Physician Relations Role as Messenger of The Physician’s Perspective

By: Kriss Barlow, RN, MBA

A standout physician relations representative has the ability to become the “resource” for physicians’ views.  Words, and the way they’re shared, provide powerful insights. Reps, who spend every day with doctors, are in a perfect position to share the doctor’s voice. There are two components to becoming that resource:  first capture, and then communicate.

Capture

Getting to the heart of a physician’s attitudes, desires and challenges requires you to spend quality time with the doctor. Once you’re there, what techniques can position you to learn more?

1. Come prepared to listen: Stay in the “listener mode” and don’t worry about getting your time to tell.  Often, it’s the answer to the third or fourth question that reveals the deeper emotion behind the physician’s attitude.
2. Frame the conversation: Good pre-call planning will highlight areas of interest for internal stakeholders.  If there is interest in learning about the ACO and the physician’s perspectives, draft several questions on that topic before you meet.
3. Share thoughts from other doctors: You need to be careful not to lead their options, especially when it comes to primary care. It is sometimes helpful to say, “Since I have talked with other doctors about this topic…”
4. Focus on the right topics: Make sure that your conversations match the topics that are relevant internally.  While there may be a time when you feel the need to introduce a topic that should be getting attention, generally it’s best to align your conversations with the pressing internal issues. Your role is to offer the external physician’s voice to those internal discussions.
5. Get permission to share: Let the doctors know how you plan to use the information they share and repeat what you will share so the doctor hears your take-away message.
6. Conduct surveys: Gaining real-time feedback from the field gives you a great advantage. Consider developing your own mini-survey, one or two questions you could ask at the end of every call. This will become your signature close. Your team members can ask the same questions and you can rotate them on a regular basis.  This is a fabulous way to supplement to physician satisfaction surveys and gain real-time insights.

Communicate Internally

1. Get internal traction: Representatives, who consistently have the ear of leadership, are able to communicate external messages in a way that internal stakeholders can understand.  Often, this means providing relevant data plus stories. Consider tailoring your message to your audience, possibly segmented by loyalty or specialty.  For example you could say:  “20 doctors, or 65% of the PCPs that I visited this month, indicated that…” Then follow it with a personal anecdote, such as “Dr. Smith represented the sentiments of the group when he said, ‘We don’t want to be the first to take the leap, though we do see the writing on the wall.’ ”
2. Determine the right context and timing: Be sure to know which messages require immediate attention — and by whom.  It takes time (and perhaps a little trial and error), but part of your strategic role is to prioritize and position correctly.
3. Communicate more than just issues: Communicating physicians’ concerns is vital, but your role is more involved. As perceptions of the market, needs within the practice, concerns about the business and more change, it’s your job to make physicians’ thoughts known.  By relating information on all of these topics, you can make sure external physicians’ views are considered when internal decisions are made.
4. Be available for details: Be willing to share at a high level and do not include every morsel of detail. Packaging your findings for the right internal stakeholders is essential.  Give a snapshot and be readye to provide more details on request.  It’s temptating to report everything, but if you overdo the information, the punch line gets lost.

The best advice for the physician relations team (on both sides) is to be authentic.  Be yourself, develop trust and communicate physicians’ views in an honest and straightforward way.  In these changing times, the ability of both sides to share perspectives will be the skill that creates the value.

Contact Kriss Barlow for more information on our Physician Relations offerings.