Clinical excellence is an obvious necessity to any successful healthcare facility. Due to the frequent changes in the economic environment surrounding healthcare, it is even more important that hospitals and providers strongly pursue quality clinical leadership. On March 24th, 2016, Anesthesiology News published an article titled, “The Anesthesia Clinical Director: A Critical Leadership Role,” which compiled the opinions of some distinguished healthcare professionals including Dr. Salvatore Vitale.
Salvatore Vitale, MD, is the director of cardiac and thoracic anesthesia at Mount Sinai Beth Israel and director-at-large of the Association of Anesthesia Clinical Directors. Dr. Vitale was one of many professionals who attended the 2016 American Society of Anesthesiologists Practice Management meeting and he provided important insight regarding the role of anesthesia clinical directors. He discussed the value in perioperative management and explained how clinical directors must not only be dedicated anesthesiologists, but must also facilitate collaborative teamwork in OR management.
“We need to become invaluable to our institutions so we can’t be replaced,” said Dr. Vitale. “Because of the fierce competition for anesthesiology services, I want a member of my anesthesia department as clinical director.”
Dr. Vitale also highlighted important responsibilities of clinical directors in the way hospitals maximize value and ensure optimal outcomes. He explained how the clinical director must manage conflict among perioperative providers and act as a liaison between administration, nursing and the medical staff. Anesthesia management strongly impacts a hospital’s bottom line, and the clinical director is intricately involved in maximizing performance across many areas including financial, operational, and clinical.
Dr. Brian Parker, an anesthesiologist at the Cleveland Clinic, is another outstanding clinician who understands the role of the clinical director and how it integrates with the rest of the hospital.
“The person who runs the OR on a daily basis has a huge fiduciary responsibility,” said Dr. Parker. “You are running that daily budget, which is pretty integral to the success of a hospital.” He also explained how anesthesiology adds value to the daily operations of hospitals.
Dr. Parker and Dr. Vitale are just two examples of professionals who understand the value of quality anesthesia management and operational excellence. Somnia believes that hospitals can achieve these standards by combining effective leadership, data tracking and analysis, and process improvement. Somnia’s white paper, “Clinical Quality Excellence in Anesthesia Management,” highlights how facilities can find meaningful results from clinical data and explains the details behind how to achieve quality clinical performance. Click here to gain access to this paper and continue to follow along with Anesthesiology News to hear from more amazing physicians about the latest trends in anesthesiology.