6 Things Physician Liaisons Can Work on While Not on the Road

6-Things-Physician-Liaisons-Can-Work-on-While-Not-Behind-the-Windshield

A couple weeks ago I wrote about the new normal for those engaged in business development roles and highlighted some of the ways physician liaisons can add value to their organization and referring providers. I received a lot of great feedback and wanted to share a few more tips on how physician liaisons can be productive in the months to come.

1. Understand.

Partner with operational leaders to understand which service lines have been paused for a transitional period. Identifying which pieces will need to be in place as soon as services are restored and how best to ensure coordinated delivery of care so your planned growth resumes when the time is right. For example, you may determine that you need to plan now for expanded hours or days of operation to accommodate your backlog of cases. Putting in the work now to create the schedule and communications needed for both patients and providers will allow you to be ready to go live as soon as you are able.

2. Prioritize.

Review your organizational priorities and budget projections prior to COVID-19 to confirm what should be prioritized going forward and how your goals should be adjusted based on what is happening today.

3. Identify.

This forced pause has allowed many of us to take a step back and consider what we are doing well today and need to continue. Similarly, it gives us a break in routine to consider what things we need to give up or do better. Take time to map out your current workflows as a team. If there are things that are not yielding the desired results, research and identify potential best practices to incorporate into your team’s work once your growth plans resume.

4. Educate.

Many of my clients are using this time for training and education. Whether it’s learning more about a new territory or service line, figuring out how to incorporate data into their pre-call planning or refreshing their relationship sales skills, this can be a great time to consider what skills you or your team can be building now to propel you forward down the road. Consider working as a team to identify must-have skills for success and then individually complete a gap assessment. Based on the results, identify training your team can access online and complete from home to build their skills. If helpful, feel free to access some of the tool kits and assessments included in Marketware’s resource library.

5. Review.

As many new providers choose to join your community over the summer, now is great time to review your current new provider onboarding plan to ensure that key touch-points are effectively covered before your next group arrives. This includes not only their orientation to your medical staff, but also new practice marketing, setting a good foundation for both the provider and their family and creating a nurturing plan to reinforce those ties over time.

6. Research.

Consider what research or projects were on your to-do list that you can now spend more time on. This may include using data to research what providers or markets to prioritize in the future. It may be reviewing your library of physician resources and identifying gaps that you can fill in between now and your re-emergence in the field.

1 of the projects I am working on today is Marketware’s new provider Recruitment & Onboarding platforms. For those with time and interest, I would love to include you in a feedback session to check out some of the added features and functions we have planned!

Start Your Growth Today

Date: April 15 2020
Subject: Physician Relations
About the author
Carrie Bennett
Carrie Bennett

Strategic Advisor
(Former COO @ Marketware)