USF St. Petersburg campus Honors Program Theses (Undergraduate)

First Advisor

Richard Smith, Ph.D.

Document Type

Thesis

Publication Date

2019

Abstract

Shortcomings of healthcare are evident on multiple fronts: the monstrosity of costs for patients, the complex relationship between physician and patient, and the controlling atmosphere created by hospital administrators, to name a few. Often, doctors run into a myriad of problems while caring for patients and think, “Why does this system not work better? Why has it not been fixed yet? If I were in charge...” In recent years, more physicians are indulging in the mindset of leading by making decisions and appropriately assuming roles as hospital administrators and executives. Thanks to the growing number of medical schools offering the MD/MBA dual degree, new and young physicians will be motivated to tackle the setbacks that have existed in healthcare and initiate waves of change in hospital administration.

Hospitals that place an emphasis on physician-executives in their business models have been researched to outperform those that favor traditional hospital administrators with no medical backgrounds. Mandatory experience in practicing medicine and treating patients in order to provide the highest quality of hospital administration is a concept that is justified by the rising number of MD/MBA dual degree programs currently available to medical students. With more physicians entering leadership roles in the future, challenges to healthcare—patient expenses, physician-patient interactions, traditional hospital administrators—will be dealt with more effectively by hospital administration as a result of appropriate diagnoses made by those who are on the forefront.

Thorough research and analysis of today’s hospital administration have been performed to determine the benefits of obtaining the MD/MBA dual degree. Disparities in healthcare that can be expected to be remedied by physician leaders have been outlined in a research paper. Following a review of foundational research, this paper proposes a business plan for ThePeople’s Hospital, LLC, which represents a model of a medical facility that prides itself on physician executives leading hospital administration. Together, the research on the overall purpose of the MD/MBA dual degree and a business plan for a hospital directed by physician leaders provide a rationale and effective solution for some of the current ills of the United States healthcare system. As more physicians are seen entering executive roles in future hospital administration, it is predicted that common, daily obstacles will diminish and larger, big picture issues will vastly improve.

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.

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