previously managed
independently.
* Every participant in the onboarding
process must be willing to critically look
at what they do, why they do it, and
evaluate if it is necessary (or if the activity
could be done at a different time during
the onboarding process). For example,
does an organization need a TB test from
a physician prior to credentialing or prior
to the physician seeing patients in the
organization? The decision made about
that one issue could have enormous
consequences.
* Part of successful onboarding requires a
willingness to resequence some activities.
Activities should be performed when it
makes the most sense. For example, it is
usually perceived to be much more
effective to obtain a background check
during the recruitment phase-before an
employment contract has been offered to
a physician-rather than wait until a
contract has been offered and the
physician is in the credentialing process.
A background check performed during
recruitment can be shared and used
during the credentialing process. It is not
necessary that it be duplicated. (This
means there needs to be agreement on
the scope of the background check and
agreement on how old the background
check could be in order for it to be used
in credentialing.)

* The organization needs to commit to
using technology effectively.
Organizations that have made big gains
in their onboarding process manage
those processes electronically (rather
than in paper), and use software to
facilitate communication and transfer of
data, as needed. The software becomes
the "glue" that holds components of the
onboarding process together.
* Finally, the medical staff organization is
not exempt from having their processes
evaluated. Hopefully, they will see the
advantages of doing so. If there are
delays in credentialing because of how
meetings are sequenced or there is
some requirement that all applicants
have to show up for in-person
interviews during the credentialing
process (perhaps to a credentials
committee meeting), those activities
should be evaluated to discern if they
are in place because they have always
been done that way or because they
are really necessary to making excellent
credentialing decisions.
With change comes opportunity, and
there is ample opportunity for MSPs
who position themselves strategically
within their organizations to take on
leadership responsibilities in the new
world of onboarding. New positions have
been created in some organizations to
help physician recruits integrate into the
organization (those organizations that use a
"concierge" approach), and that means new
job opportunities. It is an exciting time to be
in healthcare and be working closely with
physician leaders and executive leadership
of the organization. Good luck to all of you
as you position yourself for success within
your evolving organizations. Don't be seen
as the obstacle to transitioning to new ways
of doing business! ■

Vicki L. Searcy is the Vice
President, Consulting Services at
Morrisey Associates, a Chicagobased company. She enjoys
working with healthcare
organizations on onboarding
projects and helping to implement positive
change. She is a past-Chair of the Certification
Council of the National Association Medical Staff
Services (NAMSS) as well as a past-President of
NAMSS.



Synergy - July/August 2014

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Synergy - July/August 2014

Contents
Synergy - July/August 2014 - Intro
Synergy - July/August 2014 - Cover1
Synergy - July/August 2014 - Cover2
Synergy - July/August 2014 - 1
Synergy - July/August 2014 - Contents
Synergy - July/August 2014 - 3
Synergy - July/August 2014 - 4
Synergy - July/August 2014 - 5
Synergy - July/August 2014 - 6
Synergy - July/August 2014 - 7
Synergy - July/August 2014 - 8
Synergy - July/August 2014 - 9
Synergy - July/August 2014 - 10
Synergy - July/August 2014 - 11
Synergy - July/August 2014 - 12
Synergy - July/August 2014 - 13
Synergy - July/August 2014 - 14
Synergy - July/August 2014 - 15
Synergy - July/August 2014 - 16
Synergy - July/August 2014 - 17
Synergy - July/August 2014 - 18
Synergy - July/August 2014 - 19
Synergy - July/August 2014 - 20
Synergy - July/August 2014 - 21
Synergy - July/August 2014 - 22
Synergy - July/August 2014 - 23
Synergy - July/August 2014 - 24
Synergy - July/August 2014 - 25
Synergy - July/August 2014 - 26
Synergy - July/August 2014 - 27
Synergy - July/August 2014 - 28
Synergy - July/August 2014 - 29
Synergy - July/August 2014 - 30
Synergy - July/August 2014 - 31
Synergy - July/August 2014 - 32
Synergy - July/August 2014 - 33
Synergy - July/August 2014 - 34
Synergy - July/August 2014 - 35
Synergy - July/August 2014 - 36
Synergy - July/August 2014 - 37
Synergy - July/August 2014 - 38
Synergy - July/August 2014 - 39
Synergy - July/August 2014 - 40
Synergy - July/August 2014 - 41
Synergy - July/August 2014 - 42
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/NAMSS/synergy_2020q4
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/NAMSS/synergy_2020q3
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/NAMSS/synergy_2020q2
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/NAMSS/synergy_2020q1
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/NAMSS/synergy_20191112
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/NAMSS/synergy_20190910
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/NAMSS/synergy_20190708
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/NAMSS/synergy_20190506
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/NAMSS/synergy_20190304
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/NAMSS/synergy_20190102
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/NAMSS/synergy_20181112
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/NAMSS/synergy_20180910
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/NAMSS/synergy_20180708
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/NAMSS/synergy_20180506
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/NAMSS/synergy_20180304
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/NAMSS/synergy_20180102
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/NAMSS/synergy_20171112
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/NAMSS/synergy_20170910
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/NAMSS/synergy_20170708
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/NAMSS/synergy_20170506
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/NAMSS/synergy_20170304
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/NAMSS/synergy_20170102
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/NAMSS/synergy_20161112
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/NAMSS/synergy_20160910
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/NAMSS/synergy_20160708
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/NAMSS/synergy_20160506
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/NAMSS/synergy_20160304
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/NAMSS/synergy_20160102
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/NAMSS/synergy_20151112
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/NAMSS/synergy_20150910
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/NAMSS/synergy_20150708
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/NAMSS/synergy_20150506
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/NAMSS/synergy_20150304
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/NAMSS/synergy_20150102
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/NAMSS/synergy_20141112
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/NAMSS/synergy_20140910
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/NAMSS/synergy_20140708
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/NAMSS/synergy_20140506
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/NAMSS/synergy_20140304
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/NAMSS/synergy_20140102
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/NAMSS/synergy_20131112
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/NAMSS/synergy_20130910
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/NAMSS/synergy_20130708
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/NAMSS/synergy_20130506
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/NAMSS/synergy_20130304
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/NAMSS/synergy_20130102
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/NAMSS/synergy_20121112
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/NAMSS/synergy_20121011
https://www.nxtbookmedia.com