By: Kriss Barlow, RN, MBA
We recently asked the opinion of readers, clients and industry experts in a simple survey. Over the next few months we will be using our blog to share results and offer some insights and ideas based on our findings. We will also pose questions you might consider to prepare your approach for the remainder of 2014.
We asked, “What is your #1 priority for the physician relations team?” Survey respondents were only allowed one answer.
The future requires time and conversations about alignment and engagement, yet today, volume is still king. Leaders tell me the same thing: They have a tremendous desire to earn the right volume. This can be in terms of caring for patients from physicians who split their referrals or attracting doctors who are not referring. For 19.4%, it’s about working to slow in-network business that currently leaks out. For that group of liaisons, their priority field effort is relationships and referral connections with the employed physicians. In fact, 7.8% reported that satisfaction was their #1 priority. However, I suspect that every liaison would say that satisfaction is core to the job. The same holds true for issue management. The ability to earn new referrals relies on the rep’s ability to keep doctors satisfied and to manage their complaints. It begs the questions:
- Does the time you spend in each of your priority areas align with its importance?
- Do you have clear messaging to internal stakeholders who distract you from the core priority with other “physician stuff?”
- Are there clearly defined areas of differentiation that you can use to earn referrals that currently leak out of the system? (Guilt is not a sales strategy!)
- Have you set a clear goal for the volume you plan to grow by December 2014? Have you written it down? Told anyone? And do you have a plan that, if well executed, will get you there?
The essential element to successful volume growth is a plan that defines what you can grow and who are the practices/doctors that are the right for those discussions. The obligation then is consistent, and the differentiated messages pull the right doctors toward your valuable offerings. (Remember, too, volume growth only counts if you measure it and talk about it!)
How has your method or approach for growing volume changed?