The physician executive can help improve doctor-patient relationships

An integral part of the physician executive's job, but one that is not relished, is confronting clinicians when they are doing something wrong. If the problem involves medical skills, the confrontation cannot be delayed, but if it involves interpersonal relationships, individuals and organizations will sometimes let the issue slide too long. If physicians have good clinical skills but bad bedside and office manners, they will lose patients. As competition increases, organizations are increasingly realizing that they must address these problems and solve them quickly before patients take their business elsewhere.