I’ve been sharing the unspoken assumptions that practice leaders make when they rely on WRVU-based physician compensation models to solve issues within their practices.
I’ve talked about using WRVU benchmarks to set goals and whether it’s entirely up to physicians to choose to be more productive. Today, I want to talk about the assumption that physicians want to do more so they can earn more.
I know money is important, and we’d all like as much financial security as we can get, but we’ve all worked with physicians who have:
- Young children or elderly parents to care for and they simply can’t stick around to see another patient, or
- A certain standard of care that they’ve internalized and they can’t bring themselves to get through patient visits any faster, or
- A highly paid spouse or wealthy family.
When you talk about “aligning incentives” through a WRVU-based compensation model with one of these folks, it just doesn’t resonate. Or worse, they feel insulted.
While some of your physicians may be motivated by money, others may prioritize opportunities to achieve goals, serve others, learn new things, make a difference, or even earn praise.
It’s important to understand what motivates each of your physicians if you’re going to lead them most effectively. I recommend carving out time this month to sit down with each of them, one-on-one, and ask questions like: “What are your professional and personal goals?”, “What do you like most about your job?”, “What challenges frustrate you?”, “How can I help you be more successful?”, or “What colleagues have brought out the best in you and why?”.
Through these conversations, you’ll find other ways, besides money, to take actions that lead to better patient access, higher productivity, and stronger revenue. You’ll also discover opportunities to permanently remove points of friction and help them do more with the same level of effort.
