You didn't know that physicians don't lead health care?

Patty Fahy, MD, helps other physicians become leaders. She says laypeople are surprised to hear that hospitals and clinics are rarely run by doctors.

Patients hold their physicians -- and nurses -- in high regard. They put lives in their hands. It would seem only natural that all the shots in health care are called by them.

But it isn’t true. Health care is a business -- even more so since hospitals switched to for-profit enterprises run by nationwide “systems.” The doctors I know typically wouldn’t want it any other way. They want to care for people, not deal with the insurance company.

But Patty believes the business of health care has gone off the rails precisely because doctors' patient-centered values are not represented in the boardroom. She interviewed Jandel Allen-Davis, MD, on her podcast last week.

They both are the leaders in healthcare that we need.

What doctors are good at

I reported to both of them at one time when I was director of communication, marketing and advertising at the Kaiser Permanente Colorado region. As managers, they are terrific. As leaders, they are even better.

As you listen to them in Patty's podcast, you wonder why doctors haven’t been in charge and why more of them don’t stand up.

Jandel talked about the time when she crossed over from the Kaiser Permanente physician group to become a VP on the health plan side. She was a much-loved OB/GYN who saved many lives and brought many more into the world.

She asked herself what could she bring to the C-suite of a health insurance company. And she went to the root of what made her an excellent doctor:

1. “You have to know your stuff,” and who better to lead a health care organization than someone who knows health?
2. “You have to instantly establish relationships,” she said. “You never know what you’re going to find on the other side of that (exam room) door.” Health care is an intensely human endeavor, but it's often dehumanized in the C-suite balance-sheet discussions.
3. “You have to follow through with a high degree of integrity.” Patients -- and, well, everyone in any organization -- want you to do what you say you’re going to do.
4. “Make them feel like they’re your only one.” You can’t fake this. Give the person in front of you your complete attention.
5. “Whether it’s good news or bad news, your patient needs to know you aren’t going to abandon them.” In health care, there’s a lot of not-so-good news that leaders must share. They have to make sure their teams know that they're in it with them.

What holds them back

Jandel said that despite all the leadership skills physicians have, they often are reluctant -- or discouraged -- from leading because they aren’t MBAs. 

But they need to understand that no one can play all the positions on the field. Every leader needs to rely on others to fill in their knowledge gaps.

“Leaders are there to inspire, to set a vision. To break down barriers,” Jandel said. 

"And the most important thing we do: We’re there to grow the next generation of leaders because we aren’t going to be in these roles forever.”