Patients are becoming savvier about how they access healthcare. In our increasingly digital world, patients expect to find information quickly, reach their providers easily, and make appointments online. They want to compare clinics and physicians with Google searches and web reviews. To meet these expectations, health systems are incorporating at least one physician access leader (PAL) into their ambulatory leadership structure as a necessary part of the building, budgeting, and refining efforts to make their ambulatory services more accessible.
PALs provide specific benefits that an administrative leadership team may not be able to deliver.
In this article, we explore the growing importance of having a PAL on your leadership team and review their responsibilities and key skills. We also examine the impact on an organization’s culture on this role and how your health system can support the PAL.
