On Demand: Easing the Call Burden: Practical Cardiologist Staffing Strategy to Support Physicians and Protect Outcomes-Webinar Recording

Video Transcription

Video Summary

The webinar, sponsored by Moonlighting Solutions and MedAxium, focused on addressing cardiology call burdens and staffing strategies at Centra Health’s Heart and Vascular Institute (HVI) in central Virginia. Dr. James Warner described the challenge of increasing weekend call demand after electrophysiologists withdrew from general cardiology calls, leading to physician burnout and patient access issues. To address this, Centra partnered with Moonlighting Solutions to provide high-quality, consistent cardiologists primarily covering weekends. This approach aimed to reduce weekend call burden for HVI cardiologists, improve work-life balance, enhance retention and recruitment, and increase outpatient clinic availability.<br /><br />The partnership involved thorough vetting and credentialing of candidates, mostly early-career cardiologists eager for weekend work, supported by experienced APP staff and hospital cardiologists. Initial outcomes showed positive feedback from both Centra providers and Moonlighting Solutions physicians, improved recruitment, reduced turnover, and better patient access. Business case analyses demonstrated increased clinic days, higher patient volumes, and downstream revenue, leading to organizational support.<br /><br />Future plans include measuring quality, well-being, and financial metrics, exploring program scalability, and potential expansion into other specialties like urology and general surgery. The discussion highlighted the importance of flexible, sustainable staffing models to combat nationwide physician burnout and recruitment challenges, with Moonlighting Solutions offering a valuable long-term call relief partnership.

Keywords

cardiology call burden

staffing strategies

physician burnout

weekend call coverage

Moonlighting Solutions

Centra Health Heart and Vascular Institute

physician recruitment and retention

outpatient clinic availability