How Phoenix Children’s helps clinical leaders develop strong business skills

Phoenix Children’s has seen substantial growth in the past several years, and one of America’s largest pediatric health systems is poised to get bigger.

Jared Muenzer, chief physician executive at Phoenix Children's, says it's important for clinician leaders to have a solid understanding of business.

In August, the system opened Phoenix Children’s Hospital-Arrowhead Campus in Glendale, a new $195 million hospital. Phoenix Children’s has another hospital in development. Phoenix Children’s Hospital-East Valley is slated to open next year.

The system also recently completed a significant expansion of its main campus. And Phoenix Children’s has grown from six specialty divisions to 38 in recent years.

With the system continuing to grow, Phoenix Children’s has hired more staff and expanded its services. But the system has also placed a priority on building a sound business case as it looks to expand clinical offerings.

Jared Muenzer, MD, Phoenix Children’s chief physician executive, has played a key role in the transformation of the system. He has helped develop a training program to instill clinical leaders with a greater understanding of their business.

In a discussion with Chief Healthcare Executive®, Muenzer says the focus on business training has played an important part in Phoenix Children’s growth and success.

While he says he’s a clinician at heart, Muenzer touts the importance of having a fundamental knowledge of the business.

“Providing world-class care and the highest quality care to our patients and families is always going to be number one, no matter what," he says. "That being said, I do not think you will ever reach the pinnacle without understanding your book of business."

(The story continues below the video.)

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‘They were hungry’

Muenzer joined Phoenix Children’s in 2016, and as the system was growing, he says there was a recognition that the organization needed to develop a different way of thinking.

“It was very obvious that with that massive amount of growth, that we had to start thinking about a system that would work for us to make sure that we balanced what is always going to be a resource-limited environment in pediatric medicine, probably healthcare as a whole,” he says.

Muenzer says he sought to create an environment where the clinical leaders, administrative leads and operational leaders were all working cooperatively. Each side brings a different lens, but they can accomplish more working cohesively, he says.

While clinical leaders needed more training on the business sides of the operations, Muenzer points to the importance of fostering a more collaborative environment.

Importantly, clinical leaders embraced the idea.

“They were hungry for it,” Muenzer says.

Phoenix Children’s didn’t necessarily seek to train clinical leaders to be experts in healthcare finance, Muenzer says. Rather, the goal was to foster an environment where clinical leaders had a seat at the table as decisions were being made.

Still, the system began training some clinical leaders for several months in business operations.

“We really brought them the information that we felt was needed. And some of that was the softer stuff of how to effectively communicate, how to have a difficult conversation,” Muenzer says.

However, the system integrated leadership training with some education in finance, and how revenue translates into patient access and growth.

The program also involved placing four to six division chiefs at the same table to work through problems.

“We had them learning with each other and going through problems or exercises where it took all of them to explain what was special about their division and why they were different or how they handled a certain problem …. and how they've addressed shortages in physicians, or how they've worked with their staff to provide a better product for their patient,” Muenzer says.

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Understanding and running the business

Beyond training clinicians in finances, Phoenix Children’s also helped make it easier for doctors and leaders to understand their own business.

Muenzer worked with the system’s IT leadership and operational leaders to help present information in “nuggets” that busy clinicians would be able to absorb. They developed a financial dashboard to put data in front of clinicians.

“What was really missing was a transparent sharing of the necessary information to not only understand your book of business, but to run your book of business,” Muenzer says.

With the input of clinician leaders, the dashboards have been revised repeatedly to reflect what they’re seeking.

“We really listen to what they want and what they need,” Muenzer says. “And it's a delicate balance, because I have some division chiefs that want every ounce of possible data.”

Muenzer says clinical leaders will ask “tough questions”, especially as they seek more data to gauge needs for additional staff or services.

“They will ask every day and twice on Sunday about data, data analytics and accuracy,” Muenzer says. “And so we spent a lot of time assuring that the data we're giving them is the right data and it's accurate.”

The system also set expectations for clinical leaders to meet monthly with directors on the operational side of the organization, he says.

Phoenix Children’s revamped its budget process so that clinical leaders were at the table, and had meetings where they would get a sense of where the division stands and goals going forward.

By developing better business understanding and creating a more collaborative environment, Phoenix Children’s could make more informed decisions on expanding specialties and hiring more clinicians.

At times, there are bumps along the way, Muenzer acknowledges. But he says clinical leaders now have much more robust conversations about business and staffing.

In the past, clinical leaders had a feel for when they needed an additional doctor or other staff. But they didn’t really have the business acumen to assess staffing needs.

Now, clinical leaders will sit down with directors and build the business case for another physician.

“The things that I get back now, at the maturity level and the growth, it's crazy compared to what it was eight years ago,” Muenzer says. “And I think they just enjoy it. And I think that some of that intrigue of being a clinician is they enjoy solving problems.”

Muenzer recalls a recent conversation about the budget for the emergency department, which is especially vital since Phoenix Children’s just opened a new hospital and is about to open another. He says the conversation explored questions of recruiting, staffing, and strategies for expansion.

“Now it's this interactive, great discussion about where we are and how we're going to strategically do that,” he says.

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Spotting leaders

With Phoenix Children’s focus on business training and understanding the financial aspects of expanding services, Muenzer says the system also has witnessed another benefit from those efforts.

The system is identifying leaders with potential to take on greater roles.

“It's how we identify the next future leaders,” Muenzer says.

Plus, with Phoenix Children’s growing so quickly, there are an increasing number of roles for leaders, he says.

When leadership positions open up, Phoenix Children’s looks for candidates inside and outside the organization. As Muenzer says, it can be challenging balancing the need to cast a wide net with providing opportunities for those within Phoenix Children’s to advance.

“The best problem I have is that I've got too many fantastic young leaders for the number of positions I have,” Muenzer says. “I can't complain. It's a tough problem to have and manage, but it is a great problem to have.”