Marketing the Employed Practice:
Simple Tools and Techniques to Get Started
By Ann Maloley, MBA
Experts predict that the trend of physicians shifting from private practice to hospital employed will continue. Among the many reasons for this change is the physicians’ desire to spend less time dealing with business and administrative obligations. As this responsibility moves to the hospital there becomes a role for physician relations and marketing – it’s the support you can provide to help them build their practice.
Providing practice marketing assistance can help bind physician groups to your hospital. This can set the stage for new referrals, not to mention good retention of current business and increased satisfaction.
Unfortunately, with tight budgets and limited resources, a multi-layered plan may just not be realistic or feasible right now. That’s okay – often times some of the simplest tools and techniques can help the practice create instant – and lasting – impressions.
Here are a few simple idea starters to help you launch more in-depth thinking on this topic.
In a poll of practices with three or more doctors, the percentage that were hospital-owned increased from 24 percent in 2002 to nearly 50 percent in 2008. The percentage of physicians employed by hospitals jumped from 25 percent to 37 percent in the same period.
MGMA
Extend Your Brand
To help integrate the organization’s brand into the clinic network, look for simple ways to consistently display it – a mat in front of the receptionist desk, window “clings” on exterior plate glass windows, ceiling danglers in exam rooms and branded smocks/scrub tops are just a few ideas. Consider creating a catalog of various display items, with descriptions and photos, and let each of your clinics select what fits best in their environment and culture.
Promote the Scores
If the physicians in the clinic enjoy good clinical outcomes or receive other third-party recognition for expertise or service, look for ways to promote this within the clinic. Post them on professionally produced posters and table tents in the lobby and exam rooms or in a creative way on script pads and clinic stationery.
Help Them Help Their Patients I’m sure you’ve observed the hodgepodge of patient education materials in clinics that come from pharmaceutical companies, national publication organizations and even some that are developed by the clinic staff. Take this opportunity to inventory the materials and build an organized library of professionally produced materials for the clinic reflecting the organization’s brand. Provide them as downloadable electronic files so they can print them off as needed.
Build Methods for Communicating
If you’re working with a specialist’s office, help the practice build communication templates that can be used to keep referring physicians informed about their patients. Many clinics do what they can when they have time to communicate with their referral sources, but most don’t have an organized, consistent way of doing this. They’ll appreciate the tools and process steps.
Experience the Service
A simple secret shopping exercise can objectively collect information about the clinic’s ability, and the ability of your competitors, to provide service and access during patient calls. Develop basic clinical scenarios, a script and a scorecard, then recruit some unbiased callers. This study will reveal some opportunities to sharpen your access and service deliverables. Then consider the same exercise to test the in-office experience.
Gather New Information to Market
Have a conversation with the physicians in the practice to learn of any new clinical developments or procedures that would mean something to their audience. This news can add another layer to their credibility and expertise, and depending on what it is, can be positioned to either referring physicians and/or patients.
In this conversation also learn from them what marketing strategies they’re most interested and comfortable participating in (e.g. community events – speaking/screenings, media interviews, educational sessions, writing newsletters, articles, etc.) and use that information to help craft additional tactics.
To drive momentum for these and other tactics it will be important to get buy-in from the clinic leaders up front so they will be engaged and supportive of the process. And while we know how important consistent messages and creative elements are to your brand, staying true to the clinic personality and culture are important too – work with the team to help manage this delicate balance.
