Kriss brings an energy and expertise to the process that inspires stronger relationships, smarter strategies and more meaningful results.
The leading expert in physician relationship strategy, Kriss Barlow has deep healthcare experience and an unrelenting commitment to deliver meaningful results to her clients. Backed by more than two decades experience as a healthcare consultant, plus clinical and business development experience within organizations, Kriss offers unparalleled expertise in the areas of strategic growth and implementation; physician relations, engagement and retention; as well as sales and training. Her passion for developing innovative growth strategies and a shared vision helps teams define the right medical staff relationships, increase referrals and meet even the most ambitious objectives. While Kriss is highly skilled at inspiring vision, she also takes a hands-on approach to implementation that drives results.
A nationally recognized healthcare speaker, Kriss is frequently asked to share her insights at conferences and webinars, including The Forum for Healthcare Strategists, SHSMD and ACHE. She’s the author of five books, including her newest, Physician Relations: The Model, The Method & The Impact. A certified sales instructor, Kriss is a recipient of SHSMD’s award for Individual Leadership Excellence.
Located in Hudson, WI, Kriss has dedicated her entire professional career to healthcare. She’s earned a BS in Nursing from Augustana College, Sioux Falls, South Dakota and a Masters in Business Administration from the University of Nebraska, Omaha.
Working with Kriss:
The work that we have been doing with Kriss Barlow is aimed at structuring our provider relations team in a way that would meet the needs of the organization and drive measurable results. I couldn’t be more pleased with the growth and development of our team, facilitated by Kriss. Her knowledge and expertise has really positioned us for the right level of credibility with leadership which has proven to be key in sustaining a successful provider relations team.
– Summer M. Lesic, VP Sales and Growth, Centura Health
Recent Posts and Articles
5 Characteristics of Good Questions
By: Kriss Barlow, RN, MBA | kbarlow@barlowmccarthy.com “Successful people ask better questions, and as a result, they get better answers.” -- Tony Robbins “I just want a precious few minutes…” Field staff crave time with prospective physicians and it gets harder and...
6 Practice Marketing Basics that Set the Course for Success
By: Kriss Barlow, RN, MBA | kbarlow@barlowmccarthy.com Marketers can be heard moaning, “Just add it to the list…” Teams of excellent health system marketers are now up to their elbows in one-off needs of employed practices, tri-fold brochures, requests for...
Value First: Leverage Your Physician Conversations
By: Kriss Barlow, RN, MBA | kbarlow@barlowmccarthy.com Our culture is all about shallow relationships. But that doesn't mean we should stop looking each other in the eye and having deep conversations. -Francis Chan As physician relationship specialists you’ve heard it...
Five Leadership Traits for Physician Relations
By: Kriss Barlow, RN, MBA | kbarlow@barlowmccarthy.com "Leaders who don't listen will eventually be surrounded by people who have nothing to say." -Andy Stanley Most organizations are getting serious about finding the right talent to launch or improve their physician...
New School Year, New Learning for Physician Relations
By: Kriss Barlow, RN, MBA | kbarlow@barlowmccarthy.com The start of the school year brings back all sorts of memories for me, how about you? As a parent, there was the thrill of watching the boys grow up. At a personal level, I just attended a very fun MBA reunion. As...
When the Team is Not Delivering
By: Kriss Barlow | kbarlow@barlowmccarthy.com “One of my organization’s team members just dropped the ball…” Whether it is an operations lead who fails to follow-up with a doctor or a colleague who failed to meet a promised deadline, it’s frustrating. And while there...
Professional Disappointment: Is There Internal Equity?
By: Kriss Barlow, RN, MBA | kbarlow@barlowmccarthy.com A while back an article prompted me to ask my adult boys, “Any statement from me that is memorable?” They came back quickly and one son said, “Life is not fair.” Growing up he wanted things to be equitable, for...
Physician Relations: Rainmakers… or Noisemakers
By: Kriss Barlow, RN, MBA | kbarlow@barlowmccarthy.com These are old expressions with current meaning for physician relations. I recently connected with a group of program leaders. It’s always humbling to hear the everyday realities in business development and...
Physician Relations Collateral Clash
By: Kriss Barlow, RN, MBA | kbarlow@barlowmccarthy.com The plea, “We need more collateral…” has reverberated in physician relations since the inception of focused field staff. Marketing teams are generally open, but have their own ideas about what’s important. The...
Physician Relations Gets Personal: Embracing Change
By: Kriss Barlow, RN, MBA | kbarlow@barlowmccarthy.com “In a chronically leaking boat, energy devoted to changing vessels is more productive than energy devoted to patching leaks.” -Warren Buffett Healthcare is changing. Tell me something I don’t know, right! We...