Hot topics that will impact growth in 2019 (such as site-neutral reimbursement policies, telehealth expansion and price transparency) are causing some confusion about the optimal site of care.
Even with the rise of "healthcare consumerism" patients still look primarily to their doctors for information and advice, which is why strong physician outreach programs will be more critical than ever to successful business development and growth.
With that in mind, these three ideas for business growth remain essential.
1. Capacity/access – No business development effort can be successful if the new business you have developed cannot be accommodated. To achieve growth in the era of consumer driven care, organizations must represent the path of least resistance for providers and patients by way of easy and innovative access to care. Organizations must first ensure that capacity exists within key service lines and practices. Access to care must be analyzed at all levels of the organization. Lean value stream mapping is an effective, first step to access that leads to fast growth.
2. Data – Not all businesses is good business! To successfully develop business and implement data-driven growth strategies, organizations must fully understand where strategic growth and alignment opportunities exist. You don't have to pay for expensive external data to begin putting data to work for you. To know this, a thorough analysis of timely and relevant internal and external referral data can be conducted to determine the scope of the growth opportunity. Let timely, internal referral data tell you the story and guide your strategy.
3. Professional outreach execution – After establishing access and capacity for growth, along with a thorough analysis of all available data, organizations must then develop a structured sales/outreach program. Utilize highly trained individuals whose primary (or sole) responsibility is executing data-driven business development strategies. A professionally trained outreach team will bring feedback from the field to leadership, who must also be held accountable to take action on that feedback.
Thomas G. Tiller II, is Chief Operating Officer of Tiller-Hewitt HealthCare Strategies, which assesses, develops and executes physician relations, retention and business development strategies, including sales and outreach programs.