David’s passion is using information-based approaches to improve decision-making and create business growth. He has worked as a healthcare market strategist for over 20 years.
He helps organizations transform data and information into knowledge that is then distributed to the right people, at the right time, in the right format. Past experience includes the full array of marketing disciplines: strategic planning, market research, brand development, service line planning, competitive analysis, CRM and sales management. Much of this is “hands-on” experience with one of the largest healthcare systems in the country. David is a past president of the Indiana Healthcare Marketing and Public Relations Society and has a PhD in Statistics from Oregon State University. David and his family live just outside of Indianapolis in Greenfield, IN.
Recent Posts and Articles
Physician Satisfaction
By David F. Zirkle, PhD It’s no secret that physicians today face a myriad of challenges and changes – from increased medical malpractice litigation to shrinking reimbursements, from cost containment to quality of care issues and patient safety concerns. While...
Planning Before Doing
By Dave Zirkle Success in today’s challenging healthcare environment rarely occurs by chance but rather through well-designed and executed planning. And this is definitely true in the category of physician relations. Good physician sales planning addresses four basic...
Pre Sales Call Planning: Readiness and Product Knowledge
by Christine M. Rhodes, MS and Dave Zirkle, PhD Direction from your hospital leadership team and the annual strategic plan as well as the historical referral data will guide you in selecting clinical service lines to promote during your physician sales visits. It is...
Data is your Friend
By David F. Zirkle, PhD While slow to penetrate many physician relations programs, the use of data to drive decision-making has now become the norm. Successful programs recognize data is a key ingredient to improve performance and maximize growth opportunities....
When Research is Done
By David F. Zirkle, PhD At its core, research is a transformation process that increases the usefulness of information at each step along the way. Raw data collected on the front end is transformed into useful and actionable information to improve decision-making...
Data: A Checklist for Gaining Internal Buy-In
David F. Zirkle, PhD We have all been there during data presentations: from the co-worker who “just doesn’t get it” to the senior leader who asks “how do I know the data is valid?” As we all know, decision-makers must feel comfortable with the data to make your...
Look Back as You Look Forward
By David F. Zirkle, Ph.D So a new year is almost upon us. Besides making the obligatory observation that time seems to be moving ever more quickly, what difference does a new year make? For most of us, as the year draws to a close, there is no better time to reflect...
Now I Need to be a Practice Manager Too?
David F. Zirkle As healthcare systems scramble to acquire and employ specialty practices and physicians, many hospitals find themselves in an unfamiliar line of business – practice management. One common assumption is that physician practices can be managed in the...
Using Consumer Input to Support Your Medical Staff Planning
By: David F. Zirkle. PhD Hospitals and healthcare systems frequently conduct a variety of studies to support their planning efforts. However, the data is often used to support the project objectives for which the study was done and little consideration is given as to...
Have You Had Your Dose of Demographics Today?
By David F. Zirkle, PhD Most healthcare organizations have caught up with their counterparts in other industries and now are awash in rich data sources to support planning and business development efforts. While new data sources have become available, a long-time...