A Physician Conduct Improvement Program to Address Disruptive Behavior in a Health Care Setting

In an effort to provide comprehensive and consistently high-quality health care, the need to address professional behavior is rising. The physician conduct program was designed to reduce physician conduct concerns while providing an organizational culture in which physicians would thrive. This program includes a trained team, an event-reporting system, and a physician advisory council. Root causes, perspectives, and corrective strategies for each reported incident are explored with identified individuals in each incident. Over the 4 past years, complaints (n = 583) have included: rude or disrespectful comments to colleagues (52%), lack of physician communication with colleagues (15%), disrespectful interactions (23%) and inadequate communication with patients (5%), and violation of organizational policies (5%). The professional conduct program has provided a cohesive, systematic resource aligned with the health system's focus on teamwork, collegiality, and excellence in patient care.