The Affordable Care Act and Its Effects on Physician Leadership: A Qualitative Systematic Review

Abstract

The Affordable Care Act (ACA) shifted the focus in medical care from quantity to quality. This qualitative systematic review determined the key skills to be an effective physician leader after the implementation of the ACA and to compare them to the key skills identified prior to its implementation. A qualitative systematic review collects qualitative data and can be analyzed in a number of ways, including thematic analysis that constructs themes from the pooled data. A systematic literature search on leadership skills for physicians resulted in 26 papers. Thematic analysis was used to categorize the data presented in each paper. The results from these 26 papers were then compared to a similar paper published prior to the implementation of the ACA. Teamwork and team-building, communication, and self-awareness skills were mentioned the most often. The percentage of papers mentioning teamwork and team-building skills (61.5%) was significantly greater than the percentage (25%) reported prior to the implementation of the ACA (p≤0.04). With the shift towards quality of patient care, healthcare workers at all levels should strive to work as a team to provide the best quality of care at all stages of patient care.

Canadian medical faculty senior leaders: what skills do they need?

“…Every leader recognized the need to cultivate self-awareness and recognized how it affects their ability to gain trust within their department and faculty, so that they could build an environment that is based on respect, openness and collaboration. These self-awareness skills are part of EI which has also been described as a key attribute of an effective leader (Freischalg, 2019; Sternbenz and Chung, 2017; Stoller, 2018). We suggest that part of the orientation of new senior leaders include assignment of mentors and/or coaches with emphasis on conflict management skills.…”

From East to West: A Narrative Review of Healthcare Models in India and the United States

“…The Dependent Care Provision of the ACA has increased insurance coverage in many aspects, including for young adults with cancer [ 37 ]. Additionally, tying Medicare payments to readmission rates has incentivized healthcare providers to improve the quality of care to reduce readmissions [ 38 ]. Proponents also think the ACA made it easier for public health nurses to focus on preventative healthcare, integrate primary care with broader public health, and coordinate care more efficiently [ 39 ].…”

Consumer Engagement With Information on Performance: A Narrative Review

“…Engaging consumers more actively in decision-making, linked to quality improvement (QI), has become a health policy imperative globally, and leaders at all organizational levels—including both administrators and health care workers—are increasingly responsible for ensuring high-quality care 6. For example, in the US health care system following the Affordable Care Act (ACA), government-funded reimbursements have been more frequently tied to patient satisfaction; and through the Healthcare Market Regulation Act in the Netherlands in 2006, the Dutch government has similarly emphasized the importance of quality for population health 7,8.…”