Involve the physician in the facility marketing plan

SHOUT IT OUT!!!

Building a positive relationship with the physician is an important component of the facility marketing plan. The following steps will help the facility to develop and improve physician relationships. Educate all staff on the following tips. Shout it out!!

1. The Marketing Director should reach out to the physician and must research the physician’s practice before making contact. This simple step can make the difference between a productive and non-productive meeting and will affect the success in developing a referral base.

• Example: Younger physicians may be more apt to use online resources, and they may want to communicate online.
• Example: The older physician may prefer a simple bullet-point, one-page information sheet about the facility.
• Example: Check the local service clubs to see if the physician is a member. Check with his or her affiliated hospital to see what community education programs are offered, and check to see which physicians are involved. Make it a point to attend or to send a representative of the facility to the event. Naturally, choose a person who has the skill set to mingle and communicate. Never miss an opportunity to be present at a hospital event.
• Example: Attempt to provide needed information to the MD’s office, perhaps new CMS information. The physician is not interested in a colorful picture of the facility providing activities to the residents. He or she will appreciate beneficial information about new changes that could affect how they practice in the long-term-care arena.
• In summary: The Marketing Director must be prepared before meeting with the physician, and they must do their research if they want to make a lasting impression.

2. Remember to respect the physician’s time. Their time and expertise is their product, so they are very careful in how they use their time. An effective audience with the physician will be one that offers tips on how to save them time when they are at the facility.

• Example: Tell the physician that your nursing staff will bunch their calls so as not to be calling them several times each day, or that they will fax routine orders to his or her office once each day. Tell the physician that your nursing staff will only call the office for real emergencies and only with the DON’s approval. The office will not be bombarded with phone calls from the nursing facility.
• Example: Tell the physician that your medical-records person will organize all documents that requires his or her signature and will have these ready for him/her when they make their visit to the facility. This will avoid last-minute, frantic calls to the MD that he or she must sign something in order for the facility to maintain compliance. Physicians usually do not understand the survey citation risks for the facility if the visits are not timely.
• Example: Tell the physician that members of the nursing staff will make rounds with him or her when they come to the facility. This must be arranged in advance so that the MD can use his or her time efficiently when they arrive at the facility. The DON must organize the facility in order to accommodate the MD’s schedule. Ensure that residents who are to be seen are not scheduled out of the facility for a test or procedure on the physician’s rounding day.
• Example: Inform the physician of the extensive training program for the nursing staff and reassure him or her that staff can provide quality care so that unnecessary visits to the emergency room are avoided. Inform the physician that your medical director will act as a back- up for them in emergency situations.
• Example, tell the physician that the Social Service director will work closely with the family to resolve complaints at the facility level in order to avoid physician involvement for everyday concerns.
• In summary, the Marketing Director must work closely with the facility administrator and the administrative team to confirm that the above steps are implemented. The nursing staff must realize that the physicians are the life blood of the facility, and they must work closely to make the visit a positive one. If the marketing person is not able to set a meeting with the physician at their office, they must find out what day the physician comes to the facility. This is a great way for him/her to introduce or reintroduce themselves to the MD. This introduction must be a memorable one, as you want the physician to receive a positive and lasting impression. Provide some valuable piece of new healthcare information to him or her. Or better yet, do some research and find out what his or her favorite breakfast food or sandwich is and offer this.

3. The Marketing Director must understand the culture of the physician’s office. It is usually busy, and everyone is going in different directions. The physician is usually always running behind. They do not have the time for frivolous meetings and unimportant information. One has to bring something of value to the MD’s office. It could be new healthcare information, and most physicians appreciate positive feedback about their services.

• Example: Physicians are bombarded with information; they will appreciate info that is relevant to what they do (case studies for the elderly, new healthcare legislation and the reference to show the validity of the information). Naturally, any information provided to the MD’s office should be stamped with the facility name and the marketing director’s contact information.
• Example: Talk with the facility nursing staff to see what complaints, concerns or compliments they have about the physician, and inquire about the physician’s office staff. I assure you that the nursing staff will have a story to tell you about how they were treated by the physician’s office staff. Use this information as an opportunity to improve relations with the office and an opportunity to educate your nursing staff. If the nursing staff at the facility is able to tell about some conflict, the office staff most likely remembers this also. Ask to speak with the office manager and tell her that you are aware of the concern and that you have taken steps to improve the relationship. It is of no consequence if the physician’s office is at fault; they do not want to hear this. You have to work with the facility DON to come up with a solution on how the facility can work around the issues with the physician’s office. Trust me, it is usually perceived as a problem with the nursing home, so embrace that and move on.
• Example: Check with the local senior centers to see if they have info about the physician. You will hear good and bad. You must have good communication skills in order to glean this information. See if you can get a testimony from a satisfied patient. Physicians are used to getting complaints, and they will love the positive feedback. The office nurses will be sure to tell the MD about a positive message, where they may be hesitant to speak of general complaints.
• Example: Talk with the facility residents about their MD and write down their positive comments, get a brief update from the nursing or therapy staff about the resident’s progress and present this to the MD office. Try to find out what kind of a file system is used by the MD and put this information into a format that fits their records. Drop this information off to the physician’s office and always take some packaged “goodies” for the staff.
• Example, consider doing a public thanks for one of your referring physicians when you place your ads into local magazines. Or newspaper. Lena Living Center thanks Dr. Jones for his care and service to our residents. What physician will not want to hear about this nice compliment?
• In summary, the Marketing Director must be creative and must educate their facility on the importance of the physician referral and establishing a positive relationship with the office staff, as well as the value of the facilities’ reputation. It may only take one incident of a facility nurse calling the physician’s office to complain because something was not addressed to leave a lasting negative impression.

4. Become a working partner with the physician. This has to start out slowly with consistent follow-up. It should be the same few staff members, and soon they will become the faces of the facility.

• Example: Try to make the physician feel special when he or she comes to the facility. They will like the attention and will respect the efforts. Does the physician have a reserved parking spot at the facility? Does the maintenance crew volunteer to clean the snow off their car when they get ready to leave the facility? Ensure that you have a comfortable and quiet place for them to work. A telephone and a computer should be available for their use and a support person available to assist.
• Example: Check to see if your lab provider and pharmacy can give the physician access to information on lab value and pharmacy information. This will be an asset for the physician.
• Do your homework and find out if the physician is part of a health insurance network. Check to see if the facility can become a provider.
• Provide updated information from CMS about hospital, assisted living, home health and pharmacy regulations. Download this information for them and place into a folder with the reference citing where the info was obtained. They will appreciate this information. Of course, make sure that facility contact information is on the folder.
• In summary, remember that future reimbursement guidelines focus on a bundled billing system. Hospitals and physicians will affiliate with the facilities that have a proven track record of providing quality care. As the accountability care organizations are formed, the nursing home will not have a seat at the decision table when these groups are in discussion. Who better to speak for the nursing home than the physician? They will be the ones who will most likely give “thumbs up or thumbs down” to the nursing homes they want to affiliate with. Herein lies the value of creating a positive relationship with the physician.