Today's Practice: Changing the Business of Medicine | Page 27

High Cost of Turnover

Keith A. Herl, MHA, MBA | Matthew Mingenback

percent) and internal medicine (73 percent) physicians said they would not choose the same specialty
5
again .
Overworked: Providers report a larger burden with
electronic medical records and additional administrative duties while facing pressure to see more
patients.
Lack of autonomy: Providers often feel they are
not in control of business decisions for their practice or face interference in their patient care decisions.
Compensation: A decline in compensation is
strongly linked to a decrease in job satisfaction.
Known disparities in compensation between
providers can create mistrust and unhappiness4.
Lack of professional/leadership development:
Providers will play an ever greater role in managing
and leading business in healthcare and want to
define their own career paths within their organization.

Begin Your Transformation
Through surveys, interviews, panels and committees, uncover and review the findings of your root
cause turnover analysis and create a plan. Some
strategies to attract and retain top provider talent
include:
Recruit for Retention: Find the right fit the first
time. Engage your recruiters regularly to carefully
select providers whose goals, attitudes and personalities fit in the culture of your organization.
Upgrade Onboarding & Orientation: Give maximum support to your new provider and listen to
their needs. Ease them into practice and facilitate
opportunities to network and grow relationships.
Take the baseline pulse of the mindset of your new
provider from the very beginning.
Start a Provider Mentoring Program: Mentoring
is proven to reduce turnover. Studies showed that
organizations with a formal mentoring program
experience significantly less provider turnover.
Align Compensation: Review current pay scales to
see if they align with regional and local norms.
Ensure that the method of compensation motivates
providers and aligns with organizational goals.

“Identifying the true reason
providers are leaving can be
particularly challenging as the exit
process is filled with emotion and
biases that can affect perceptions of
the situation. ”

TODAY’S PRA C T I C E: C HA NGI NG T HE BUS I NES S OF M EDI CINE

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