Home Health Medical Director Engagement
How investing in clinical partners can take a home health agency from good to great
Dr. Benjamin Doga, LHC Group’s chief medical officer, oversees clinical processes, quality improvement initiatives, and a nationwide team of more than 600 medical directors. He received his bachelor’s degree in occupational therapy from Northeastern Louisiana University and medical degree from LSU School of Medicine. He is a board-certified practicing family medicine physician. He is a clinical assistant professor of family and community medicine with Tulane Medical Center and a board member at Ochsner Health System.
What does “Medical Director Engagement” mean at LHC Group?
BD: From the beginning, our model has been based on the belief that all healthcare is local. We operate local agencies, under local brands, with local staff, who provide for their friends, neighbors, and families in the communities we serve. To support our mission of helping more people, we must leverage both the clinical expertise of our medical directors and their ties to those communities.
The physicians we employ as medical directors are our experts. They are active participants in case conferences and remain actively aware of the agency’s impact on outcomes across the local care continuum. This is a vital differentiator for LHC Group and our agencies: the ability to accurately and effectively deliver the kind of care that communities not only need, but that patients and families prefer and deserve.
What does the medical director of the future look like to you?
BD: The medical director role is one that will continue to evolve. I think the immediate future will see greater engagement with downstream post-acute care providers in general. For example, I expect more medical directors will be involved in the bundle-development process. They will see themselves as more of a participant in, and less an overseer of, care development for their home health agency’s patients. That’s the way the industry is going.
We’re seeing more and more of our hospital partners become acutely aware of the impact their downstream partners can have on their own goals. For example, when you think about the penalties providers face just on the basis of acute care hospitalizations, there is almost immediately a focus on “who touched the patient last.” The medical directors of the future are going to be very involved in cementing relationships with referral sources and communities to promote a higher standard of collaboration and communication across the care continuum – a standard that will no longer be optional.
I see this shift happening soon – COVID-19 has certainly accelerated this trend.
Regarding COVID-19, did the onset of the pandemic play a role in LHC Group’s decision to take a fresh look at medical director engagement in spring 2020?
BD: If we look back on where our industry was in March, it was a mad dash for resources – PPE, staffing, etc. Everyone was forced to examine their inventory and determine if they were prepared to go to battle. As part of that review, we also took a look at what you might call our unconventional resources.
We were in uncharted territory with the pandemic, as was everyone else. Our medical directors are clinical professionals with the training and experience we need to keep moving the needle. The difference – and, I think, the origin of our current initiative – was a better understanding and greater dependence on the fact that they know what their individual and unique markets need.
Medical directors have been a part of the home health industry for some time. Given the current environment, what is the significance of enhanced engagement?
BD: The significance of medical director engagement is increased when you operate in a distraction-rich environment where traditional outreach is no longer realistic or appropriate – the current pandemic. We must also think about the visibility of the home health industry long-term. From this perspective, medical directors are the key to maintaining visibility within a given market.
As the preferred joint venture partner for almost 400 leading U.S. hospitals and health systems, LHC Group works in cooperation with providers to customize each partnership and reach more patients and families with an effective and efficient model of care.