By: DoM Communications
In this month’s Chair Spotlight, we feature Stephen Krinzman, MD, associate professor of medicine in the Division of Pulmonary, Allergy, and Critical Care Medicine at UMass Chan.
In becoming a physician, Dr. Krinzman knew he wanted to combine his passion for creativity and problem-solving with a career in medicine, a goal that led him to pursue leadership opportunities.
“As my career evolved, I found my home in leadership where I could go back to that more creative, problem-solving aspect of my personality, and that has led to some of the most gratifying work I have done,” shared Dr. Krinzman.
At UMass, Dr. Krinzman currently serves as the Ambulatory Specialty Director and Co-Lead of the Department of Ambulatory Working Group (DAWG) in the Department of Medicine. As part of the DAWG, Dr. Krinzman and his colleagues are currently working on an urgent access initiative that brings easier access to medical specialties for patients throughout the system.
“The urgent access initiative is critically important for patient safety,” said Dr. Krinzman. “Access to medical specialties is going to be a problem for the foreseeable future, given physician shortages, so we have to establish a better system to get patients who need to be seen urgently in quickly.”
According to Dr. Krinzman, many clinics have participated in the initiative, and its success has expanded beyond the Department of Medicine. In addition to his work with urgent access, Dr. Krinzman has focused his efforts on managing the challenge of InBasket messages in the Division of Pulmonary, Allergy, and Critical Care Medicine.
“We have developed a team to help our physicians with InBasket requests,” explained Dr. Krinzman. “Our initiative is led by APPs, and the team also includes RNs, LPNs, ASRs, and MAs. This team can handle virtually all the incoming InBasket work for physicians who are away, on service, or on days they have heavy clinical loads. I think this has been incredibly helpful in addressing one of the biggest drivers of dissatisfaction in the ambulatory setting.”
In the DAWG, Dr. Krinzman and the DAWG leadership team have also spearheaded and implemented an ambulatory provider and staff satisfaction survey process that has collected data from all Department of Medicine clinics for four consecutive years.
“The concept here is that once a year, we give our providers and staff a chance to say what they want to say and how things can be improved,” said Dr. Krinzman. “In the second phase, which is equally important, we ask clinic leaders to meet with their staff and physicians to go over the survey results.”
Over the course of the project, satisfaction scores have increased significantly for both physicians and staff.
“It is really empowering people to have an equal voice in these things and to hold constructive change,” said Dr. Krinzman. “This is an initiative that has spread outside of our department as well and has been really impactful.”
Among his many contributions, Dr. Krinzman says that the most rewarding aspect of his work is seeing his ideas make a positive impact on teams across the institution.
“It’s like songwriters when they walk down the street, and someone is singing their song; it’s incredibly exciting,” said Dr. Krinzman. “Seeing my work adopted in other departments and by the system's ambulatory leadership is very gratifying.”
Outside of his clinical responsibilities, Dr. Krinzman enjoys writing and recording music in his studio. He additionally enjoys traveling with his family and exploring the world.
Dr. Krinzman earned his medical degree from the University of Miami School of Medicine in Coral Gables, Florida. He completed his internal medicine residency at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, and a pulmonology fellowship at Massachusetts General Brigham Hospital in Boston.
Please join us in recognizing Dr. Krinzman for his years of contributions to the DAWG, Department of Medicine, and UMass!