Increasing physician engagement. Using norms of physician culture to improve relationships with medical staff.

Comments on the 2004 survey identified that physicians thought it was too early to judge whether the new structure itself was successful. This year, the survey will be repeated to measure the effectiveness of the new structure and to help administrators set goals to further improve physician engagement levels. Meanwhile, Mercy & Unity is using the tenets of the physician compact, elements of physician culture, and elements of administrative culture to inform new process-improvement activities. More study is needed to identify whether Mercy & Unity's techniques of reorganization contributed to the higher rates of physician satisfaction and engagement, but it is our belief that incorporating physician cultural norms into the process helped prevent the change process from turning the horse into the proverbial camel.