Some of the most noticeable changes in healthcare staffing and structure are occurring at the top, in the executive suite. One recruiter expects 2015 is the year titles with their roots in value-based payments will become more familiar.
A growing emphasis is on value-based care and keeping entire populations of patients healthy, is giving way to shifting job titles at hospitals and health systems, says James U. King, senior partner, chief quality officer and children's hospitals practice lead at executive staffing firm Witt/Kieffer.
"The question everyone is asking now is, 'how do we manage health of a population? What should we be doing from primary care base—and who are the leaders who can lead that service line?'"
New Jobs at the Top
Some of the most noticeable changes in healthcare staffing and structure are occurring at the top, in the executive suite. The titles may differ by location, but the job functions will exhibit some consistency.
While the title Chief Medical Officer is not new, the role can be expected to change significantly over the next five to seven years. This title has traditionally been held by a physician, but that is changing, as more organizations realize that nurses are often ideal candidates for this role. One significant change in the role: The CMO can expect to work more extensively on population health initiatives in addition to overseeing quality of care, hospital safety, and analyzing clinical outcomes.
One of the fastest-growing titles is that of Chief Integration Officer. "Typically, a physician leader gets put in this role," says King. "His or her job is to develop the strategy for how you drive clinical integration and care coordination across a healthcare system." A Chief Integration Officer will work closely to identify quality initiatives, and take a coordinated approach to improving quality and safety across the system.
The Chief Transformation Officer can expect to be charged with extensive levels of care redesign. "This is the person who asks the question, 'What does the new care delivery model need to look like in our organization?'" says King. This executive will build an entire care delivery model that uses the full continuum of care. "Population health…. Quality of care, safety, forming ACOs and medical homes; this is all under the CTO's umbrella," he says.
Organizations that are considering bringing a Chief Population Health Officer on board or already have one, may consider hiring a Chief Innovation Officer instead. "Organizations that do this will be the ones taking an innovative approach—they're the organizations asking, 'how do we redesign the care delivery model to be more efficient and cost effective for all patients we're serving,'" says King.
This executive may also work with payers to serve at-risk populations and create products that will help keep those populations healthy.
King also predicts that the Chief Ambulatory Care Officer will become popular in the next few years. "Lots of organizations already have someone in charge of ambulatory care, but there's been a bigger emphasis on having leaders at highest level oversee the ambulatory practice recently. There's a real…. shifting of care to the outpatient setting, and a greater need for senior level executives to move to a role overseeing that," he says.
Innovation at All Levels
The C-suite isn't the only area experiencing transformation. The transition to value-based care is creating new roles at every level in healthcare. Several new jobs have been created to help patients as they move across the care continuum and deal with multiple providers and health problems.
Care Coordinators will manage patients' interactions with a healthcare system across different specialists and create care plans for the patient. Most people who find their way into this role are either RNs or advanced practice nurses (APRNs). Health Coaches are somewhat similar to Care Coordinators, but usually come from a social work background and focus on motivating the patient to make positive changes so they can improve their health.
With the exponential growth of electronic medical records systems, it has become necessary for some providers to employ Clinical Documentation Specialists who maintain and evaluate patients' medical documents, including diagnostic results, insurance claims, and other records. And the role of Medical Scribe—a real-time note taker who focuses on maintaining records of practitioner, patient interactions so the physician can focus on the patient, is projected to take off in 2015.
King also forecasts greater growth in the area of behavioral health. He foresees more vice president-level roles around this specialty, with a focus on both addiction treatment and primary care.
President of Population Health, President of Accountable Care, President of Medical Homes and Senior Vice President of Innovation are other titles King says he anticipates hearing in the next few years. Each of these roles will manifest in its own unique way within each healthcare system, he says.
"If you've seen one healthcare organization with a certain title and job description, well, you've seen one specific job. We're seeing a multitude of titles across different organizations, and a multitude of roles. Each system is different, as is each job—and each employee."
Lena J. Weiner is an associate editor at HealthLeaders Media.