There are many flavors of hospital-physician relationship improvement plans. But when it comes to physician outreach, engagement or alignment, the following five points are essential and should be incorporated in the framework for hospital-physician relationship strategies.
1. Use data intelligently. Much of the data necessary for effective physician outreach is already accessible to hospitals due to system-wide databases and information from the physician referral department. With these resources already available, hospitals can put a team in place to track which physicians have made referrals to the hospital and which have strayed.
2. Expand your marketing resources. Marketing to physicians is a critical business function and is one of your most powerful tools for success in forming an ACO, establishing a joint venture, acquiring a practice and much more. Activities directed toward physicians require quantifiable measures of effectiveness. Other marketing tactics include brand-building and social media, which can be utilized for highly individualized physician relations.
3. Get to the root of the problem. Hospitals can't improve their relationship with physicians if they don't know the root of the problem. By revealing the sources of physicians' distrust, hospitals can tailor their plan and change sources of dissatisfaction within the hospital. For example, of those physicians who do not trust hospitals, there are five main reasons why:
• Competing goals: 60 percent.
• Lack of physician leadership/representation on the board: 56 percent.
• Lack of transparency: 56 percent.
• Lack of communication among physicians and hospital administrators: 50 percent.
• Incentives not aligned: 50 percent.
Through surveys, meetings or other avenues of conversation, hospitals need to hear physicians' grievances and find out which problems apply at their facility.
4. Executives can't pay lip service to communication — they need to visit physicians face-to-face and build connections. Each executive in the C-suite should visit 3-5 physicians each. Middle-managers can also share in assignments. Categorize physicians to prioritize outreach. For example, "senior statesmen" have less patient volume but maintain a lot of influence with peers; "most active" physicians are responsible for the most admissions; and "up and comers" are younger physicians who will gain in prominence.
5. Give a voice to younger physicians. Younger physicians are essential to the future strength of the institution, therefore they need a place at the table. The ad hoc coordinating council includes early, mid- and late-career physicians. Also, many younger physicians are more interested in employment and don't want the complications of private practice.
Read more about hospital-physician relationships:
- 7 Best Practices on Working With Physicians in ACOs
- 15 Statistics on Physician-Hospital Relationships
- 5 Best Practice Concepts to Improve Marketing to Physicians
1. Use data intelligently. Much of the data necessary for effective physician outreach is already accessible to hospitals due to system-wide databases and information from the physician referral department. With these resources already available, hospitals can put a team in place to track which physicians have made referrals to the hospital and which have strayed.
2. Expand your marketing resources. Marketing to physicians is a critical business function and is one of your most powerful tools for success in forming an ACO, establishing a joint venture, acquiring a practice and much more. Activities directed toward physicians require quantifiable measures of effectiveness. Other marketing tactics include brand-building and social media, which can be utilized for highly individualized physician relations.
3. Get to the root of the problem. Hospitals can't improve their relationship with physicians if they don't know the root of the problem. By revealing the sources of physicians' distrust, hospitals can tailor their plan and change sources of dissatisfaction within the hospital. For example, of those physicians who do not trust hospitals, there are five main reasons why:
• Competing goals: 60 percent.
• Lack of physician leadership/representation on the board: 56 percent.
• Lack of transparency: 56 percent.
• Lack of communication among physicians and hospital administrators: 50 percent.
• Incentives not aligned: 50 percent.
Through surveys, meetings or other avenues of conversation, hospitals need to hear physicians' grievances and find out which problems apply at their facility.
4. Executives can't pay lip service to communication — they need to visit physicians face-to-face and build connections. Each executive in the C-suite should visit 3-5 physicians each. Middle-managers can also share in assignments. Categorize physicians to prioritize outreach. For example, "senior statesmen" have less patient volume but maintain a lot of influence with peers; "most active" physicians are responsible for the most admissions; and "up and comers" are younger physicians who will gain in prominence.
5. Give a voice to younger physicians. Younger physicians are essential to the future strength of the institution, therefore they need a place at the table. The ad hoc coordinating council includes early, mid- and late-career physicians. Also, many younger physicians are more interested in employment and don't want the complications of private practice.
Read more about hospital-physician relationships:
- 7 Best Practices on Working With Physicians in ACOs
- 15 Statistics on Physician-Hospital Relationships
- 5 Best Practice Concepts to Improve Marketing to Physicians