2019 Administrative Summary – Department of Family Medicine

by Bethany Ford, Department Administrator; Molly Polverento, MS, Senior Outreach Specialist, Staff Supervisor

In 2014 the College of Human Medicine participated in the AAMC Faculty Forward survey. The Department of Family Medicine’s results from this survey, coupled with the arrival of a new Department Chair in 2015 and the QWC survey conducted in the Fall of that year, helped shape the department’s leadership focus over the course of the last five years.

The results of the surveys referenced above indicated the department had an opportunity to improve in the following areas:

Clarify the Mission and Vision – Accomplished
Expand Hospital Partnered Research – Accomplished & Ongoing
Align the various missions – Accomplished & Ongoing
Improve productivity and Efficiency – Efficiency QI Team Established
Create a Communication Plan to Improve Collaboration – Accomplished & Ongoing
Overcome Inertia – Accomplished & Ongoing

The Department implemented several strategies to respond to the above information. First, the Department developed initiatives to strengthen its research activities and engage all faculty in research. This included the establishment of the Department Research Subcommittee, an internal peer review process for research grants and publications, a Faculty Research Grant to support pilot and feasibility projects, and an incentive program for faculty collaborating with Sparrow employees on research.

Additionally, the department established Quality Improvement teams to address an improved communication plan and clarify the department’s mission and vision. The results of this work were a newly crafted mission and vision (see below) and visual cues/icons (representing the principles of our department) to be placed on all project plans and department meeting agendas.

The vision of the MSU Department of Family Medicine is better health for people and communities.

The mission of the MSU Department of Family Medicine is to promote the health and vitality of patients, families and communities.

We do this by engaging our community partners in:

High quality, innovative primary care
Community-engaged research
Advancing population health
Training the current and future health care workforce

In the Fall of 2016, the department held a full department retreat with teams tasked with performing a SWOT analysis on six keys for future growth:

Workforce: Skills and Capacity to Meet Future Demand
Workforce: Joy of Practice Suck it Up
Systems: Payment Mechanisms
Systems: Interprofessional Teams
Patients: Population Health
Patients: The Patient Perspective

After leadership discussion of the retreat results, the following SMART goals were selected for implementation:

Develop a Population Research Health Agenda – Accomplished
Improve Coordination of Care between discharged Sparrow Hospital patient and follow-up at the Family Health Center – Accomplished
Define and Measure Joy – Goal Champion left the department
Creation of a Family Health Center Patient Advisory Council – Accomplished/Transitioned to HealthTeam
To Meet or Exceed the FY2017 PCIP Incentive Model measures of documentation timeliness, citizenship, and adult quality metrics utilizing Athena and practice data – Accomplished

The Department strives to make the most of opportunities for change which improve our efficiency and effectiveness. The retirement of the Department Administrator in the fall of 2018 led to a new administrative structure which leverages existing skill sets within the department. The shared leadership structure of a Lead Department Administrator and Staff Supervisor has allowed the department to make the best use of these individuals’ existing campus relationships and university experience, allowing them to be more effective than one individual alone in this role. Additionally, when PCIP abruptly ended in June 2018, the department had to make difficult decisions about how to meet the College’s allowable loss target. Through compensation reductions, careful clinical management, increased productivity, and lots of teamwork we were able to meet the goal established for us and will be able to restore a small amount of compensation back to our physicians.

The department has made a concerted effort to improve areas in which data indicated we were weak and will continue to leverage areas in which we have strength. In October 2019, the Department will held its 2nd retreat, where we explored ideas around The Future of Family Medicine: Transforming through Clinical Practice, Instruction, and Research. Faculty and staff met in small groups focused on Clinical Practice, Instruction, Research, Community Engagement, and Virtual Health to identify opportunities for growth and ideas for initiatives to keep moving forward in accordance with our Vision and Mission.

Based on the work done at the retreat, a workgroup was formed for each area of focus. The various workgroups have been tasked with developing SMART goals that will be implemented throughout 2020 and 2021. Each workgroup is led by an Associate Chair and made up of Family Medicine faculty, staff and key stakeholders.