Advancing Physician Outreach Programs

Topics: Physician Marketing, Marketing

As market volatility and industry transformation challenge deep-seated business models, stronger and deeper collaborations between hospitals and physicians will serve as the foundation for future success. This study explores how to optimize physician outreach to strengthen relationships and support hospital objectives by:

• Driving outreach with individual physician data
• Aligning with hospital performance management approach
• Personifying outreach with physicians

Executive Summary

Rising costs and health reform drive urgency for more substantial physician outreach
Physicians are responding to the twin threats of imperiled practice economics and the uncertainty of the accountable care environment by pursuing employment and consolidation opportunities. Likewise, hospitals are looking to physician alignment models to lock in referral streams and guarantee volumes; hospitals are now faced with the additional pressure of forming deeper and stronger relationships with physicians to prosper under emerging risk-based payment systems. The resulting effect of these market forces means that regions that were once fluid with regard to physician loyalty may soon become rigid over the next several years, requiring hospitals to act now or miss opportunities for physician alignment.

Outreach programs help promote strategic vision
In this volatile time, marketing departments are well placed to bolster physician relationships, as their activities are often at the frontlines of hospital-physician interactions. Outreach program activities in particular—liaison sales visits, educational events, issue resolution measures—represent structured opportunities to promote a shared strategic vision with physicians to ensure success as hospitals transition to an era of accountable care.

Three imperatives for effective outreach strategy
This study explores how to structure an appropriate outreach program to match marketplace demands and offers three universal lessons for boosting outreach effectiveness: driving outreach with individual physician data, aligning with hospital performance management approach, and personifying outreach with physicians.

The Evolving Structure of Physician Outreach Programs