Medical Director & Service Line Lead, Urgent Care - Santa Barbara, CA

Opportunity Information The Urgent Care Medical Director and Service Line Lead will supervise urgent care clinician colleagues, collaborate with the Sutter Health dyad partner and operations team members, and ensure the delivery of high-quality care while fostering a coordinated and high functioning urgent care team.

Approximately 50% of the time will be dedicated to administrative responsibilities as the UC Department Head and Service Line Lead; clinical urgent care work will comprise the remaining time. The UC Department Head and Service Line Lead will lead several initiatives, serve as an ambassador of urgent care, work with staff and clinicians on shared objectives for the success of urgent care, and align with the Sutter Health system’s expectations for urgent care performance (e.g., patient volume, staffing ratios, patient wait time, patient experience results, outcome metrics, etc.).

• Protocol development and implementation with staff and clinicians, for example:
  • Appropriate use of point of care tests, diagnostic imaging, IV and prolonged care, etc.
  • Urgent care specific workups and workflows to align with the expectations of the Sutter Health system
• Medication and supply issues:
  • DME process
  • PO medications
  • IM/IV medications
  • Security/policy regarding medications
• Quality of care and value based care:
  • Antibiotic usage
  • Communication between  UC teams
  • Narcotics and frequent fliers
  • Communication with PCPs, neuro, pain management
  • ER referrals and appropriateness of specialty referrals and advanced imaging
  • Communicate with departments regarding who we refer out of UC and who should be referred to UC
  • Protocol development for advanced imaging studies in UC
  • Protocol development for appropriate use of IV’s and prolonged visits versus when to send to the ED
  • Patient complaints
  • Development of M&M meetings for UC providers (discuss interesting, relevant and/or concerning cases from UC with the intent of clinical quality and process improvement)
  • Continuing education specific conferences for UC (networking with various specialists to provide talks on relevant UC topics)
• Workflow: enhancing efficiency and decreasing patient waits:
  • Use of rooms and staffing
  • PSR and nursing workflows to improve efficiency
  • Provider workflows and volume expectations for clinicians (physicians and APCs)
  • Space allocation
• Communication with other departments and with hospitals as needed to solve operational issues

• In the short term—working with the UC dyad partners and Sutter Health service line leaders to enhance clinician and staffing operational efficiency, improved financial performance, while ensuring the delivery of high-quality patient care
• Personnel:
  • Interview new clinician candidates
  • Orient new candidates to the department
  • Mediate interpersonal conflicts between providers
  • Mediate conflicts between providers and nursing or PSR staff in concert with Dyad partner
  • Mediate with unsatisfied/upset/hostile patients
  • Struggling physicians and advanced practice providers
  • Forging relationship with dyad and other operational partners to develop a team-based approach to operational and administrative issues that impact patients, staff and providers
• Department meetings and service line meetings—at least monthly:
  • Monthly all hands on deck meetings—may need to have two each month to ensure all can attend
  • Guest specialists to teach (e.g., continuing education, M&M, etc.)
• Data—work with Dyad partners on:
  • Aggregate and analyze data on patient volumes and acuity
  • Review Press Ganey UC data and work with clinicians and dyad partner on areas for improvement
  • Arrange staffing, supplies, etc. to account for wait times
  • Work with coding and compliance teams to ensure documentation and coding integrity

Achieve annual metrics and improvements as communicated by Sutter Health System for urgent care operations (e.g., volume, staffing, patient experience).

• Implement and maintain clinician specific monthly meetings (M&M, educational, operational, etc.). These meetings will be in addition to the all hands—on—deck meetings with Foundation staff.
• Develop and/or enhance current clinical protocols and…