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The February 2008 program is now full.  If you would like to be placed on an interest list for future offerings, please contact Cindy Betti-Sullivan at cbetti@ihi.org.

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Meeting the challenge of physician engagement with hospitals and health systems to improve quality has never been more important.  Yet success in implementing steps to fulfill the real potential which lies in the common purposes of hospitals and physicians has proven elusive throughout the country.  A key change is to view physicians as the true partners and collaborators with a hospital or health system in achieving real improvement.

The Institute for Healthcare Improvement has developed Engaging with Physicians in a Shared Quality Agenda, a two-day seminar that provides health care leaders with an opportunity to learn and apply concrete practical strategies for engaging physicians in the quality and safety work of their organization. Led by expert IHI senior faculty members James L. Reinertsen, MD, Bill Rupp, MD, Alice Gosfield, JD, and Alva Whitehead, MD, the seminar will offer a methodical six step framework to develop a plan to engage with physicians using tools to assess and address common barriers to improvement,  techniques of messaging and data analysis, practical problem solving exercises, and explicit principles of engagement, all to be applied with an understanding of the barriers and opportunities offered by the Stark and antikickback statutes.  Team participation at the program to include leaders of the medical staff, administration and board can jumpstart the application of what is learned. 

While the program emphasizes hospitals and health systems, its principles and techniques are applicable in other settings as well, such as physician group practices.   

Upon completion of this program, you will be able to:

• Utilize a framework for engaging with physicians in a common quality agenda.
• Develop a segmented, specific plan for engagement of physicians at various levels in the quality and safety strategies of your organization.
• Use practical tools and resources to execute your physician engagement plan. 
• Expand your network of contacts and resources among peer executives who are also focused on physician engagement in quality and safety.

   Listen to the November 2006 Informational Call on Engaging with Physicians in a Shared Quality Agenda with James Reinertsen, MD, and John Whittington, MD.