How to:  Harness the Power of Physician Champions

For every home health or hospice care plan a physician is a key member of the team.  The more you can engage the physician in the process, the stronger the bond.  The agency’s sales people and management should be probing for needs and presenting solutions.  When the relationship with the physician progresses to the point of reliance on the agency for all things related to home health and hospice, then they can become a champion for the agency.

It may take years to gain the required level of confidence and reliance.  The physician that truly values the services of a particular agency typically has had past experiences that have created tremendous trust in the agency.  Usually this means that there have been problems that were resolved to their complete satisfaction.  And, as we all know, trust takes years to develop and only moments to destroy.  Never take these key relationships for granted, assume nothing and stay in close contact with them and their staff.

There are two ways to expand business with a particular referring physician; increase your share of their home health and hospice referrals or expand their use of home health and hospice in their practice.  To garner a greater percentage of their referrals, it is necessary to know the competition and the referral source’s needs / hot buttons.  Then position the agency as the logical solution for their known needs.  The other way to increase referrals is to bring ideas, technology and information to the physician that will have them use home health or hospice for more types of patients.  For hospice that can translate into longer length of stays.  Never assume that the physicians know all of the possible uses for your services.

One way to foment the development of strong relationships is to include the physician and their staff in the development of new programs and protocols.  Pride of authorship is created when the agency involves a physician in developing these protocols and specialty programs.  If the plan of care is created using “their” methodology, they then can take ownership and will be better champions for the programs and your agency.

The other key component of creating and maintaining these key referral relationships is service - make their lives easy and earn their business.  Create service protocols that make the interface with the agency feel customized and you create a significant competitive advantage.  It must be easy for them to work with your agency, because when push comes to shove, they will take the easiest path to complete a referral.  Once you have established the service plan for the referrals source, never assume that there are no changes - keep probing for service needs.

When talking with physicians and their staffs, remember that the patients are THEIR patients not yours.  This may seem like a small semantic point, but it can make a big difference in how they hear what you are saying.  The patients many times have had the same physician for many years and when they are referred to home health or hospice they still feel that they are their patients.

Work to develop strong, personal relationships for best long-term results.  Help them be great champions for your organizations.  Good Luck and Happy Selling!