Impact of a Physician Clinical Support Supervisor in Supporting Patients and Families, Staff, and the Health-Care System During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

As coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-COV2), became a pandemic, hospitals activated Hospital Incident Command Systems (HICS). At our institution, we included a role of Physician Clinical Support Supervisor (PCSS) in the HICS structure. The PCSS role was filled by physicians who served hospital leadership positions, such as Physician Advisor, Medical Staff leadership, Chief Quality Officer, and Chief Medical Informatics Officer. In an effort to summarize the lessons learned by implementation of the PCSS role during the COVID-19 pandemic, we evaluated a PCSS working Microsoft Teams™ spreadsheet and the experience of physicians in the PCSS role. Through efficient daily 2-way communication between frontline providers, HICS, and hospital leadership, the PCSS role facilitated rapid change and improved support for frontline staff, patients and families, and the health-care system. We recommend including the role of PCSS in HICS structure in the event of future pandemics or other crises.

Keywords: delivery of health care; health services; leadership.

FIGURE 1

Role of the PCSS in Bidirectional Communication. The PCSS played an essential role in bidirectional communication between frontline staff and HICS and hospital leadership, thereby supporting patients and families, frontline staff, and the health-care system.