Medical Practice Marketing: Case Study - Payors and Referring Physicians

7. Marketing to Payors (Insurance providers, TPA’s, Employers, Self-Insurers, Etc.)
Some marketing efforts to workers’ compensation payors were already in place. The practice continued to support their local workers’ compensation organizations with their annual conferences. Satisfaction surveys were created and distributed to all workers’ compensation representatives, employers’ and self-insurers. The practice physicians and physical therapists provided presentations to local employers and self-insurers. Physicians visited local employers for tours of their facilities to gain a better understanding of their patients work environment and participated in numerous health fairs to promote employee safety. Holiday gifts were distributed to all local workers’ compensation representatives in appreciation of their support throughout the year.

8. Marketing to Referring Physicians
The physicians provided presentations for local hospitals for educational purposes. A referring physician’s satisfaction survey was created and distributed to monitor the level of service being provided by the practice. The practice worked with local hospital media relations departments for interviews in their hospital newsletters. Holiday gifts were distributed to local physicians in appreciation of their support throughout the year as well as holiday cards that were sent “in donation of” the referring physician’s name to a local non-profit organization.

9. Marketing to General Public
The practice participated in local health fairs and fitness expos to promote “orthopaedic injury awareness” and show their support to their community. Sponsorships were provided to local organizations such as little league baseball, high school athletics and local dance teams. A patient satisfaction survey was created and implemented so the practice could identify what was working as well as those areas for improvement. The physicians provided TV and newspaper interviews on new procedures and orthopaedic injury education for the community.

10. Tracking & Planning
The Director compiled the results of the workers’ compensation, referring physicians and patient satisfaction surveys and distributed the results to the physicians and the staff. Monthly reports were generated to monitor referrals from referring physicians, workers’ compensation and to review the increase/decrease in patient volume and revenue.

What are the plans for the future?
The Director utilized the Planning Calendar to monitor the actions of the plan so the practice would not deviate from their set goals and objectives. The Director kept a running list of the ideas for future marketing efforts that would be considered for next year’s plan.

Who should you choose to market your practice?
As stated above, the practice chose to hire a full-time Director to oversee their marketing efforts. The Director had previous marketing and public relations experience, but was not familiar with the medical industry. The Director was initially hired with a base salary and no bonus or incentives.