Robert Lobato, MD, has been appointed associate vice chair for administration and finance for the UNMC Department of Anesthesiology. This new role within the department was created to optimize perioperative efficiencies, department leaders said.
Dr. Lobato joined the department in 2018 as the founding chief of the division of multispecialty anesthesiology.
Drawing on his extensive knowledge and experience in data analysis, Dr. Lobato will assist in management decisions regarding operations and finance, specifically staffing, with the goal of adding balance to the overall physician workload.
Department chair Steven J. Lisco, MD, Myrna Newland, MD, Endowed Professor of Anesthesiology, said he is appreciative of Dr. Lobato’s efforts to position the multispecialty division as a premier provider of anesthesia services at the national level and for fostering a culture of excellence, collaboration and innovation.
“I would like to extend my deepest gratitude to Dr. Lobato for his leadership, mentorship and commitment to our patients, our faculty, and the UNMC/Nebraska Medicine community over the past five years,” said Dr. Lisco. “I look forward to seeing him continue to excel as the excellent data scientist we all have come to recognize over his tenure with the department in his new role.”
Dr. Lobato will have a dual reporting relationship to Bryan Schwahn, vice chair of administration and finance and Ellen Roberts, MD, vice chair of clinical operations. He said the pace of change in health care has accelerated dramatically in the past few years, and now those changes will be data-driven, increasing efficiency and decreasing burnout.
“Since COVID, we’ve been having to make changes in staffing and operations every six months. It used to be that academic medicine could reevaluate every couple of years or annually in a fast-paced environment.” Dr. Lobato said. “Dr. Roberts wants to increase the cadence to three-month intervals, and by making data-driven decisions we can make sure we’re not moving in a direction that’s not productive.”
One example: Using data to manage call coverage toward the end of the day, adding balance to the physician workloads by decreasing the likelihood of overburdening specific individuals or clinical divisions.
Additional changes will increase transparency within the department and help certified registered nurse anesthetists make informed decisions.
As Dr. Lobato transitions into his new role, he is looking forward to increasing his clinical practice while still ensuring time for his new responsibilities.
“We’re so busy clinically that the biggest challenge will be not only finding time to extract and manipulate the data, but also turning it into insights that are both important and actionable, coming to a common understanding of what the data means and how to use it to advance the department’s priorities,” he said.
With Dr. Lobato’s reassignment, the department of anesthesiology will search for a new division chief of multispecialty anesthesiology. During the search, the executive vice chair of the department, Mohanad Shukry, MD, PhD, will serve as interim chief.
Dr. Lobato said leaving his role as division chief is bittersweet, and he is optimistic about future growth within the division. While change is always difficult, he said, now is a good time to pass the baton. He will remain a member of the multispecialty division and will be a resource for the incoming chief.
“I’m very proud of the work and the growth within the division,” Dr. Lobato said. “It’s also an opportunity for several of our faculty … to step up and lead.”
During his time as division chief, Dr. Lobato also served as a faculty member and mentor. He is a dual board-certified diplomate of the American Board of Anesthesiology and the National Board of Echocardiography. He said he is most proud of the growth and mentorship among the faculty, and his greatest source of personal gratification is witnessing and facilitating faculty members becoming capable clinicians and impressive educators. Dr. Lobato hopes his efforts to bring cohesion and a unified voice to the division have strengthened the entire department.
“It’s been a tremendous honor for me to be chief of the multispecialty division, definitely one of the highlights of my career,” Dr. Lobato said. “I’m very proud of the people who I’ve worked with and honored that they’ve let me be part of their growth and representation.”
In thanking Dr. Lobato for his service, Dr. Lisco said that he had “no doubt we will continue to witness further exceptional contributions in the future.”