Budgeting Tips: Keeping Division Finances on Track

Dr. Brotman For a hospitalist, managing a budget shouldn’t be that much different than maintaining a household budget. “Ideally, you should know approximately how much income you’ll generate and how much you expect to spend on a monthly or quarterly basis, and these numbers need to roughly match up,” said Daniel J. Brotman, MD, FACP, MHM, director of the division of hospital medicine at Johns Hopkins Hospital, an urban academic medical center with more than 1,000 beds at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. Dr. Bonsall Most commonly, a hospital-medicine group leader who makes staffing decisions and creates staffing models may need to understand how to manage a budget, said Joanna M. Bonsall, (@BonsallJoanna), MD, PhD, SFHM, associate professor of medicine at Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta and chief of hospital medicine at Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta, an urban hospital with about 700 beds. Other hospitalists may also benefit from understanding how budgeting decisions are made, such as a hospitalist who would like to propose a new service line or ask for administrative time, Dr. Bonsall continued. To prepare for a position that requires budget management, take courses or seminars to understand how hospital financing works overall. When taking on a budgeting role, “Ask your business manager or finance team to explain the different budget categories and how funds flow,” Dr. Bonsall said. “Have them walk you through their budget sheets so...
Source: The Hospitalist - Category: Hospital Management Authors: Tags: Business of Medicine Career Practice Management Source Type: research