We recently found a great article by Michael Hess, “Your Work May Be Serious, but Your Business Doesn’t Have to be.” This article focuses on the importance of maintaining a certain level of fun and enjoyment within the business environment. To get a better perspective on the significance of these elements within an organization, Kellie Eisenhauer, (e)Merge Director of Operations, weighed in on the information presented in the article. Kellie’s background lies in the Human Resources field, and she often finds herself giving advice while working with various HR departments.
“Culture must come from the top, down. Everyone needs to live and breathe it,” said Eisenhauer, “You can always spot a great office culture when you walk in and instantly get a ‘warm, fuzzy’ feeling. When an employee smiles, you can tell it is real and not forced.” Many times, management fails to realize there is a scientific way to hire and coach employees. In some cases, a great hire simply may not be fit for patient contact. Different personalities require varying degrees of human contact and some are fit for a more individualized role. In these instances, we cannot force these personalities to adapt; the ability to interact in a consistently pleasant manner realistically isn’t instilled in everyone.
“Co-workers are in many ways family; everyone spends 40+ hours together each week and if employees cannot work together and help one another, then patients will see an instant reflection of this in the office culture,” states Eisenhauer.
Management must strive to provide:
- Leadership and Coaching
- Support
- Avenues to 2 way communication
- Tools for employees to do their jobs efficiently
Without these valuable assets, even the right person for the job may lose their commitment to the organization. Aiming for an office culture rich with support, respect and lightheartedness can ultimately increase revenue and ROI. We must remember basic facts learned as children apply to office management and staffing uncertainties; when it comes to our employees, “Forcing a square peg in a round hole just causes issues for everyone. It is not usually worth it to put the energy and effort into trying to get someone to adapt into something they are not. It is like a rubber band…it can stretch (or adapt), but only so much before it breaks,” reminds Eisenhauer.
Communication is, without a doubt, the basis of Social Media. Unfortunately, for the millions of businesses around the world operating Facebook Fan Pages, we are unable to directly communicate with our fans without the entire Facebook community viewing our message. As many of you are aware, Facebook removed the direct message feature from Fan Pages; due to an influx in misconduct from spamming agencies. Without this feature, Page Administrators are offered no means of private communication with fans. For many business pages, the DM feature is a great option for informing fans of contest being run and communicating other information not directly mentioned on the page. While the new feature being tested merely gives business pages the ability to receive private messages; the initiative seems to be an olive branch offered from Facebook to the likely thousands of business users miffed of messaging privileges revoked.
However, as healthcare professionals, we must keep in mind the ever present threat of HIPAA violations. With this new opportunity to connect with fans and perhaps current or potential patients through direct messaging, we must remember patient communication through Facebook is prohibited. Those in violation of HIPAA face penalties including, but not limited to, large fines (up to $250,000) and imprisonment. Many patients view Facebook as an open forum and are comfortable inquiring about specific questions they have; Page Administrators must be sure to provide answers with no mention to Protected Health Information (PHI) that could potentially expose a patient’s private information.
One significant reason HIPAA prohibits patient/provider communication through social media is due to the insecure nature of the sites. Direct messages are not considered an encrypted, secure form of electronic communication. According to HIPAA statues, communication with patients must be encrypted or carried out through software with strict security measures to prevent any type of information leak. Overall, Facebook is a great marketing tool for healthcare organizations. Increased communication brings patients, current or potential, closer to the organization and allows opinions to be voiced regarding various topics. While it is important to maintain a line of communication with those posting to your page; it is vital to keep engaging conversation away from patient specific questions and comments.
For more information regarding patient-physician electronic communication guidelines, please visit: http://www.texmed.org/Template.aspx?id=2480
At times, we find convincing a physician or practice administrator to jump feet first into the deep, unknown pool of social media is more difficult to accomplish than getting a child to eat their vegetables. Most give short, one-word responses; ranging from, “No.” to “Why?”
So, why do we remain relentless in our push to involve healthcare professionals in the world of social media? According to the Pew Research Center, “61% of adults look online for health information.” For years, before social media brought a way to reach these potential patients, information found was often through websites lacking any source of credibility. When looking for a new physician or medical organization, customers would have to search the phone book or internet for a nearby office; many times blindly trusting the experience would be pleasant. Now, with the engaging nature of social media, those in need of medical assistance are able to connect with credible physicians and practices around the world for answers.
Social media is also a great way to become a “go-to source” for information. Establishing an organization as an information bank, full of great advice, knowledgeable physicians and engaging content helps increase customer loyalty and draw in new patients. The more information provided through social media and content published; the more likely an organization is to appear first on a potential patient’s internet search for a new physician, rather than buried on the fifteenth page of results.
Finally, the best way to improve a practice is to focus on what needs work. Who better to inform the organization of hits and misses than the patients themselves? Social media allows an open forum for discussion in relation to the patient experience. Feedback left and questions asked serve as starting points for continual improvement. Without a source for patients to discuss their feelings towards the experience, the organization’s weaknesses may go entirely unnoticed.
While many will continue to shun the world of social media, the growth and results obtained by those utilizing the resource speak for themselves. In today’s healthcare field staying “connected” is a means for staying relevant.
A very interesting and informative piece circulated on Twitter this week and caught my attention. The post by Jeff Bullas, Social Media Marketing: 10 Inspiring Infographics (Great resource piece!) shares some great statistics and examples of the power and influence of social media on our behaviors and buying patterns as consumers. Jeff also dives deeper into the conversation related to the shift from outbound marketing efforts, or what I like to call “shameless self-promotion”, to more engaging, conversational inbound marketing tactics. Timely, as just two weeks ago I led a lively discussion on shift to a better educated consumer, new buying behaviors and how social networking is a driving force behind these changes during my session at the Practice Management Institute national conference.
With consumerism alive and well in healthcare, these same shifts in patient decision-making behaviors and choices in physicians/institutions are becoming increasingly difficult to ignore. With this sea-change in full swing, to be effective at reaching your patient (or referring physician, organization, etc) you must understand the difference between these two approaches to marketing. My friend and colleague Howard Luks, MD, does a great job of outlining those differences in his recent post: Social Media and Healthcare: Inbound vs. Outbound Marketing (be sure to check it out!). In his post he poses the question, “does your marketing professional understand the difference?”. Good question! Many don’t, which is very disappointing.
This healthcare marketer has a few additional thoughts and tips for you to consider as you build your organization’s marketing strategy and look to adopt more inbound concepts verses that “shameless self-promotion” approach I mentioned earlier.
1. You’ve got to make it real for your audience! Your patients don’t trust advertising, they trust their peers’ recommendations. Where are these recommendations being asked for and received? Your patients are now on Facebook, Twitter….social networking sites! So, build platforms that make it easy for these peers to sing your physicians’/institutions’ praises. Patient testimonials make it REAL for your audience; they can connect with these current patients of yours, their stories and their reasoning behind choosing you. Stories sell. Period.
2. Don’t put all your marketing eggs in one basket; it’s crucial you STILL diversify your marketing mix! That’s right, there is still a place for more traditional forms of marketing such as TV, radio and print. It’s all about the message! You can engage your audience and provide educational content through these traditional mediums, it doesn’t have to be all about simply promoting services or providers. However, for a healthy balanced marketing strategy, you must use these more traditional methods they must be used in conjunction with new inbound tactics, including social media.
3. Be sure you know your audience! Even with inbound marketing tactics, you can still miss truly interacting with your audience…or turn them off completely. Know who you are talking to, who you want to attract, who you want to engage and ultimately who you want walking through the doors of your office; you cannot be everything to everyone, even through social media channels. Stick to your message, engage and produce quality content within your physicians’ or institutions’ realm of expertise.
Marketing your practice can be a daunting task, but keep in mind, your goal as a healthcare provider should be to provide educational content to your audience. If you focus on providing education and becoming a health resource to your patients, potential patients and community, regardless of the medium, you can be successful in reaching and engaging your audience.
The Release of Patient Information: A Conversation on Outsourcing vs. In-House and How This Affects Patient Experience
0Medical records must be dealt with in a professional manner. A practice’s patients should feel their medical information is being kept secure and being forwarded in a confidential manner. The choice of handling records in house or outsourcing to an independent firm is an important decision healthcare organizations must make.
Although not well known outside the healthcare industry, companies providing the release of information have been present for nearly twenty years. Outsourcing to a data technology firm provides a cost savings to medical practices allowing a smaller investment, being they do not need as many in house employees. Janine Akers, Managing Partner of Datafile Technologies, an outsourcing company specializing in the release of information for medical practices says, “Think of outsourcing as similar to an application on your smart phone. It’s not required that you download the application to run the phone, but once you do, the phone works faster and more efficiently.”
Outsourcing has many benefits, such as: the economic plus of saving the practice money, a higher level of integrity for the office and the transfer of HIPAA liabilities. Outside parties, such as Datafile Technologies, find they can hire a team of specialists for less overhead than employing a full time position. Akers states, “When you outsource information, the number of errors is reduced because the outsourcing firm not only has more people double checking the information, but the firm takes ownership of the job because their client relationship depends on it.”
So, how does this relate to the patient: If an organization decides to outsource, but retain employees formerly in charge of the release of information, this staff could be better utilized answering phones or working with checking in/out patients. This leads to a better patient experience and higher patient satisfaction ratings due to fewer hold times and more personal attention. Additionally, Akers noted that outsourcing companies have a 24-hour turnaround time, while in house can take 7 to 10 days. With information turned around this quickly, companies such as insurance providers are able to process claims faster and medical providers are paid in a more timely fashion.
Overall, outsourcing medical records can decrease cost, increase security, raise integrity and transfer HIPAA liability away from the providers themselves. Outsourcing decreases the amount of time for processing insurance claims and allows patients to receive medical record and insurance payments more quickly. These aspects combine to produce a more positive patient experience.
