The Customer Comes First

. . . Practicing Medicine with a Retailer’s Mindset – Part II

The rules of medicine have changed.  To remain successful, physicians must be concerned with not only quality-of-care but also the quality of the referrer and patient experience. Consider these strategies for leveraging technology to deliver an extra measure of customer service to your patients and referrers.

• Use state-of-the-art voice recognition and reporting systems to ensure that your patient report is timely and easy-to-read. Choose a system that caters to physician preference with delivery via email, fax, remote printing and EMR interface.  Also, look for one offering automated critical results communications.

• If your practice provides diagnostic testing, enable easy access to the full test results online, again possibly through a physician portal.

• Online exam ordering or scheduling is a major convenience for referrers  and immediately locks in your new  patient relationships—avoiding patient shopping for other providers.

• Take advantage of analytics technology to eliminate workflow bottlenecks, helping boost appointment time turnaround and avoid long office wait times as well as speeding referring physician reporting.

• Make all patient forms available digitally for completion before an appointment—either through email or a patient portal.

• Train your team to provide a pleasant patient interaction, from the first phone call to the time patients leave the office.

Also, while a physician contact management system delivers a real boost for referral marketing, you can also use it as a customer service tool. Automating periodic referrer and patient appreciation emails is essentially service with a smile, and a great way to keep your practice top of mind.

Join us next time for a detailed discussion on choosing a voice recognition and reporting platform to optimize interaction with your referring physicians. 

The Customer Comes First

. . . Practicing Medicine with a Retailer’s Mindset – Part I

The rules of medicine have changed.  To remain successful today, physicians must consider not only all-important quality-of-care but also the quality of the referrer and patient experience. For many, that’s a new mindset and an added challenge in an already difficult environment. Physicians have to learn to think like marketers and deliver added value and service. 

Drawing on our years of experience supporting not only the clinical but also the business aspects of medicine, IDS has seen many of these challenges up close and helped practices thrive in difficult business environments.

In our new blog series, The Customer Comes First, we draw on this background and offer insightful advice on how to rise above these challenges . . .  and the competition.  We invite you to return for our continuing series. Please enjoy…and prosper! 

____________________________________________

Let’s be frank – It’s a new world in medicine.  Patients are playing an ever-increasing role in their own healthcare decisions, including choosing the specialists who treat them.  While most have insurance, some are paying with cash and even shopping around for pricing. 

Additionally, the doctors you depend on for referrals are also increasingly demanding. They clearly understand the value of their recommendations and expect you to cater to their needs and preferences, from a rapidly returned phone call to timely patient reports in the style and format of their choice.  They also expect their patients to receive high quality service—not only clinically but on a personal level as well.  The patient experience you deliver reflects both on your practice and on referrers, who in turn want to keep their customers happy. 

Granted, you have years of training, advanced equipment, IT technology and carefully devised workflows that keep your practice functioning effectively and efficiently.  But in today’s competitive environment, physicians would be wise to take a cue from the from the retail industry. Customer service is king—or at least gives you a strong competitive edge.  Today, Have it Your Way is more than just a slogan.  It’s an integral part of business . . . so make sure you hold the pickles and add the onions if that’s what the customer wants.

Of course, while catering to referrers and patients, you can still practice medicine with conviction, passion and for profit.  But making smart choices is key.  Technology can go a long way to boost your customer experience, from initial exam scheduling right through referrer reporting. And it can even help you manage your marketing to both physicians and patients.

This blog continues tomorrow, when we’ll provide a sampling  of the tactics we’ll cover in depth going forward as this series continues.

Sectra User Meeting

We just returned from the IT and medical technology company, Sectra, User Meeting in Denver, CO. Luckily, we were treated to superb weather and escaped just in time avoid the city’s mid-May snowstorm. My colleague and I were there to help present CloudFlex, the integrated reporting and imaging system for telemammography.  You can learn more about this groundbreaking reporting and imaging solution in the cloud by reading Cat Vasko’s article in the March issue of ImagingBiz.

What a top-notch event! Held at the eclectic Curtis Hotel, the 3-day event was well-orchestrated with informative and educational sessions, excellent food, and entertaining activities.

Upon arrival, we knew we were in for a unique stay with the mid-century decor of this downtown hotel. Sporting orange retro lamps, an entire wall graced with giant Barbie doll heads, and Pharrell’s hip song “Happy” cued by motion sensors, this place makes it nearly impossible NOT to be happy during your stay. Check out my slideshow  to see for yourself. The common areas are cheerful, and the large outdoor patio and bar, complete with massive fireplace, was a great gathering spot. My room was on the Chick Flicks floor, where Charlie's Angels and Thelma and Louise rule. Other floors with “personality” include One Hit Wonders, Pedal to the Metal and Sci-Fi. My bed was about as close to a fluffy cloud as you can get, and even with the Elvis wake-up call, I didn’t want to move from it.

On to business. Sectra's tag line "Knowledge and Passion" was the focal point of Icelander Sverrir Ragnarsson’s motivational “Go for the Gold” meeting opener. His inspiring message and clever delivery kept us engaged and amused while reminding us that passion should be our beacon in our professional and personal lives.

Dr. Torbjörn Kronander, MSEE, Ph.D., MBA, president and founder of Sectra Imtec AB, set an optimistic tone when he addressed the audience with “What’s New at Sectra.” Clearly, an extremely bright and accomplished man, his humility was rather touching in this culture of self-promotion and vainglory. “I do one thing very well,” he stated. “I am a good recruiter.”

Along with Dr. Kronander, Sectra executives Mikael Anden and Marie Ekstrom stressed the company's priorities in order of importance: customers, employees, and shareholders. By aligning company strategy this way, success is inevitable, they testified. As the 2013 first in KLAS award demonstrates, the initiative to keep customers happy is not just a pledge but a principle embedded in operations.

Mats Bjornemo gave us insight into the company’s plans for product development. The roadmap is impressive and forward-looking. Sectra’s recent release of DoseTrack, which earned AuntMinnie’s award for best new radiology software at December’s Radiological Society of North America’s annual meeting, is one example of its allegiance to innovation.  Shawn McKenzie, CEO and founder of Ascendian Healthcare Consulting gave a compelling talk on why imaging centers should implement dose monitoring programs now and not wait for legislation to take action. He’s slated to speak at the Association for Medical Imaging Management’s (AHRA) Annual Meeting in August in Washington D.C. I recommend attending his session.

The evening field trip to Red Rocks amphitheater was a notable highlight. Our tour included a behind the scenes look back stage and, of course, the breathtaking -- literally for those of us living at sea level -- outdoor theater.  Some fitness freaks were scaling the seat rows 2 levels at a time, and while I was envious, I plan to save my next visit for sitting, not jumping, on those benches by seeing one of the many summer outdoor concerts -- likely be an unforgettable experience.

Radiology Referral Marketing in the Age of Reform

Given today’s changing healthcare environment, imaging centers must be more aggressive than ever in maintaining their current referral base, while at the same time growing the current referral base.  In other words, effective customer relationship management (CRM) never has been more important.

Many may know that they have a powerful marketing tool at hand in the vast quantities of data available to them in their HIS, RIS, or billing systems.  But having the data is only half the equation. The trick is to take that data, manipulate it and employ metrics to interpret what’s really there.  Using data and analytics as business intelligence, imaging centers can target marketing priorities with laser precision and act intelligently on referral trends.