Why is Physician Engagement Important? Engagement Strategies

Traditionally, healthcare administrators have worked their hardest to simply keep physicians happy, but times are changing. What worked in the past is rapidly shifting as we move towards a value-based model of healthcare which requires more physician engagement. Now, more than ever, hospitals and engaged physicians must work towards the goal of creating more affordable patient care models to ease the strain of healthcare costs in America.

Like many of today’s physicians, you may wonder, “Why is physician engagement important?” To understand what physician engagement is and how it benefits administrators, physicians and patients we must first bridge the gap between providers and administrators. Through physician engagement models, administrators can overcome challenges and reap the benefits of having physicians who are more connected to their patients and concerned with their care.

What is Physician Engagement?

Good physicians make all the difference, and understanding the definition of physician engagement can help us answer the question, “Why is physician engagement important?” To put it simply, physician engagement is a strategy that focuses on building strong relationships and aligning physicians with the values, vision and mission of healthcare administrators. Engaged physicians take greater care of their patients, reduce medical costs and are more efficient than their unengaged counterparts.

Most physicians want to be good doctors and care about how well their patients are doing, but aren’t necessarily accustomed to working on a team. Engaged physicians take it a step further by going the extra mile for their patients and the teams they are a part of. Because of this they make great contributions to patient safety and are more satisfied with their own work.

Why is Physician Engagement Important?

Healthcare administrators cannot manage healthcare reform without the assistance of physicians. Physicians may not even realize the extent of their impact on the complex healthcare environment. They influence everything from leadership and cost to quality and frontline care. Considering that 75%-85% of all quality and cost decisions are driven by physicians, they can make a serious impact on lowering overall healthcare costs when they are working towards the same goals as administrators.

While engaged physicians have the capability to do a lot of good, disengaged physicians have just as much power to negatively impact the healthcare environment. One health system found that engaged physicians were 26% more productive than those who were disengaged, which led to an increase in patient revenue of $460,000 each year, per physician. Nearly half a million dollars in revenue is quite significant, especially because many health systems operate on very low profit margins.

Physicians are fraught with uncertainty about how to handle value-based systems, and it is the task of hospital administration to educate physicians so that both parties understand the goals of the other, and align them accordingly.

Best Practices

There are do’s and don’ts when implementing a successful physician engagement model or provider engagement strategy. Some of the best practices for physician engagement involve making sure the goals of the administration and the goals of physicians align.

One example is an emphasis on making improvements to patient care. Physicians will find that patient care is a metric they can measure themselves and is something they already want to provide for their patients. Administrators will find that improved patient care lowers costs and creates better physician engagement. This is merely one example of how aligning common goals can lead to success in provider engagement strategies.

There are several additional effective provider engagement strategies, as well as a host of strategies to avoid. Knowing what they should use and why will help administrators better understand the thinking of their physicians and align their goals through a physician engagement model. We’ve compiled a few provider engagement strategies to implement and a few to steer clear of.

Benefits of Physician Engagement

When healthcare administrators implement effective provider engagement strategies through a physician engagement model, the benefits of physician engagement become apparent. Physicians who have bought into the goals and values of healthcare organizations are more excited to improve physician engagement, and as they see the results they will continue their efforts.

Additional benefits of physician engagement include:

• An overall improvement in organization performance
• An increase in connectedness & in-network referrals
• A more competitive standing in the industry
• Lower referral & patient leakage
• Increased physician productivity

All of these aspects also help healthcare organizations increase their patient referrals and revenue. According to a Gallup Physician Engagement Survey, engaged physicians made 51% more inpatient referrals to their hospital than less-engaged physicians, and 3% more outpatient referrals.

Maximize Engagement

When administrators and providers better understand the answer to “Why is physician engagement important?” they will be better prepared to work towards common goals. Providers and administrators can maximize physician engagement further by utilizing software that meets the needs of the healthcare community. Marketware combines provider profiles, business intelligence and project management tools to help organize and prioritize physician outreach and onboarding initiatives. This allows administrators easily develop provider engagement strategies and engagement models. Learn more about Marketware and try our demo today.