Issue link: https://beckershealthcare.uberflip.com/i/593112
50 Executive Briefing from the hospital or health system vision statement, he notes, as those usually do not adequately include physician interests. 5. Brainstorm initial collaboration opportunities. "Insanity is doing what you have always done and expect- ing a different result," says Dr. Sheff. Hospitals and physicians cannot continue to not collaborate and expect different results. "You don't build trust by standing around and singing Kum- baya. You build it by doing a substantive piece of work togeth- er and in the process demonstrating trustworthiness." This step involves deciding what that substantive work will be. It requires being creative in coming up with projects that meaningfully help achieve both physician and hospital interests. 6. Create early successes by implementing a small number of initial collaboration projects. In this step, both parties have the chance to show they can walk the talk and make their aspiration statements become a reality, according to Dr. Sheff. Once trust begins to build, momentum follows suit. He compared it to a flywheel of heavy metal. "To get it going takes an initial push. The next push gets it going some more. That's what the early projects accomplish. Then each successful project be- comes another push that gets the fly wheel going more, and the momen- tum grows until it starts to carry the organization forward. That's what hap- pens when you complete the initial projects well," says Dr. Sheff. Short- term projects should be prioritized early on, while longer-term, higher-value projects should be add- ed once trust builds. 7. Repeat with ever-higher value collaboration projects. Repeat the process again with bigger projects as trust begins to build. "Continuously push the flywheel further and faster — it is self-perpetuating," says Dr. Sheff. Once you make the needed changes together you can move to higher-value projects and begin to complete them in a shorter timeline. "We have done this with a medical staff and hospital where trust was low. We've done this between a group practice and hospital where trust was low. We've done it with a very large physician group and a multi-hospital system. Each time the results have transformed relationships, achieving more align- ment, collaboration and trust than anyone thought possible," says Dr. Sheff. "This methodology can be used in a lot of different settings and in different ways to help physicians and hospitals collaborate better." n "One of the most helpful reframes is, 'How are we going to achieve physician success, hospital success and good patient care at the same time?'" —Rick Sheff, MD, Principal and CMO of The Greeley Company Sponsored by: The Greeley Company provides innovative consulting, education, and professional services to healthcare organizations. We focus on needs and challenges related to medical staff operations & physician engagement; accreditation & regulatory compliance; quality, performance & safety; and credentialing & privileging. The Greeley Company serves administrative and clinical teams in more than 500 healthcare organizations nationwide each year—ranging from rural critical access hospitals to the largest health systems.