ACPE grooms doctors for growing number of physician-executive positions

Moving into management traditionally was seen as a way for physicians to ease into retirement. But physician executives now are in high demand. They are being recruited to lead delivery-system reforms as insurers and providers shift to paying for value rather than volume.

The American College of Physician Executives has been offering doctors educational programs to improve their management and leadership skills since its founding. About 800 people are expected to attend the college's annual meeting April 25-29 in Chicago. CEO Dr. Peter Angood has been pushing to expand the group's traditional mission from serving as a continuing medical education provider for midcareer physicians to helping shape national healthcare policy and serving doctors at all stages of their careers.

The agenda for this year's meeting (PDF) reflects this goal. A significant portion of the meeting will focus on the effects of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, the challenges physician CEOs face in measuring quality, costs and value, and what it takes to be a successful physician in the C-suite.

The meeting will also feature a new thought leadership forum. Meeting speakers include: Dr. Joe Selby, executive director of the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute; Dr. Robert Wachter, a noted patient-safety advocate; Dr. Frank Opelka, CEO of the LSU Healthcare Network; Dr. Ram Raju, the new president and CEO of the New York City Health and Hospitals Corp.; and Dr. Bruce Bagley, CEO of TransforMED, the consulting arm of the American Academy of Family Physicians, who will speak on issues surrounding patient-centered medical homes.

“It's an exciting time to be a physician leader,” Angood said.

Follow Andis Robeznieks on Twitter: @MHARobeznieks