Atif Zafar - Why Doctors Need To Be Leaders.: A Call To Action Amidst The Evolving Complexities of Healthcare

Atif Zafar is a neurologist, a researcher, an entrepreneur, an advocate, mentor, coach, and a life-long student of science and leadership. In this book, he shares his insights and perspective on physician leadership and why the evolution of physician-mindset in the current healthcare system is crucial. In this book, he wishes to converse with medical students, trainees, early career physicians, and other stake holders to stimulate a transformative discussion and to instigate leadership. These discussions aim to introduce the core principles of leadership for the future generations of doctors, and to foment a culture of leadership in this incisive, analytical, bright and smart faction of the society.

Contributing Authors: Dr. Mudassir Farooqui, M.P.H. and Dr. Syed A. Quadri.

Content Contribution & Improvement: Theresa Simpson.

Proof reading and Editorial expertise by Lyndsay Wilson.

Purpleye Press 2020

A great number of physicians do not entirely comprehend the business of health care. Several times a week, an average physician cures disease, ameliorates health problems, fixes bones, carries out surgeries, and institutes a range of therapeutic and lifesaving interventions. We consider our jobs to be "saving lives," and we do our best in our everyday medical practice. However, considering present realities, merely saving lives within the confines of the hospital or clinic is not enough. Unfortunately, most physicians are content with their current limited roles in the healthcare system, choosing not to concern themselves with the bigger picture. It's a good thing to feel satisfied with our jobs, but not when the feeling of satisfaction comes at a great cost not just to the physician community but also to the patients we serve. We consciously limit our roles in healthcare to mere day-to-day medical practice which mostly involves pills, surgeries, and therapy. For the better part of our careers, we neglect policies, prices, and interaction with authorities as it relates to healthcare.

As doctors, people entrust us with their health. Many lives depend on our decisions. Consequently the decisions we make, and our willingness to make them, impacts the health and well-being of communities, and frankly the whole nation. We are entrusted with much more than the responsibilities of diagnosis and treatment. While it is easier to merely diagnose and treat disease and let the system take care of the rest, we cannot afford to continue with this ostrich mentality any longer. Our patients look to us to do what is in their best interest, which is increasingly acquiring a new meaning. Our responsibilities toward our patients as well as to ourselves encompass a wide range of activities previously considered out of our scope of work. We owe it to our patients to be proactive in effecting change in ways that will have far-reaching impact on healthcare in general.

Just a few decades ago, smallpox, poliomyelitis, and leprosy ravaged towns, cities, and entire nations, taking the lives of innocent children and breadwinners alike. Fortunately, we now live in a world where those health problems have to a great extent been eliminated thanks to advances in prevention and treatment strategies such as accessible vaccines and cheaper medications. Furthermore, we have made technological advancements like air ambulances that can safely and rapidly transport sick and injured patients hundreds of miles away to well-equipped hospitals.

All of this is possible as a result of gradual progress in healthcare over the course of the last several centuries. While this kind of progress in healthcare continues, physicians are now obligated to begin making progress of a different kind, well beyond the confines of traditional medical practice. As physicians, we are one of, if not the most important players in healthcare. It then increasingly dawns on us to face our most important role in the society - which is providing good health care to populations - with a different perspective.

Since it is reasonably well-established that technological innovations, lower prices, improved healthcare delivery, and patient-focused research can help solve problems within healthcare systems and enhance provision of better medical care to patients, how then can physicians participate in this? How can they help lower drug prices for their patients? How can they help realize affordable healthcare? How can they help catalyze technological innovations in healthcare?

The questions are many, but one common answer lies within physician participation in leadership within healthcare systems. Physicians are uniquely positioned to lead healthcare organizations because they are committed to providing medical care to patients through treatment and prevention of diseases. A study by the London School of Economics found that healthcare institutions with the most physician involvement in management affairs performed considerably better. These institutions were more likely to experience improved effectiveness in general management, performance management, and general leadership as compared with hospitals with little physician leadership.

While there is traditionally a contentious and often conflicted relationship between hospital administrators and clinical practitioners, a leader with a clinical background (a physician leader) gives a healthcare institution credibility and introduces more trust among administrative and medical staff. A clinical background provides physician leaders with skills that allow them to respond to administrative problems in ways that are consistent with present clinical realities. A combination of leadership training with clinical expertise positions physician leaders as powerful and influential leaders capable of instigating relevant changes, seeing new possibilities, breaking down silos, inspiring others, and bringing to life dynamic healthcare visions for organizations.

Its true that some healthcare institutions and medical schools have recently made impressive efforts in providing coherent and relevant leadership training. However, what passes for leadership skills training in most hospitals and medical schools is a jumble of incomplete classes that lack any logical progression, coherence, and relevance. Sadly, the nature and organization of these lectures means they fail to truly develop market-ready, industry-relevant, and effective physician leaders.