By: Susan Boydell | sboydell@barlowmccarthy.com
For the past several weeks, I’ve been talking with a lot of physician relations leaders and liaisons about how they are adapting to the new normal…working from home (WFH). Aside from the fact that days feel like weeks and what was new yesterday is old tomorrow, I’ve heard a lot of inspiring ideas. I thought I would share my top four “making a difference” ideas from several very resilient teams.
- Gathering and reporting voice of customer. One of the greatest gifts that field teams can provide to leadership is feedback. Think about it, there are many physicians who have very little connection to the health system except through the liaisons. The team at Centura Health in Colorado has been diligent in having conversations and gathering insights from this very group of physicians. They have moved far beyond “how are you doing?” and “what do you need?” to asking precise questions. They are keeping a pulse on how the practices are functioning… some are just barely functioning. What does that mean for the practice and their patients? They are keeping track of who is using telehealth, as well as those who are interested but need help getting set-up, or perhaps they aren’t, but they should be. The team leaders for Centura gather all the intelligence from the team and then provide a weekly summary for leaders. In their organization, the provider relations team is considered the “ears” (no eyes right now!) for the voice of the physicians in the field.
- Standard and consistent communication. Information is king right now. We all know the anxiety experienced when there is a lack of transparent, timely, and coordinated communication. When information and the status of the situation change on a daily, sometimes hourly basis, a structured approach to keeping your team in the know is essential. The team at Penn Medicine has done just that. They are a complex organization with multiple team members in a non-centralized environment, so it is impressive to see how they figured it out. The leaders coordinate a dial-in briefing every morning. During that call, updates are provided, new direction is communicated, and feedback from the field is shared. The team can count on this call for much-needed updates and guidance. The program leader relies on it to gather the necessary intelligence for internal stakeholders while also ensuring everyone on the team is hearing the same messages every day. It doesn’t stop there, though; at the end of each day, the program leader provides an email update/summary to wrap up the day and prepare for the next.
- Working on projects. You know what I’m talking about, all those “desk” projects that we never have time to complete. Let’s be honest, it’s not just that we don’t have time, it’s work we just don’t enjoy doing. The liaisons at Phoenix Children’s took it on. They had just completed a massive physician target list refresh, and with that came updates for the PRM tool. Can you think of anything more boring? It was hours, but they set a goal and dug in to finalize the process. Before COVID-19 that would have meant a much longer lead time or being pulled from the field to get it done. Now that’s it done, think how much more efficient they will be when it’s time to get back out in the field. A side bonus is a great sense of accomplishment!
- Taking care of your team’s well-being. These are extraordinary times. I’ve heard so many great stories of teams taking care of each other. A liaison recently shared how during their team calls, everyone stays on the line well past the end of the call. They talk about life at home, their struggles finding toilet paper, or their battle with trying to keep the dog or the kids quiet while doing calls with physicians. They laugh, they share their fears, they connect. So many want to make a difference. Of course, they do. It’s why they do what they do. So, whether it’s helping out where needed in your organization or making masks for the staff at your local grocery store, celebrate and share. It’s contagious in a good way!
These are just four ideas. I know there are many more and I would encourage you to share. This is the best time for us to learn from each other. We are untiringly inventing new ways to take care of our physicians, our organizations, our teams, our communities and each other.
If you are hungry for more insights, the team at Barlow/McCarthy did a series of podcast interviews with relations leaders from across the country. You can find the podcasts here: https://barlowmccarthy.com//blog/category/covid-19/.