Teach them a lesson they'll remember
Teach them a lesson they'll remember
Seminars can boost referrals
For much of the Mobile, AL, medical community, running a practice is left to a single person - a receptionist-cum-office manager-cum- billing clerk-cum collections agent. It is a situation that in the past worked fine.
But in a changing medical market, practice managers need a lot more expertise and information. It is a situation that Vance Chunn, FACHE, executive director of Cardiology Associates in Mobile, thought he could turn to his favor.
"We saw a need," says Chunn. "We saw increasing frustration among our referring physicians on the business side of things." His response was to hold a business strategies seminar for the local medical community that would include nationally known speakers on issues that are important to a successful medical practice.
"We figured we could help them with good information on local and national issues, benefit them, have them pay a small fee to defray some of the costs, and build some goodwill," Chunn explains.
Brought back by popular request
The seminar, held a year ago, attracted 60 people and was successful enough to merit a second go around this year. "We had a great response," he says, noting that while most of the participants were physicians with which Cardiology Associates had worked in the past, some were not. "Some of those started referring to us," says Chunn. One even joined an affiliated primary care group in another county.
Invitations were mailed to some 900 practices in Cardiology Associates' primary, secondary, and tertiary service areas. The invitation - a brightly colored tri-fold card with a detachable registration card - outlined the conference schedule. (See copy of agenda, p. 51.)
The seminar included talks on general business, managed care positioning, the local managed care market, how to manage growth, developing a strategic plan, and networks, mergers, acquisitions, and consolidations. The speakers each had short biographical sketches on the back of the reply card.
The seminar cost about $20,000 to put on, Chunn says. Those costs were largely covered by the $75 attendance fee, as well as from sponsorships from three corporations. "We did have to underwrite it to a degree ourselves," admits Chunn. "But I think in the future the costs will be covered. We don't ever envision this being a money-making venture, though. It's more about building relationships."
The weekend event was held at a local resort in order to attract more people. "We didn't want it to be a long, boring thing," he says. "We wanted to add some local flavor."
Chunn and his marketing director worked for about four months to bring together the speakers. Many of them were attorneys, consultants, and peers he had met at other conferences in the past - or for whom Chunn had given talks before. All of the speakers donated their time, and Cardiology Associates had only to pay their expenses.
Topics reflected general interest
Chunn chose topics based on what people around him were talking about. "I hear people talking about mergers, and they have no idea why or what the consequences are," Chunn says. "We tried to address those areas."
Next time, Chunn says he will send out fewer invitations. Although some people came from as far away as 90 miles, he thinks more targeted marketing of the event would work better. He will also start a little earlier next time - perhaps six months in advance.
"I think I will change the way I package it, too," he says. "It can be hard to get doctors to pay attention. It has to make their desks - not their wastebaskets. I might try mailing them to their homes or putting them in an invitation-type envelope."
Chunn also sent repeat mailings, including a personal letter sent by one of the senior physicians. "I may change that. I'm not even sure everyone got one of those letters."
He thinks the idea will work in any market. "Talk to doctors in your area. I think this is a great way to get a good response and build some goodwill."
The general business seminar isn't the only way Chunn and his practice try to attract the referral market. Cardiology Associates has a speakers' bureau which not only addresses community organizations that get the word out to patients but also schedules events for the staff at smaller hospitals outside the Mobile area. Participation in these kinds of events is one area in which new physicians are evaluated.
Referring physicians who have mentioned they have trouble getting through to the appropriate medical staff member in a timely manner are also given a special phone number to use: the Quick Connect Line. Chunn says an existing line was used that goes right to the nurses' desk. "We market that to them as a way to streamline relations with people who wanted to refer to us. It works very well."
The number isn't released to all doctors but only to those who have experienced difficulty. "Otherwise, we might end up creating the same backlog situation on the Quick Connect Line."
Chunn says much of the success of Cardiology Associates' program is due to the physicians. "They are heavily involved in what we do as far as marketing goes," he says. "They are open to it and excited about it. And they were the ones who pushed us to get a marketing director; it is a real group approach to building success."
· Linda Waymire, Marketing and Public Relations Director, Arnett Clinic, Lafayette, IN. Telephone: (765) 448-8336.
· Vance Chunn, FACHE, Executive Director, Cardiology Associates, Mobile, AL. Telephone: (334) 639-3480.
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