A Little Perspective Goes A Long Way: Seeing it from the Physician's Side

Many years ago serving as a new physician relations representative and trying to get visits scheduled with physicians, I would get frustrated by the amount of energy it took me just to make a connection. 

It wasn't until I actually spent some time with an office manager that I realized that my difficulty had little to do with me personally and everything to do with my approach and my understanding of the busy physician office.

Even with a customer-centric mantra, remembering the primary tenet of marketing sometimes eludes us when we make our approach to a physician's office. Of course, we know we need to think like the customer and concentrate on their needs, but we sometimes forget this notion or don't apply it to medical office personnel.

A physician's office is a busy place, with much work being done over the phone or on the computer. A typical office manager will be interrupted hundreds of times and never quite complete a daily task list until after hours. Office personnel are charged with some clear dictates: Keep the patients moving, make sure we get paid for the visits and please don't let the legions of sales people get through to me. 

So, when you, representing Hospital B, call for a visit, your message needs to be clear, concise, and you need to indicate how spending time with you will gain the physician's favor.

State your purpose.

When calling to get an appointment, have your purpose worked out and even jot down what you want to say. You'll put on hold, get interrupted or will have to repeat yourself at least once. Think about what will be meaningful to that receptionist. Sometimes name dropping has the desired impact: “Dr. Jones asked me to call Dr. Smith.” 

Make sure you state your purpose early in the message; otherwise you'll lose the attention of the person on the other end. “…I'd like to schedule a ten-minute meeting…”  And sometimes, you may have to bargain for the attention, “I know how busy you and Dr. Smith are. Would it help if I brought over your morning coffee when I visit?” 

Keep the customer in focus.

Using a sense of humor can also be helpful or an empathetic voice but demonstrating the WIIFM (What's In It For Me?) method usually gets the best results. “Sally, you really know Dr. Smith's needs. I just want to visit her for ten minutes and tell her about our latest lab service upgrade that will save her and you considerable time.”

Set yourself apart.

Beyond knowing what is happening in the physician's office and seeing the connection from their point of view, keep in mind other important ways to connect with the physician.

Be tenacious or creative. Just as we need to present a differentiated strategy when we're developing our service lines, we also need to employ this technique in getting the physician's attention.

• What makes us different?
• What makes us worth talking to?
• Is it that we call late in the day when the receptionist has gone home?
• Is it that we show up with something useful and focus on the office staff in an effort to learn their names or is it that we just happen to be at the elevator when Dr. Jones gets out of his medical staff meeting and can walk with him for just a few minutes?
• Is it that we know exactly what Dr. Smith's office is having issues with—getting a referral to the busy orthopedic surgeon—and we help make that happen.

In working with the physician's office, make it a priority to stand out in a positive way and to supply superior customer service. These strategies will earn you favor and results. Be creative, enjoy the process and always remember to take the customer's view.

Whether you're new to healthcare marketing or simply want to freshen your perspective, you'll find helpful tips here.

Suzanne R. Dewey is a CHG Strategic Affiliate and is Principal for Forte Partners, LLC, a firm that conducts healthcare business development. 

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