Articles
Sometimes, you just need to read something to better understand a concept or to visualize the next steps on your journey. Barlow/McCarthy consultants have a variety of articles, blogs and checklists on topics of interest. Learn approaches for creating new physician relations models; re-tooling existing physician relations programs; facilitating physician recruitment and new physician on-boarding; and developing retention and practice marketing plans.
Physician Relations: Field Visit Techniques
Everyday Grace in the Field Staff Role
By: Kriss Barlow, RN, MBA | kbarlow@barlowmccarthy.com On occasion, we all have one of “those” days where it seems that people just feel compelled to push our buttons. Admittedly, some of us might have more ‘pushable’ buttons than others! Our roles have high...
Does Your Physician Relations Strategy Need an Update?
By: Susan Boydell | sboydell@barlowmccarthy.com We work hard day-to-day, week-to-week delivering on the activities our roles require of us. We work toward the goals our leaders have set for us. So, how do we know if we have the right strategy and tactics to achieve...
Does Strategy Matter for Relationship Sales?
By: Kriss Barlow, RN, MBA | kbarlow@barlowmccarthy.com Referral growth is a very effort-driven, tactical obligation. Many conversations are centered on visit cadence, quality messaging and the ability to demonstrate results. Where does strategy fit in and how will it...
Sales Presence: How Do You Show Up on Your Field Visits
By: Susan Boydell | sboydell@barlowmccarthy.com At Barlow/McCarthy, we recently provided a webinar for a fabulous physician relations team on the topic of elevating your field visits. Though the focus was on freshening up your field techniques and strategy, we spent...
Physician Relations: Upping Our Game with Questions
By: Kriss Barlow, RN, MBA | kbarlow@barlowmccarthy.com Leading sales training is near and dear to my heart. Seasoned professionals typically pick up one or two ideas to try while new team members generally leave with a better sense of process and technique that helps...
Physician Relations: Sales Planning
Embracing Challenges: A Path to Growth and Learning
By: Susan Boydell | sboydell@barlowmccarthy.com The role of a physician relations field rep or leader is woven with a myriad of challenges, each presenting an opportunity for personal and professional growth. By facing and overcoming these challenges, we truly...
Do You Have an Internal Positioning Strategy?
By: Susan Boydell | sboydell@barlowmccarthy.com Are you positioned for success with your internal stakeholders? You might ask, “How would I know?” Let’s start with a definition of “positioning.” I found one from Harvard Business School that nicely defines what it is...
Does Your Physician Relations Strategy Need an Update?
By: Susan Boydell | sboydell@barlowmccarthy.com We work hard day-to-day, week-to-week delivering on the activities our roles require of us. We work toward the goals our leaders have set for us. So, how do we know if we have the right strategy and tactics to achieve...
Does Strategy Matter for Relationship Sales?
By: Kriss Barlow, RN, MBA | kbarlow@barlowmccarthy.com Referral growth is a very effort-driven, tactical obligation. Many conversations are centered on visit cadence, quality messaging and the ability to demonstrate results. Where does strategy fit in and how will it...
Physician Relations: Does Strategy Still Matter?
By: Kriss Barlow, RN, MBA | kbarlow@barlowmccarthy.com Healthcare leaders need to be nimble and responsive. The quick decision-making and tactical deployment when COVID-19 demanded it was awe-inspiring. But, when we fast-forward to our current environment, my sense is...
Marketing/Practice Development
Why Storytelling is Beyond Marketing
By: Jeff Cowart, MAH | jcowart@barlowmccarthy.com One of the associations representing marketers nationally offers storytelling skills development. The organization begins its course description with this definition: “Capture peoples’ imagination and interest by...
The Vaporous Storytelling of Healthcare
By: Jeff Cowart, MAH | jcowart@barlowmccarthy.com Recently we came across this communication from a healthcare system to its patients or consumers or customers or external stakeholders, or whatever label your health system prefers to describe the people who choose you...
Positioning Against Active Inertia
By: Jeff Cowart, MAH | jcowart@barlowmccarthy.com The inflexibility and even arrogance of holding current position when evidence of threat or opportunity is substantial is perhaps the most common characteristic of failure for companies, products, leaders, causes,...
Shark-like Practice Marketing
By: Kriss Barlow, RN, MBA | kbarlow@barlowmccarthy.com When I saw this quote on LinkedIn, I just loved it. Of course in the case of practice marketing the “chase” and “bite” need to be expressed a bit differently! But if we look closely there is some wisdom here that...
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...
Physician Relations:
Internal Relations and Systems
Embracing Challenges: A Path to Growth and Learning
By: Susan Boydell | sboydell@barlowmccarthy.com The role of a physician relations field rep or leader is woven with a myriad of challenges, each presenting an opportunity for personal and professional growth. By facing and overcoming these challenges, we truly...
Making the Boss Look Good
By: Kriss Barlow, RN, MBA | kbarlow@barlowmccarthy.com Are you a team player? I bet we all answer an emphatic “Yes!” when asked that question. But, does the answer change when we expand “team” to include the broader organization and more senior leaders? Lifting up...
Physician Relations: Best Practice Interview Skills for Hiring Great Field Talent
By: Susan Boydell | sboydell@barlowmccarthy.com This is a 3 part blog series on Interviewing and Hiring Great Talent. See below for the next 2 blogs in the series. We have all been there. You are hiring for a new or open role and the resumes start rolling in. As you...
Learning How to Manage Up is Critical to Physician Relations Success
By: Allison McCarthy, MBA | amccarthy@barlowmccarthy.com The most frequently requested topic when I coach physician relations leaders is how to successfully work with executives and physician leaders. Whether learning to be more effective in managing these...
Everyday Grace in the Field Staff Role
By: Kriss Barlow, RN, MBA | kbarlow@barlowmccarthy.com On occasion, we all have one of “those” days where it seems that people just feel compelled to push our buttons. Admittedly, some of us might have more ‘pushable’ buttons than others! Our roles have high...
Physician Relations: Retention
Physician Relations: Leveraging Your Existing Referral Sources
By: Kriss Barlow, RN, MBA | kbarlow@barlowmccarthy.com Most liaisons are far more comfortable working with existing practices than cold calling those who have never referred. And let’s face it, in some geographies, new prospects are slim pickings. Existing practices...
Developing a Regional Referral Strategy
Author: Kriss Barlow, RN, MBA The original version of this article appeared in Healthcare Executive. Content has been updated to recognize the marketplace in 2009. To grow and sustain their business, many hospitals rely on inpatient tertiary care, and the competition...
Communication to Keep Physicians in the Loop
Author: Kriss Barlow, RN, MBA For almost every healthcare executive, managing change seems to be a daily obligation. Change means that people and departments are in a state of flux. What is all of this change doing to impact communication? Tremendous energy is being...
Physician Recruitment
The Art of Optimizing Physician Recruitment at Job Fairs
By: Mitzi Kent, RN, BSN | mkent@barlowmccarthy.com Note: We are excited to be exhibiting at AAPPR 2024. If you plan to attend, please find us at booth 917. In a couple of weeks, we will again join our colleagues in the recruitment world for the AAPPR Conference in...
Is Your Recruitment Team at Championship Level?
By: Mitzi Kent, RN, BSN | mkent@barlowmccarthy.com Like many of you, I was glued to my TV watching the Super Bowl teams compete for the ultimate Vince Lombardi trophy. I was amazed with both teams – their determination, resilience and dedication to the sport was...
Physician Recruitment: Time for a Reset on Job Postings
By: Mitzi Kent, RN, BSN | mkent@barlowmccarthy.com There comes a time in every job postings life when it needs a reset. Usually, we would say that is at least every 6 months, if it is a high priority posting you might prefer to do it every 3 months or even every...
Physician Recruitment with Market Shortage: Let’s Get Creative!
By: Tony Barlow | tbarlow@barlowmccarthy.com Everyone feels it; healthcare is facing a critical shortage of physicians. As the demand for healthcare services continues to grow, the supply of qualified physicians is struggling to keep pace. Physician recruitment is...
Next Level Communication Strategies for Physician Recruitment
By: Tony Barlow | tbarlow@barlowmccarthy.com Here’s hoping you had a wonderful holiday season! As we enter a new year many of us think about setting resolutions and trying to make changes to improve our life and our habits. If you are like me, those goals center...
Physician Retention
Shore Up The Retention Platform
By Kriss Barlow, RN, MBA With so much pressure to grow new referrals and gain additional volumes it is easy to focus exclusively on new business, sometimes at the expense of those physicians whose referrals you need to keep. To start your year strong, take a few...
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...
Let's solve this.
And let's do it on your timeline and within your budget.