Becker's Hospital Review

38 CMO / CARE DELIVERY Memo sheds light on tension between Massachusetts General physicians, Partners: 9 things to know By Alia Paavola A n emailed memo from Walter O'Donnell, MD, a longtime physician at Boston-based Massachusetts General Hospital, brings to light the tension between some physicians at the hospital and its parent company, Bos- ton-based Partners HealthCare, according to e Boston Globe. Here are nine things to know: 1. Dr. O'Donnell is the clinical director of pulmonary and critical care at Massa- chusetts General. He was elected to the Physicians Organization Executive Com- mittee, tasked with consulting hospital leaders about clinical staff concerns. 2. Dr. O'Donnell resigned from the panel in frustration over Partners' failure to consult with physicians and the committee on key decisions. 3. He detailed his frustrations and concerns in a letter announcing his resignation from the committee. e memo was emailed June 1 to more than 2,800 Massachu- setts General physicians, who are part of the Massachusetts General Physicians Organization. 4. "Over the past two years, in actions and announcements, Partners has pro- gressively overlooked or bypassed [the committee]," Dr. O'Donnell's memo read, according to e Globe. "I had to regretfully conclude that my continued presence meant tacit approval of decisions about which the [committee] was little informed and involved, and of the sidelining of the [committee] itself. Hence I respectfully resigned." 5. e memo discusses several examples of key decisions that were made by Part- ners without consulting Massachusetts General physicians or the committee. Dr. O'Donnell said physicians had little input when Partners shied Medicaid pa- tients to an ACO; physicians were not consulted before Partners joined Apple's pilot study to give patients access to medical records on their smartphones; and the committee has failed to learn the rationale for Partners' plan to acquire Provi- dence, R.I.-based Care New England. 6. One Massachusetts General physician, who received the memo but didn't want to be named because he was worried about repercussions, told e Globe, "Some- thing's really askew when this venerable physician resigns in protest." 7. Timothy Ferris, MD, chief executive of the Massachusetts General Physicians Organization, said other physicians share Dr. O'Donnell's concern about the "lack of agency" over their futures, according to e Globe. 8. Tensions between Partners and its two main hospitals, Massachusetts General and Boston-based Brigham and Women's, have been brewing for years, but the complaints were usually voiced and resolved in private, which makes Dr. O'Don- nell's memo stand out. 9. Dr. Ferris said that the memo caused Partner's CEO David Tochiana, MD, to want to make changes. is summer Dr. Tochiana plans to "re-examine the management structure of Partners [and] among the issues to be considered is the best way to po- sition the voice of physicians within the Partner's organizational structure." n Cincinnati hospital nurses warn new CNO of staffing crisis, patient safety concerns By Megan Knowles A mid contract negotiations with Cincin- nati-based UC Health, nurses at the University of Cincinnati Medical Cen- ter sent their newly appointed chief nursing officer a letter that requests solutions to staff- ing shortages and improvements to patient care, reported The Cincinnati Enquirer. The Registered Nurses Association, which is the nurses' bargaining unit, sent the letter to Beverly Bokovitz, DNP, RN, who joined UC Health as CNO April 18. In early June, the union was in its second month of talks with UC Health on a new work contract. The con- tract focuses on the medical center's nursing shortage. The union delivered nearly 1,000 copies of the letter to Dr. Bokovitz' office June 6. "As a nurse here, I care deeply for my patients and ask you to partner with us in your capacity at the contract negotiating table in fostering an environment of first-class patient care," the letter read. The letter requests that Dr. Bokovitz advocate for the staff's solutions to the medical cen- ter's problem areas, including giving nurses better benefits to reduce turnover rates and having more nurses on staff to handle heavier patient loads. Kelly Hickman-Begley, RN, a labor-and-de- livery nurse and one of the contract negotia- tors for the nurses, said the negotiations are making progress toward a new contract that would cover about 1,500 nurses. The current three-year deal expired June 30, the report noted. "From the very beginning, the hospital and our negotiating team have been in complete agreement that patient safety is our main pri- ority," Ms. Hickman-Begley told The Cincinna- ti Enquirer. "Anytime you are negotiating with someone, if you have the same goal in mind, if you're working toward the same goal, ne- gotiations go better." n

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