Blogging

One of the more popular physician bloggers with over 20,000 RSS subscribers is Kevin Pho, a board-certified Internal Medicine physician in New Hampshire. His blog provides a running commentary on what is happening in the medical world. KevinMD.com describes the blog’s intent, “With health care at the forefront of the American mindset, patients often have no idea what goes on behind the scenes of medicine today. I aim to pull that curtain back.”

Some of Dr. Pho’s recent posts have the following titles:

How Connected Are You to Your Primary Care Doctor?

Mid-levels for Primary Care, But Not for Surgery

Op-ed: Not All Screening Tests Lead to Early, Better Treatment

Facebook

Advantage Primary Care Physician, a South Carolina medical practice uses Facebook to communicate with their patients the very basics about their practice and its location and hours.

Eastside Primary Care and Wellness, a Washington practice, takes their Facebook page further and provides on-going health update reports and videos. As a primary care practice, they take the opportunity to educate their “fans” on the role of a medical home. A recent update:

MEDSPA EVENING AT OUR CLINIC!!!! This Friday, May 8th… 5:30PM-8:30PM… Wine and appetizers… door prices and discounted pricing… RSVP 425.467.1314

Another example is Care Practice that has the following informational blurb on their Facebook page:

Care Practice is both an Urgent Care and a Primary Medical clinic dedicated to serving the community through personalized and timely medical visits. The clinic is located at 508 A 14th Street in the heart of the San Francisco’s Mission Dolores Neighborhood.

We offer 24/7 Urgent Care and House Call services with an On Call Doctor available after hours and on weekends to meet patients that require Urgent Care services.

They also have interactive exchanges on their site with information about H1N1 and patient feedback such as this recent post:

Hi – just thought I’d add a post. My husband Lawrence and I recently became patients of Care Practice. I found them through a Google search, on a Saturday, during what was a horrible time for us both – our long-time doctor had suddenly closed up shop and disappeared with no referral or notice.
Dr. Blackledge came in on his day off (sorry to out you, Dr., I don’t want to set up any unrealistic expectations!) – and saw Lawrence. The office is lovely, the office manager is sweet and very kind, and Dr. Blackledge treated us with respect and dignity. It was by far the most positive experience I’ve had with a medical professional.
I can’t say enough about this clinic, and Dr. Blackledge -if you read the mission statement above, you can get an idea of what they’re about, and it’s not P.R. B.S.. They care about their patients. They don’t waste your time, but more than that, they’re willing to spend time, and they listen. Care Practice is fantastic – can’t recommend highly enough! – Sarah

Twitter

There are many ways to use Twitter. A physician and Twitter enthusiast wrote in a recent blog post, How Physicians (Should) Use Twitter. In his post, Dr. Lara categorizes the three main applications of Twitter for physicians. He provides specific examples for 1) Information Collection, 2) Information Sharing and 3) Communications Regarding Direct Patient Care.

Dr. Gwenn is Founder and Editor-In-Chief of Pediatrics Now who also has a blog and tweets. A recent post from Dr. Gwenn:

Video passed on FB by @doctor_v http://tinyurl.com/q3yulv “ode to Jenny McCarthy from Measles,Mumps,Rubella”. (someone pass this to Oprah!)12:16 PM May 15th from web

Twitter can be used as a remarkable listening tool. If you are not ready to put yourself or your practice persona out, consider finding out what others are doing and thinking. There are some very good patient advocates on Twitter who deftly articulate the experience and feelings of patients. Check out ePatientDave and TrishaTorrey.

In this post, I just want to provide some examples of what some health care organizations (mostly hospitals) are doing:

The American Cancer Society is on Twitter (@AmericanCancer). Their updates center on the latest cancer news and research. You can also catch the Lance Armstrong Foundation on Twitter (@livestrong). Cancer survivors are sure to follow LiveStrong and discuss and celebrate their news.

Many hospitals and health systems also are on Twitter. Some provide health updates. Here is an example from Beth Israel Deaconess (@healthwithbidmc) in Boston:

HealthwithBIDMC:

1. Obama Administration May Recommend 3 Flu Shots for Americans This Fall. http://bit.ly/103yfdabout 23 hours ago from web
2. Swine Flu Likely to Return to U.S. Next Winter. http://bit.ly/r6rq0about 23 hours ago from web

Henry Ford Hospital is experimenting with various social media outputs – they recently transmitted the robotic procedure for the removal of a cancerous bladder by satellite to the International Robotic Urology Symposium and they also provided updates on Twitter. Physicians “tweeted” directly from the operating room in a detailed description of the procedure. Physicians also answered question “tweets” about the surgery. The hospital indicated they hoped to provide awareness of the hospital’s new surgical capabilities

The Henry Ford health system has utilized YouTube and podcasting as well, offering medical advice, educational updates and a variety of health information.

Some organizations are experimenting with FaceBook accounts. Scripps Health in California has a Facebook account where they provide information about their organization and health tips. Here is a recent post:

Sneak peek! See the online version of the Scripps 2008 Annual Report, complete with video. This year’s edition, “A New Era of Medicine,” focuses on the many exciting medical advancements that Scripps employs or is helping to develop.

Mayo Clinic’s penetration into social media was recently detailed in the Star Tribune:

These days, Lee Aase of the Mayo Clinic is a walking, talking, blogging, Twittering, Facebooking, YouTubing force who’s blasting Mayo into the social networking world faster than you can say “Mayo Brothers.”

Aase says Mayo is simply spreading its reputation as it always has: through word-of-mouth. In fact, Mayo spends very little on advertising. It has had the same logo — three overlapping blue shields symbolizing research, education and clinical practice — for years.

The Web, however, seemed a natural move to Mayo executives. “As we see people communicating in new ways, we want Mayo Clinic to be part of the conversation,” said Dr. Thoralf Sundt, chair of Mayo’s marketing committee. “We know the conversations are happening out there. This is a chance for us to join.”

Does any of this actually get patients in the door?

Several patients with rare diseases have told their doctors at Mayo they came after watching another patient’s video on the Sharing Mayo Clinic blog. But numbers are hard to pin down, Aase said. What he does know is people are watching.

What this produces in patients and revenue remains to be seen, said Bevolo. But since Web tools are free, he added, “the risk of it is so little.”

In my next post, we will look at what medical practices and physicians are doing in the social media realm.

Use your hospital’s publications to pass on information with a personalized note. Personalizing information makes people feel more important. The note may be about a service the new physicians will find useful or reinforcing a conversation you had about the changes in the lab.

Be a conduit of information – connecting people, information and the like. Maybe the new doctor tells you his wife is feeling isolated since both children are at school. This is information you hold on to and share with the nurse manager in pediatrics because she is the co-chair of the PTO at that same elementary school. You want to get connection points moving on their own but you are giving them some social adrenaline to move forward faster.

Asking for information should be a standard in your approach. You’re supplying a service, so call the physician or her office staff and conduct a mini-survey to see how things are going. Ask about what’s working and what needs improvement. Something as simple as, “I am following up on our monthly outcome reports. Is the information helpful to you?” can launch a meaningful discussion.

Another area of outreach is simply asking how things are going and if there is anything you can help them with — truly listen to what they have to say. Their answers may be surprising. Don’t try to be a problem-solver all the time Too often, physicians have no place to go with their business concerns and sometimes just being able to talk is invaluable to them.

Cultivate these new relationships with service and attention. The flow of business will move in your direction and you will find that retention issues are solved in an on-going manner versus in a crisis moment. This type of relationship building takes organization and patience. Set up a consistent system to provide attentive service. Soon, it will become a natural part of your business approach, you’ll position yourself well and your physicians will feel the difference.

]]> http://fortepartnersllc.com/2009/04/building-physician-relationships-a-long-term-process-that-takes-planning-and-focus-part-ii/feed/ 2 http://fortepartnersllc.com/2009/03/building-physician-relationships-a-long-term-process-that-takes-planning-and-focus-part-i/ http://fortepartnersllc.com/2009/03/building-physician-relationships-a-long-term-process-that-takes-planning-and-focus-part-i/#comments Tue, 31 Mar 2009 15:14:19 +0000 Suzanne Dewey http://fortepartnersllc.com/?p=223 We are an inpatient society. We are in the midst of great upheaval in our financial systems and yet there is daily commentary on “the fix” and how soon it will be behind us. We are always looking for the quick solution or the one method to answer our concerns. We are sometimes so busy looking that we let other problems surface. Physician recruitment has been so much in our focus these past few years that many of our organizations have lost focus on physician retention. To avoid the revolving door and to make sure we are allowing our hard-won recruitment efforts to pay off, we need to make sure that retention has the same focus as recruitment.

Building a physician relations program takes time. A good physician relations program also has a wide array of aspects – formal, informal, executive rounding, liaison visits, physician to physician. There are many pieces to a comprehensive program. Examining the program and making incremental and systematic refinements will help build effectiveness without overwhelming your resources.

One of the central tenants to all outward facing endeavors is building the relationship. Your long-term focus is on the physician’s strategic needs and working together to sustain satisfaction with the hospital’s service. Note the emphasis is on long-term. While you may move mountains to help with a quick fix, the bulk of your energies should be developing success on both sides of the relationship: problem-solving, service and communication.

As you develop the relationship, communication will be your strongest asset. With new physicians, schedule in contact times to check up on how they are doing and feeling. This may include sending a reminder to the pertinent service line manager to make sure key orientation activities are happening. You also want to maintain contact with the appropriate physician(s) who is working with the new physician to help them connect. And how is their family adjusting to the community? Keep tabs on the communication emissaries and track the contact points. While you are building a relationship and the process is organic, it is wise to facilitate meaningful encounters until the relationships have solidified.

Take hospital marketing as a tricky example. It is very important that hospitals have a significant on-line presence. I also think hospitals should be trying to develop community hubs on their websites and utilize a lot of what social media has to offer. But, an organization would be remiss if they did not integrate inbound and internet tactics with more traditional (yes, “old”) methods.

As I suggested…hospitals are tricky examples. Why? First, the “sales force” are typically physicians who operate their own small businesses (independent practices) and are not on the hospital’s payroll. Physicians guide their patients to particular services and particular hospitals. When a physician needs to send a patient somewhere, they don’t Google the service, they don’t use the Yellow Pages, they go where they have easy access and they go where they have a relationship. Yup, a relationship.

Developing that relationship with the physician starts during recruitment. But don’t let it stop there. There is a lot to be said and done in developing relationships that I will save for future posts. However, it is wise to use formal and informal mechanisms to work on that relationship development. And use both old and new methods to communicate. Just because the hospital recruited an excellent orthopedic surgeon after months of searching doesn’t mean your primary care physicians are even aware of the addition. And this is where using a variety of tools comes into play. Use your website, use formal direct mail announcements, send an email or a fax blast, set-up rounding opportunities, have a welcome event – do whatever it takes to make sure referral sources are aware of the good news and on the path of physician-to-physician relationship development. While Twitter can be one of the avenues for the announcement, don’t stop there. Don’t be caught up in the new thing that you neglect the old thing – or the thing that might get the message received.