A message from Dr. S. George Kipa, deputy chief medical officer
The challenges of being a ‘virtual medical director’ in the age of COVID

At Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, we have many medical directors who provide clinical leadership in various areas of the company. And during my career, I’ve served as a medical director in several different areas of operation.

Sometimes I’m asked: What exactly does a medical director do?

The answer to that question can be as diverse as the organization in which the medical director works. For health plans such as Blue Cross, it may involve one or more of the following:

• Developing, implementing and communicating medical policies
• Collaborating with providers to enhance health care value
• Improving or enhancing care management and utilization review processes
• Developing and communicating strategies and new initiatives with customers, employees, members and providers  
• Working with internal and external committees and stakeholders to deal with policy, regulatory and public health issues
• Working with other health care plans to improve health care locally and nationally, moving toward more efficient, evidence-based care within the organization’s extended ecosystem

A medical director's role typically involves many person-to-person interactions, including the key role of recruiting new talent.

How does one transition such responsibilities into a virtual model? Some of the “tricks of the trade” that I’ve learned over the past 25 years have application to other types of jobs, so wanted to share some of the things I’ve learned:

• Daily in-person interactions with staff in different areas in the company are important for reality checks and constructive discussions.   
• Brainstorming sessions to evaluate new ideas and strategies often work best in groups of nine people or fewer. These sessions are often fueled by the positive energy shared in direct interactive environments. Huge meetings can be overwhelming both to a newbie and to a seasoned participant.  
• Whether you’re giving presentations to large groups and organizations or working to resolve local issues with small group meetings, all interactions can benefit from immediate person-to-person feedback and direct communication.

When a new medical director (or other new employee) is hired, the onboarding and orientation process can be especially challenging in a work-from-home environment. How does a person get familiar with staff, functions, processes and customers without the benefit of actually meeting team members in person? This can be a challenge as we grapple with integrating past knowledge with current priorities and issues — rallying the troops to move forward with new strategies and ideas.

Tips for working effectively in a virtual environment
Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Sloan School of Management offered some suggestions in an article last year titled New Leadership Challenges for the Virtual World of Work.* They included:

• Manage yourself: Maintain a regular schedule; take breaks throughout the day.

• Manage work: Use the “science of meetings” to prepare more effectively in terms of both logistics and mental cognition.

• Limit the size and duration of remote meetings and ensure they have a clear purpose and create virtual alternatives to big team meetings.

• Manage development: Be intentional with feedback,

• Fill the social gap from missed informal interactions.

• Ways to facilitate informal interactions:

• Manage relationships and increase the frequency of touchpoints beyond your regular circle.

• Be deliberate about reconnecting with key people on your team.

• Make sure the entire team is connecting on a frequent basis for planned purposeful fun

How are we doing?
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan was already a forward-thinking company in terms of working from home before the pandemic hit. We knew that productivity could actually increase when working with home, with a simultaneous improvement in job satisfaction. I believe this mindset greatly assisted the incredibly effective transition that took place at Blue Cross and Blue Care Network in March and April of last year.

So, were we following some of MIT’s suggestions?

Yes, we were already taking some of the constructive approaches suggested by MIT Sloan.

New technologies were adopted and, in many cases, adapted for use in a home, or virtual, environment. We found that some things — although not too many — actually work better in the virtual environment. One example for me is that I was able to attend a number of conferences and meetings that would have been difficult to attend in person due to the logistics involved. Another was the evolution of many hybrid and virtual medical delivery platforms. How they will evolve beyond the pandemic remains to be seen. One thing is certain: Blue Cross will continue its commitment to be a leader in this evolving domain.

Several medical directors started their careers at Blue Cross or BCN during the pandemic. I salute their proactive, enthusiastic and inclusive approach to onboarding in the midst of the special challenges of onboarding during the pandemic. They and everyone else involved in these transitions and transformations are true health care heroes!

Share your thoughts
I invite you to share your virtual adaptive experience. What worked well? What didn’t? What else did you learn from your experiences during the pandemic that can lead us to a better future?

Let me know at GKipa@bcbsm.com.

*Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan doesn’t own or control this website.

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan and Blue Care Network are nonprofit corporations and independent licensees of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association.