In June, 1988 Dr. Richard Depp reviewed the changes in the Jefferson Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology since the time of his arrival. Much had been accomplished. Yet Dr. Depp wondered if he had been too naive and optimistic about the amount and pace of change that was possible. He developed short-, medium- and long-term priorities for the department and hoped he would be able to continue the change process.
INITIAL ACTIONS
Upon his arrival at Jefferson in early September, 1987 Dr. Depp identified that the broad objectives of the department resided in four major arenas: 1) education of students, residents and fellows, 2) patient care, 3) administrative/financial, 4) research. He felt that the most pressing were addressing clinical and administrative/financial needs.
In preparing for his arrival Dr. Depp recruited and hired Barbara Lamb as department administrator. He also appointed Carol Schiavo, who had been the secretary to the previous chairman, as office manager. Together with Ms. Lamb, Dr. Depp immediately reorganized the office, replacing equipment with state of the art computers, renovating space to provide comfortable and functional work places, and assigning secretaries to work for different faculty groups. Job descriptions for all secretaries were updated, individuals reviewed relative to the new responsibilities, and a program of goal setting, quarterly evaluation and merit increases initiated. Secretaries also were sent to word processing classes.
Ms. Lamb also began efforts to improve collections on practice billings, believing that the situation was so bad that almost any effort would bring positive results. Initial investigation revealed that collections were limited by the capabilities of the billing agency. Attachments to bills provided by the department were not forwarded to payers but were piled in boxes at the agency.
In beginning recruitment of new faculty, Dr. Depp began by focusing on Maternal and Fetal Medicine (MFM). He cited four reasons: 1) among sub-specialties he had the greatest knowledge of potential faculty recruits in MFM; 2) community needs presented a window of opportunity for establishing Jefferson as a center of excellence in the Delaware Valley; 3) an expanded section could provide exemplary care and generate clinical income both at Jefferson and a number of affiliate institutions; 4) initial start-up investment in MFM recruitment is small as compared to other sub-specialties particularly reproductive endocrine; and 5) MFM should provide in-roads for oncologic and reproductive endocrine referrals in the future. Four new attendings in MFM were recruited in 1987-88.Ob/Gyn Ultrasound activities within the hospital were developed by initiating the "Antenatal Evaluation Center" (AEC), a joint venture begun in September, 1987 between the Department of Radiology division of ultrasound and the Department of Ob/Gyn divisions of MFM and ultrasound. As stated in the Ob/Gyn Department's annual report in 1988, "The current agreement is not an optimal one; under the current interpretation of the agreement, MFM is a 'guest' in the 'house' of Radiology. However, it is a 'start'." . . .
Assignment
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