Implementing Systemwide Physician Change Management in an Integrated Health Care Setting: Improving Physician Participation in an Advanced Care at Home Model.

Introduction: Advanced Care at Home is a clinical model that delivers hospital-level care in a patient's home. This model of care has been studied for decades, but there have been difficulties scaling the model to a higher census because of poor physician participation. Kaiser Permanente at Home, an Advanced Care at Home model created by Kaiser Permanente Northwest, was able to quickly increase its patient census by using several different change management interventions. The aim of this study was to describe the specific physician change management interventions used and to determine their relative impacts on physician participation with Kaiser Permanente at Home.

Methods: This study used a retrospective qualitative approach. Hospitalist and emergency department (ED) physicians completed an online survey in December 2021. This was followed by focused, one-on-one interviews that were held in February 2022. Content analysis was performed using a general inductive approach to identify core themes.

Results: Of 78 ED and 79 hospitalist physicians recruited, 35% submitted responses. Of these respondents, 16 (29%) were ED physicians, and 39 (61%) were hospitalist physicians. Of these respondents, 90% rated Kaiser Permanente at Home favorably over the course of a year. More than 90% of respondents rated a combination of multiple approaches as impactful, but respondents overwhelmingly noted that physician-to-physician engagement was the most important (51%).

Conclusion: In the development of the Kaiser Permanente at Home, physicians highlighted that a multifactorial change management approach centered on peer-to-peer engagement had the most substantial effect on their participation, a process that could extend up to a year.