6 Ways to Improve the Physician Retention Cycle
If you plan on growing your referral base, then maintaining strategic alliances with physicians must be your #1 priority. This requires that you understand the needs, issues and perspectives of physicians, responding quickly and effectively to any issues that might affect your working relationship. The Physician Retention Cycle offers a roadmap of how good relationships develop, and what steps are needed to improve and stay ahead of the game.
In this white paper you’ll find the following 6 ways to improve the physician retention cycle:
1. Build a Relationship of Trust
Trust is the most important part of a provider-hospital relationship. Without trust, a healthcare organization is unable to gain physician loyalty, and productivity suffers. What does it take to establish trust in a provider-hospital relationship?
2. Provider Needs Assessment
A needs assessment is performed with each physician at the beginning of a retention initiative with a 1-on-1 visit between the physician and physician liaison. During the visit, a physician liaison uses questions to identify issues related to the physician and the healthcare organization.
3. Issue Identification
Issue resolution is a catalyst for improving satisfaction and retention. By asking specific questions, physician issues can be identified and addressed.
4. Issue Resolution
The Issue Resolution Process takes into account all steps necessary to effectively resolve issues. When a healthcare organization takes advantage of the Issue Resolution Process, response time increases, and issue prevention and process improvement become a key focus.
5. Process Improvement
After the issues have been recorded and resolved, the real work for the healthcare organization begins—process improvement.
6. Follow Up & Opportunity
By the end of the cycle, a healthcare organization should be in a better position within the relationship, ready to continue back to that initial ongoing step of building trust with the physician.
“Nothing happens in physician relations until a provider’s roadblock is resolved. By using probing questions, a physician liaison can uncover unforeseen obstacles. These questions should not be intrusive. But, they should be asked in a spirit of understanding and cooperation.”