Happy Freddie (1)

I'm happy. I made Freddie's day.

I made things happen the way he wanted them to happen and he was happy. We shared a laugh over the phone and his voice was happy. He was chummy and sweet. He thanked me "for the groundwork."

He was happy. And I had a hand in that.

CUE IN MUSIC: FLASHBACK

This hospital where I work in is not a small hospital in any sense of the word. it's not as big as the big hospitals in Metro Manila but it's not a small one, either. It has a Board of Directors and officers, jsut like the Corporation Code prescribes. Freddy is an officer, and as such, he does not have voting rights. Only Directors have voting rights.

This Board does not know how to act like a Board. It does not document its actions in the form of resolutions. It does issue resolutions but not all its actions are documented. For another thing, it has no sense of its power as a decision-maker and policy-maker. It is at present being confronted with a classic issue that I'm sure a lot of hospitals have problems dealing with: the doctors.

UNDER MUSIC: "THEME FROM JAWS" WHILE CUEING IN
SFX: CROWD GOING "OOOOOH."
UP MUSIC, HOLD, FADE UNDER & OUT.

Sometime in the late 90s, the Board decided to organize the medical staff with the main purpose of controlling the doctors' behavior within the hospital. It created the Medical Staff Society (MSS) and had the body ratify a constitution and by-laws (C&BL). From the very start, however, the Board has always treated the doctors with kid gloves.

It's quite understandable to treat doctors deferentially when you're just starting out as a five-bed hospital. But when you have a hundred and twenty-five bed-capacity going on two hundred, that's another thing altogether. Unfortunately, this the Board still has to realize.

The MSS, thus, evolved as an organization extraneous to the hospital's organizational structure. It became a professional society, but oftentimes, it comported itself as a mere social club, as is usually the case with these organizations. Anyway, suffice it to say that the primary purpose for the MSS was never realized.

Now, here comes RQV, a doctor and Director of the Board. He's the author of the original C&BL and has protected that docuemnt since its ratification. A frustrated lawyer, RQV has tinkered with that C&BL for months now, dragging me into the process. (He feels he and I are kindred spirits since I have a law degree and he -- well, he's always wanted one.)

What RQV wants is to introduce stronger provisions that would allow stronger control by the Board over the medical staff.

This is a Director of the Board. He wants the Board to exercise control over the doctors. And he wants to do it through a document that regulates the behavior of the members of an organization within that organization.

This is what I mean when I say that this Board does not know how to act like a Board. It issues resolutions now and again, but it does not know how to use its power of issuing resolutions. So, you want to regulate the medical staff? Why not issue policies and procedures to be followed by every doctor who wants to practice in the hospital?

Forget about the MSS and its C&BL.

Let's look at the inherent problems.

The amendment
One of the proposed changes allows the Board to introduce amendments to the C&BL without being ratified by the MSS. This alone will antagonize the entire medical staff. Another problem is having this particular amendment passed. The current C&BL holds sway at present and it provides that all amendments must be ratified by the body before it can take effect. How can the Board insert this amendment in the present C&BL without going through the MSS?

Freddie came to me four weeks ago with this issue, a few days before the Board meeting. My recommendation was to have the Board define the relationship between the itself and the MSS. A week later, he came back to report that the issue was taken up but no official resolution was passed on the relationship. I took him to task that time, reminding him that without that official statement, things will remain as murky as ever. He was quiet.

To be continued...