To our prospective physician advisory teammates,

I am the Associate Chief Medical Officer who supports Sound’s physician advisory program at Holy Cross Hospital in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. I’ve been with Sound Physicians for five years and take pride in the Medical Director of Advisory Services program we’ve developed across the country. We invite physicians interested in this field, or those considering a career change, to explore what Sound and Holy Cross have to offer. As you contemplate your options, allow me to provide insights into our people, practice, and purpose:

People

• Our advisory team includes 23 Sound-employed onsite physician advisors spread across the nation, working directly within various hospitals, and an additional 39 onsite physician advisors employed directly by the hospitals we support.
• Our network includes Sound physician leaders who collaborate to enhance hospital services through the role of the medical director of advisory services in our partner hospitals.
• Our onsite physician advisors are spread across states, including Arizona, California, Florida, Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Nevada, Washington, and West Virginia.
• We lead utilization management (UM) efforts, compliance, and clinical documentation improvement (CDI) in our partner hospitals.
• We work closely with hospital administrations to identify and address performance improvement opportunities, such as length of stay, readmissions, enhanced documentation, and regulatory compliance.

Practice

• Holy Cross Hospital is a world-class, private non-profit community hospital, serving Ft. Lauderdale and surrounding areas since 1955.
• Holy Cross is part of Trinity Health.
• Holy Cross is a 577-bed acute care facility, and Level II Trauma Center, offering a full scope of expansive healthcare services including Primary Stroke Center, Heart Care, Surgical Services, and Joint replacement.
• The hospital has been nationally recognized with the fourth consecutive “A” leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade and received 2022 National Recognition for Stroke and Diabetes Programs.
• Fort Lauderdale is located on Florida’s southeastern coast and is known for beautiful beaches and boating canals.
• As visible physician leaders, we advocate for improved regulatory compliance, documentation, and better utilization of hospital resources.
• Collaboration with case management, clinical documentation improvement, and regulatory and revenue cycle leadership helps us identify and develop action plans for performance improvement opportunities.
• We provide one-on-one and group education to the medical staff and provide support to address and reduce payer denials.
• Timely and effective consultation is provided to case management, coding and documentation specialists, physicians, and other hospital staff, including concurrent assessments with documented determinations and observations.
• We stay connected through monthly advisory team meetings (virtual), fostering ongoing education.
• Our schedule typically runs Monday to Friday without evening calls or weekends.

Purpose

• Our primary focus is always putting patients first.
• We are a community-minded team, encouraging team members to contribute both within and outside the hospital to help our local community thrive.

To inquire further, please reach out to my recruiting partner, who will facilitate a connection with me.

Melissa Buchner-Mehling
aCMO, Sound Advisory Services