A longtime member of the HealthLeaders CMO Exchange discusses physician well-being, the evolution of advanced practice providers, and the impact of AI and technology on care delivery.
Denver Health CMO Connie Savor Price, MD, MBA, recently talked with HealthLeaders to preview some of the topics that will be discussed at this year's CMO Exchange.
The CMO Exchange is HealthLeaders' premier networking and peer-to-peer learning opportunity for CMOs, chief clinical officers, and chief physician executives. This year's event will be held from Sept. 18 to Sept. 20 at Miramar Beach, Fla.
In this podcast, Price, who is a longtime CMO Exchange member, highlights CMO Exchange discussion topics, including physician well-being, the evolving role of advanced practice providers (APPs), and the impact of technology and artificial intelligence on care delivery.
When it comes to physician well-being, it is important to realize that physicians are not averse to working long hours and tackling challenging situations, according to Price.
"What you need is a well-rounded work environment," she says.
There are several elements of a well-rounded work environment, according to Price.
- You need to promote things outside of direct patient care
- You need to address a good work-life balance
- You need to provide mental health supports for some of the challenging situations
- You need to reduce the chaos in work
- You need to offload some of physicians' mundane tasks to others on the care team
- You need to promote a sense of community in your work environment
Connie Savor Price, MD, MBA, is CMO of Denver Health. Photo courtesy of Denver Health.
The increasing number of APPs on care teams is a largely positive development, according to Price.
"They have become part of the team, and the idea is to expand access to healthcare when physician availability is limited," she says.
CMOs and other healthcare leaders need to be thoughtful in pairing physicians with APPs, according to Price.
"We need to address the best ways to partner physicians with APPs to ensure seamless care," she says. "One could argue that some of the diagnostic dilemmas might be best handled by physicians, while other more protocolized care might be the domain of APPs."
AI that does ambient listening during physician-patient encounters then produces high-quality clinical documentation is one of the most powerful applications of AI in healthcare so far, according to Price.
"This is something that physicians have long been wanting—to be able to have a conversation with a patient without having to worry about the details of the medical record and without having to worry about the details of billing and getting the words right in the medical record," she says. "Physicians have been looking for help in clearly communicating what happens in a patient care episode."
Decision support is another area where AI and technology are transforming care delivery, according to Price.
"It is something that helps us enhance our APP workforce," she says. "If you can combine some of those tools with the expertise of a physician and involve the APP workforce, you can get high quality care that meets the needs of a large number of patients with a relatively small workforce."
The HealthLeaders Exchange is an exclusive, executive community for sharing ideas, solutions, and insights.
Please join the community at our LinkedIn page. To inquire about attending a HealthLeaders Exchange event and becoming a member, email us at exchange@healthleadersmedia.com.
Christopher Cheney is the CMO editor at HealthLeaders.