Five Steps Toward Relationship Value

Suzanne Dewey — Sat, 26 Dec 2009 19:25:02 +0000

“Success will hinge on squeezing the most value out of new and current relationships, impending health reform and regulatory changes, and consumer demands.”

Top 10 Health Industry Issues for 2010, PricewaterhouseCoopers’ Health Research Institute

I like this quote. It sums up the vast pressure points in the healthcare industry in one sentence. What I don’t like is the ominous sentiment. Of course, it is not just PricewaterhouseCoopers that takes that warning tone. You can open just about any trade journal and find looming doom and gloom advisories. All of this is fine as long as the warning creates positive action versus paralytic analysis and no-action. Dissecting the quote further makes me consider what is controllable?

You can be a voice in the continuing healthcare reform issues, but your solitary efforts are not likely to foment change in the exact manner you prefer. But what about consumer demands? There is a rushing tide of changing American consumers especially when it concerns healthcare demands. Consumers are more informed, more connected, and more emboldened. Control elements center on the consumer and not on the provider. While it is essential to be tuned in to the healthcare consumer and to provide services they seek, there is little that can be done to alter the changing nature of our consumers.

The only part of the quote that we can effectively engage is the first part about relationships: squeezing the most value out of new and existing relationships. The word “squeezing” implies that we have already pressed our relationships and there is not much left to attain. This is a point of consideration – where do relationships stand with our patients, our referral sources – our consumers?

Have we squeezed the value? Is there more that can be done? As you face the new year and the new decade, why not create a new focus, call it what you will, but put your energies into those consumer relationships: maybe not to squeeze them of value but to enhance them with an outward and invigorated attention. See your practice, your habits, and your organization through the eyes of your consumers. To get you started, here are five push points that merit careful consideration and most likely some adjustments as you work to create more value in those important relationships:

Do you treat all of your consumers the same?
How does your service treat your consumer differently that your competition’s?
How high is your satisfaction bar for the patient experience?
How well do you employ technology to assist you in developing your consumer relationships?
Literally sample your workflow through the eyes of your consumer (patient or referring physician), what adjustments can be made to signal your consumer that you are working to better the relationship?

Building Physician Relationships: A Long Term Process that Takes Planning and Focus (Part I)

Suzanne Dewey — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 15:14:19 +0000

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.

Health Care Management Consulting Firm | Forte Partners, LLC » planning

Five Steps Toward Relationship Value

Building Physician Relationships: A Long Term Process that Takes Planning and Focus (Part I)