Job Summary:

Acute Care Alberta (ACA) invites applications for the role of Medical Lead, Capacity and Flow.

ACA supports operational leadership and clinicians in making care safer within the acute care sector through shared learnings across ACA. Working in close partnership with operational leaders, the Medical Leader drives initiatives that support timely access to beds, efficient use of acute care resources, and safe, patient-centered flow across the province.

Responsibilities/Accountabilities:

• The Medical Lead – Capacity and Flow Physician is responsible for effective and consistent communication. The Medical Lead will maintain an ACA email address reviewed regularly to ensure a predictable communication channel.
• Provides senior medical leadership in support of the ACA ACMO.
• Contributes expert guidance and advice on provincial strategic planning and policy matters related to capacity, access and patient flow.
• Provides senior leadership to special projects and programmatic developments at the request of the ACA ACMO.
• Acts as ACA ACMO designate in their absence.
• Assumes executive senior physician on call rotation for the system, as applicable.
• Performs all other duties assigned by ACA ACMO.

Responsible for:

Clinical Leadership: Provides medical leadership to the Operational Oversight & Coordination portfolio across Acute Care Alberta. This includes:

• Leading physician engagement in improving flow across ED, inpatient units, critical care, and specialty services.

• Leading physician communication activities related to capacity and flow ensuring information is credible, data-driven and supports safe patient-centered care.

• Providing clinical leadership for provincial-level capacity strategies including bed management, alternate level of care (ALC) reduction, surge planning and repatriation policies and procedures.

• Supporting operational leaders in implementing admission standards, repatriation processes, discharge criteria, and flow escalation plans.

• Championing initiatives aimed at reducing ED wait times, inpatient length of stay, and avoidable days.

• Participate in bed huddles, surge meetings, and demand/capacity discussions with provincial and corridor flow teams.

• Act as a clinical resource for site flow teams dealing with extraordinary capacity and flow challenges.

• Provide clinical decision-making support during escalation levels, capacity pressures, and patient safety risks related to flow.

• Collaborate with site physician leads, hospitalists, ED physicians, and specialty services to resolve flow barriers.

• Supporting development of Provincial Demand Capacity Functionality to best manage real time patient flow and capacity management (Provincial Integrated Operations Center or equivalent).

Quality Management:

Ensure standards of care and defined health outcomes related to capacity, access and patient flow are being achieved within their area of responsibility. This includes:

• Ongoing monitoring of the quality of clinical/medical practice that affects capacity, access and patient flow.

• Recommending evidence-informed practices that enhance safe, timely, and appropriate patient transitions.

• Ensuring effective processes and mechanisms are in place to encourage best practices and improve clinical outcomes/quality related to admissions, transfers, discharges, length of stay (LOS), and access.

• Functioning as a strong advocate for sound medical/clinical practice in all flow-impacted environments.

• Participating in evaluation of capacity, access and flow initiatives.

• Patient Safety: advocating for the provision of high quality and safe patient care across facilities and programs, particularly during periods of congestion, over-capacity, and system escalation.

• Working with administrative partners, site leadership and medical staff to establish, monitor and ensure compliance with performance expectations, volume targets and flow/access targets.

• Development of and ensuring physician participation in site and program service delivery plans related to patient flow and capacity.

• Dealing with concerns from patients / clients regarding the quality of medical/clinical care where flow or access are contributing factors and ensuring appropriate records are maintained and obtainable.

• Developing and sustaining an effective on-site medical management structure that supports consistent capacity and flow processes across facilities.

Physician Engagement & Education:

Promote a culture of shared responsibility for flow among physicians. This includes:

• Supporting education on:

  • effective discharge planning

  • documentation practices impacting LOS

  • early consults and diagnostics

  • escalation standards and surge protocols

• Modeling collaborative behaviour and encourage multidisciplinary teamwork.

Supportive of:

• Providing clinical leadership, support and coaching to the site medical staff, including developing objectives collaboratively with each physician lead related to capacity and flow.

• Active participation in and encouragement of participation in Accreditation activities.

• Active participation in and encouragement of participation in managing Capital Projects that influence capacity and flow.

Consulted on:

• Leadership and guidance in the corridor physician resources plan at the sites and program level as it relates to capacity, access and patient flow.

• Resolve disputes within and across clinical service areas and disciplines where flow, access, or capacity are contributing factors.