Eyeworld

OPHTHALMOLOGY BUSINESS 72 August 2015 by John B. Pinto "The best evaluation I can make of a player is to look in his eyes and see how scared they are." –Michael Jordan "Performance is your reality. Forget everything else." –Harold Geneen "It takes humility to ask a question about your performance. And even more humility to consider the answer." –Senora Roy I t's easy to forget that ophthal- mologists and optometrists are just as much employees of your practice as receptionists and techs. While they may have more formal education and higher workplace standards than lay sup- port staff, they can benefit as much or more from regular performance feedback, and so can your practice. Despite this, fewer than 25% of ophthalmic practices today furnish their non-owner associate MDs/DOs and ODs with formal performance reviews. And very few partner-lev- el ophthalmologists ever receive a formal review. In an era of greater accountability to payers and patients —not to mention a less-forgiving business environment—it's reason- able to change this omission in your practice. In this column, I'll review a few basics. You will also find a sample/ short-form review instrument. This instrument is just a starting point for you to customize according to the needs and interests in your practice. Why aren't providers receiving reviews? A common hang-up in private practices is a resistance for anyone— including the managing partner or president of a group practice or a department chair—to confront a fellow provider, partner or not. This resistance is generally not felt in large health systems and staff-model HMOs, where providers are employ- ees to be managed like everyone else in the organization. As a private physician reading this, you may be thinking, "You're darned right—that's why I would never work for a hospital." And yet, the day is not far off when your entire practice will be judged by the The value of routine provider evaluations Provider evaluation form The subject reviewee provider, along with his or her direct physician supervisor, should fill out this form prior to the semi- annual or annual review. In some settings you may choose a 360-degree approach, having the reviewee's peers and direct support staff also fill out this document. The reviewer should then create a master set of collated responses, masking who gave what scores, to share with the provider being reviewed. Date: Provider name: 1. Please rate this provider from 1 (low/poor) to 10 (high/excellent) on each of the following 15 attributes: Arrives on time for clinic and surgery Availability whenever and wherever needed Surgical judgement, skill, and outcomes Affability with patients, staff, and colleagues alike Fosters team cohesion (staff and peers alike) "Reads" people well and has realistic expectations of others Communicates clearly, orally and in writing Follows through on assigned tasks and promised duties Is a patient, effective teacher of patients, staff, and colleagues Is generally positive in the face of needed policy changes Takes personal responsibility for weaknesses, errors, or misjudgments Has adapted to EHR, meaningful use, coding, and other regulatory obligations Completes charting, dictation, and needed signatures in a timely fashion Supports board decisions publically, even those s/he is against Is appropriate in putting patient and practice needs ahead of his/her own needs 2. Clinic observation checklist Sanitized hands Reassuring touch Positive, upbeat attitude Voice volume appropriate Affirmed chief complaint Clear about the treatment plan ahead Addressed patient's chief complaint Ordered and affirmed the importance of the next visit Referred to optical where appropriate Asked the patient: "Any last questions?" Asked for referral and gave cards where appropriate 3. In the past year, this provider's most important contributions to the practice have been: 4. In my view, this provider's greatest growth and improvement has been in the area/s of: 5. In my view, areas needing improvement in the next year include: 6. If 100% is "perfect provider performance," my judgment is that over the past 6 months this provider's overall performance has been % because: 7. In order to improve this performance score in the coming year, the 3 most important, SPECIFIC things this provider could realistically do are: a. b. c. 8. If on a partner track, is this provider considered by you to be: [ ] Satisfactorily in line with practice expectations for a partner-level candidate [ ] Not satisfactory because: [ ] N/A 9. Based on this review, the following action plan is agreed upon: a. b. c. 10. Added notes:

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