introducing the physician communication toolkit toolkit strategies and tools to reach 100% of the...

toolkit overview

29782

2445 M Street NW, Washington DC 20037

P 202.266.5600 | F 202.266.5700advisory.com

Physician Executive Council

Rese aRch and insights Perfo rm a n ce T ech n o lo g ies c o n su lTin g a n d m a n ag em en T Ta l en T d e v elo Pm en T

Introducing the Physician Communication ToolkitStrategies and Tools to Reach 100% of the Medical Staff

Project DirectorMegan Zweig

Contributing ConsultantsCassie Dormond, MA

Managing DirectorsAmanda Berra, MAAllison Cuff Shimooka, MBA

DesignerStefanie Kuchta

Sources

Pages 1, 8, 10, & 12: Advisory Board Survey Solutions—Physician Engagement survey and analysis, 2014.

Pages 10—11: Wolters Kluwer Health, “Wolters Kluwer Health 2013 Physician Outlook Survey,” 2013.

Physician Executive Council interviews and analysis.

Endnote

1) Represents 41% independent physicians and 59% affiliated or employed physicians, which includes, “Affiliated through an exclusive contract to provide services,” “Employed through a contract,” and “Employed through a medical group.”

We all know communication is a powerful tool—it not only helps physicians understand and believe in health system strategy, it is essential to drive practice change. But to work, messages must be heard. and when cmos communicate high-priority messages, they’re not reaching 100% of the medical staff.

Toolkit in BriefPhysician executives are in a tough spot. it’s more critical than ever to generate awareness and buy-in among the medical staff in support of organizational priorities. But, it’s becoming more difficult to actually reach physicians. They’re inundated with information—they don’t know who and what to listen to, especially when their time away from patients is so limited. Too often, the hospital’s critical messages become part of that communication noise. This means executives are spending a lot of their time communicating, but they are not being heard.

despite these real challenges, there are tested strategies and tactics organizations can use to inform and engage physicians. The Physician executive council has built the Physician communication Toolkit to connect physician executives and communication staff with these solutions.

This toolkit overview is organized by four key communication imperatives. Within each imperative, readers will learn high-level strategies and get a glimpse of the resources available in the Physician communication Toolkit. The toolkit offers benchmarks, templates, tips, and step-by-step tools to help leaders and staff save time and avoid common pitfalls. The full version of the toolkit is available online and can be accessed any time, by anyone at your organization.

access and download all resources by visiting: advisory.com/pec/communicationtoolkit

Introducing the Physician Communication Toolkit 1

Over half of physicians report they’re not kept informed of their organization’s strategic plans. But physician executives communicate with physicians all the time. What’s the disconnect?

There are two issues here.

The first is CMOs spend a lot of time on non-scalable communication, meaning one-on-one or small group conversations. They typically talk to physicians at the tail ends of the performance spectrum—either the disengaged physician outliers, or plugged-in, energized physicians who voluntarily provide their input on key initiatives. While face-to-face communication will remain important for critical messages, it’s simply not scalable. And it means that physician executives aren’t connecting at all with the silent majority.

The second issue is that, while organizations may have scalable communication efforts in place, like e-mail lists, newsletters, or physician portals, these efforts are not particularly effective. Physicians tune out these messages because they’re too often hospital-centric, irrelevant, and not mobile-friendly.

Silent Majority

Physician Executive’s Communication Focus

Leaders and Engaged Physicians

Outliers and Vocal Resistors

2 Physician Executive Council

The good news is four strategies can help you revamp your communication strategy and get critical messages to all physicians on your medical staff.

This briefing is organized around four imperatives to build an effective physician communication strategy.

This overview offers specific strategies and case studies for each, and outlines the accompanying implementation resources available through the online Physician Communication Toolkit.

Before diving in, let’s discuss who should use the Physician Communication Toolkit.

Imperative #1: Build a Scalable Communication Platform

Imperative #2: Curate Physician-Centered Content

Imperative #3: Deliver Attention-Grabbing Messages

Imperative #4: Facilitate Forums for Meaningful Dialogue


Communication with physicians is a team effort; it will require the involvement of senior clinical executives, physician leaders, and communication staff. Each group has a different, “top of license” role to play.

For instance, physician executives will oversee the organization’s physician communication strategy—identifying opportunities, assessing how to make messages resonate with physicians, and responding to physician feedback.

The communication team will be handling day-to-day operations—managing listservs, crafting compelling and mobile-friendly emails, and testing physician communication preferences.

The toolkit offers resources intended to support each of these groups.

The tools will be marked as follows:

Executive and Physician Leaders

Executive and Physician Leaders, as well as Communication Staff

Communication Staff


Resources for Communication Staff

Access the comprehensive Physician Communication Toolkit now. Here’s a quick recap of what you’ll find.

Resources for Physician Leaders

• Staffing Tips for Physician Communication Roles

• Red Flag Audit

• Physician Communication Plan Template and Example

• Listserv Management Tactics

• Red Flag Audit

IMPERATIVE #1: Build a Scalable Communication Platform

• Physician WIFM Prompt

• Sample Email: Patient Experience

• Sample Newsletter: Highlighting Innovation

• Sample Newsletter: Tech-Knowledge

• Content Submission Form

IMPERATIVE #2: Curate Physician-Centered Content

• Data-Driven Tips for Getting Physicians to Open Emails

• Tips for Creating Mobile-Friendly Emails

• How to Test Physician Email Preferences

• “Write Better, Right Now” webconference and infographic

• Making a Successful Video

• Twitter Tips

IMPERATIVE #3: Deliver Attention-Grabbing Messages

• How to Enhance Your Physician Surveys (coming soon)

• Case Studies on Soliciting Structured Feedback

• “What Do Physicians Want to Hear?” webconference

IMPERATIVE #4: Facilitate Forums for Meaningful Dialogue


IMPERATIVE #1

Saying everything seven different ways, seven different times is not a communication strategy, but that’s the route most organizations take.

An effective strategy cuts through the communication noise by matching messages to the right channels. You can think about your strategy as a communication hierarchy. Send only the most important information through “push channels”—either through an alert in the EMR or emails. When you dial down the frequency of email, that extra information has to go somewhere, like a physician portal. Portals are helpful for keeping emails succinct—emails can provide links back to the portal, which can provide more comprehensive information. Finally, other communication mechanisms like mailings, posters, and flyers, can reinforce key messages.

This communication hierarchy offers a principled way to control the volume and frequency of emails. Physicians are less likely to become overwhelmed and more likely to know what’s important.

The problem is, over-communicating is a vicious cycle. When messages are being ignored, leaders are more likely to send more messages through more channels. This undercuts the potency of the message and leads physicians to tune out.

Solutions

Build a Scalable Communication Platform

Pass

ive

Cha

nnel

s

Push

Cha

nnel

s

EMR

Email

Physician Portal or Intranet

All Other ChannelsOther channels are used to reinforce

key messages, ensure widespread awareness of priorities

Centralized intranet stores information for quick, on-demand physician access; many

emails link back to intranet

Announcements in EMR used sparingly; limited to most urgent updates relevant to all physicians

Organization sends most important information via email on consistent basis; in turn, physicians

expected to read email

(e.g., posters in physician lounge, mailings)


Use this customizable Excel-based communication plan template to build an organized action plan for creating and communicating critical messages to physicians.

Physician Communication Plan Template and Example

Review physician communication staffing models and read a case study on onboarding and accountability mechanisms for staff.

Staffing Tips for Physician Communication Roles

Learn how to gather and keep physician emails up-to-date, segment listservs, and ensure physicians aren’t receiving duplicative emails.

Listserv Management Tactics

Tools


IMPERATIVE #2

We asked physicians what one change they would make to their organization’s current communication approach. Here’s what they said:

A lot of the communication amounts to noise, making it impossible for physicians to tease out which emails they should be reading. All too often, the important information gets lost.

Solutions

Curate Physician-Centered Content

“Shorter, to-the-point emails with better subject lines.”

“Make it more personal and less corporate. Human being to human being.”

“We get so much junk email, it’s hard to figure out what really applies to us.”

“Stop sending out emails intended for the hospital staff to all of the primary care physicians in remote locations.”

Create a communication compact with physicians. At St. Rita’s Medical Center, the CMO makes a verbal commitment to new physicians that they will receive only relevant and important messages. In return, the CMO asks each physician to share an email address he or she regularly checks. It’s a simple compact, but it sets clear expectations for both parties.

Evolve the content of messages to map to what you know physicians are interested in. Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta uses JangoMail to review physician open-rates and found hospital-based physicians opened newsletters twice as much as primary care physicians. So, they added PCP-relevant topics to the newsletter, which doubled the open rate for PCPs.

Lead with the physician WIFM: “What’s in it for me?” For physician communication to drive buy-in and action, every message must lead with the answers to the questions: What does this issue look like from a physician point of view and why should they care? Then, to create a shared sense of purpose, connect the dots between the physician role, the organization’s strategy, and what’s going on in health care.

1

2

3


Tools

Read this newsletter from Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta to see how they introduced physicians to the concept of their new clinically-integrated network. The newsletter is effective because it explains how market trends have informed the hospital’s strategy and outlines the resulting impact on physicians and patients.

Sample Newsletter: “Highlighting Innovation”

See how CHRISTUS Santa Rosa evolved their communications based on feedback from physicians concerned about their EMR strategy. CHRISTUS created a

“Tech-Knowledge” newsletter to address common misperceptions and highlight new EMR functionality.

Sample Newsletter: “Tech Knowledge”

Use University of Iowa’s content submission form to streamline the vetting process of messages to physicians.

Content Submission Form

Messages to physicians should always address the topic from their perspective. Read this email to see how to discuss the importance of patient experience in relation to what physicians care about—clinical quality, their reputation, and their unique role on the care team.

Sample Email: Patient Experience

Use this tool to construct more persuasive messages by considering, “What’s in it for me?” from the physician perspective.

Physician WIFM Prompt


Physician WIFM1 Prompt

How to Craft Messages that Resonate with PhysiciansIntended users: Physician leaders or communication staff who are charged with crafting compelling messages for the physician audience in regards to an organizational change or initiative.

Note on use: The purpose of this tool is to help leaders construct more persuasive messages that resonate with physicians and engender buy-in for organizational changes or initiatives. To accomplish this, the tool helps leaders think through how to position a message using a three-part framework.


IMPERATIVE #3

Getting physicians to open emails is a huge challenge. Physicians aren’t at desks. And like most of us on the go, they’re reading email on phones and tablets.

Create catchy, mobile-friendly emails to improve open-rates. Eight in ten physicians use smartphones in their daily practice, and 61% rely on email for updates from the organization. Consider investing in email analytics to determine what makes physicians click.

Reach new audiences through alternative channels. Email is here to stay, but texting, Twitter, and other mobile-friendly channels are worth considering to cut through the clutter. Try something new with a smaller group of physicians you think will be most receptive, and then look to expand.

Solutions

Deliver Attention-Grabbing Messages

Physicians’ Most Reliable Source For Getting Organizational News

61 %

17 % 13 % 9%

Emails Meetings Word of Mouth

Other



Data-Driven Tips for Getting Physicians to Click: An Analysis of Physician Email Habits

Methodology in Brief:

• The Advisory Board Company emails the Daily Briefing once a day during the work week to 111,482 subscribers; the 2014 year-to-date average open rate is 17.91%

Tools

Data-Driven Tips for Getting Physicians to Open EmailsCurious what subject lines are more likely to get physicians to open an email? Take a look at our analysis of physician open rates for our daily e-newsletter, the Daily Briefing, and learn what gets physicians to click.

HOW TO

Write BetterRIGHT NOW

Do I sound like a real person? How can I make my writing voice more natural?

How do I know what I know? Why am I a credible source?

Who am I writing to? Why should they care about my topic?

What’s the most important point? Is it in the title and first paragraph?

Is this context really necessary?

What can I tell the reader that they don’t already know? What’s the conventional wisdom? Why is it wrong?

Could this [sentence, paragraph, chapter, book] be shorter?

Can I relate what I’ve written to something urgent or newsy?

Would my [sibling, parent, spouse] understand what I’ve written? How would I explain it to them?

What do I want readers to do? Have I tried hard enough to convince them?

Could a [story, quotation, statistic, image, photo] bring this to life?

As a result of → Because

Despite the fact that → Despite

Due to the fact that → Due to, because

Every single → Every

For the purpose of → For, to

In accordance with → By, under

In addition → Also, too

In advance of → Before

→ To

Inasmuch as → Since

In a timely manner → Promptly, on time

Incumbent upon → Must

In order that → For, so

In regard to → About, concerning

QUESTIONS to ask yourself

YOU’RE WRITINGWHEN

In the event that → If

It is requested that → Please

Leverage → Use

Limited number → Few

Majority → Most

Necessitate → Need

Numerous → Many

On a regular basis → Regularly

Pertaining to → About

Provided that → If

Provides guidance for → Guides

Time period → Time, period

Utilize → Use

With reference to → About

With the exception of → Except for

In order to → To

© 2014 The Advisory Board Company • 28456

AVOID ANDBUSINESS JARGONclichés

MORE TIPS

2

3

1Get someone else to read it

Read it out loudUse active verbs 4

Delete meaningless adjectives like “key,”

“exciting,” or “leading”

UNNECESSARY WORDS

SIMPLIFYphrases

AND CUT

Reinvent the wheel

Boil the ocean

Robust

Leverage

Buy-in

Dog and pony show

Deep dive

Drill down

Core competency

By using stale metaphors, similes, and

the cost of leaving your meaning vague, not only for your reader but for yourself.

George Orwell

“Write Better, Right Now” InfographicNo matter what your job, everyone needs to know how to write clearly and gracefully. Download our infographic for a few tricks to help.

Tips for Creating Mobile-Friendly EmailsMost physicians use phones daily to check email. Access this tool to help you select the appropriate layout for a mobile-friendly email.

How to Test Physician Email PreferencesLearn how to test, analyze, and respond to physician open- and click-rate patterns.

Twitter TipsDownload a list of key considerations for developing a personal or professional Twitter presence.


IMPERATIVE #4

Organizations who do connect with a large portion of physicians use two approaches.

So far we’ve focused on sending better mass communication to physicians. But good communication isn’t only about getting your message out. Communication is a two-way street; too often, administrators are not encouraging meaningful dialogue with physicians. And if you’re not talking with physicians, you are sacrificing their engagement. Many key strategies are going to depend on physician input. And it’s critical that you find ways to connect with the entire medical staff, not just engaged physicians or outliers.

Solutions

Facilitate Forums for Meaningful Dialogue

Expand existing feedback forums to include physicians who wouldn’t typically have the chance to interact with administration.

Ask for structured feedback. This ensures responses are actionable and relevant.

1 2

Physician Responses to Question:

“Which aspect of this organization’s strategy do you most want to weigh-in on?”

n=6321

13%Ambulatory clinical care transformation

Future health system strategy

Inpatient clinical care transformation

Physician alignment strategy

Physician workflow issues

Resource stewardship

Service-line specific strategy

24%

17%

17%

10%

Other 4%

6%

9%


Tools

Learn from three organizations that have used online forums, surveys, and in-person meetings to encourage structured, productive dialogue with physicians.

Case Studies on Soliciting Structured Feedback

Learn data-driven recommendations on physician communication preferences. In addition to reporting broad trends, we dive into the communication preferences across different physician cohorts.

“What Do Physicians Want to Hear?” Webconference


Concluding Thoughts

The saying, “when it comes to change, you can’t over-communicate,” isn’t exactly right. That wisdom might work for one or two changes in isolation, but health care organizations are managing many significant changes simultaneously. Over-communicating each and every one will quickly lead to change fatigue.

You need to strike a balance. If you communicate too little, physicians won’t understand their critical role in care transformation. And rumors will replace information gaps.

But, too much information isn’t much better—you just end up exhausting (or worse—irritating) your physicians. Our Physician Communication Toolkit can help you and your communication team find that balance.

Physician Discomfort with Change Versus Amount of Communication

Level of Physician

Discomfort with Change

Amount of Communication

Not enough information causes confusion, opens the door for rumors…

… but too much information causes change fatigue


Organizations can assess how well they’re doing on each communication imperative by completing our red flag audits. The red flag audits are tailored to physician leaders and communication staff to reflect their unique roles.

The physician leader audits help assess the effectiveness of the overall communication strategy, and can help guide leaders in focusing communication staff efforts on high opportunity areas. The communication staff audits serve as a checklist, detailing the operational steps to build and execute an effective communication strategy.

The solution to finding the right balance doesn’t lie in just creating a better communication strategy. After all, the amount of communication often reflects the amount of change going on at an organization. If physicians are tuning out, it may be an indication of a larger, strategic problem—that the organization is doing too much at once and asking too much of physicians.

But that shouldn’t be a reason to miss out on the opportunities of this critical moment in health care transformation. Instead, take a critical look at where you can be more targeted and what you can reasonably accomplish within a year.

Ready to start improving your communication strategy? Our communication Red Flag Audits are a good place to start.

©2014 The Advisory Board Company advisory.com1

1) Some questions may overlap with those for communication staff because they are shared responsibilities.

Section I: Build a Communication Platform

Red Flag Audit

Communication Staffing

Have you or other leaders hired communication staff who have a background in internal communications or relevant experience or training?

Has the organization set aside the budget and resources to support staff dedicated to internal physician communication?

Are you a go-to resource for communication staff so they are looped into organizational strategy and know what messages should be communicated to physicians?

Do communication staff have the standing and access to cultivate relationships with physicians?

Strategic Channel Selection

Does your organization limit the number of people in the organization who have access to the physician listserv and may send mass emails?

Does the organization push important messages to physicians through consistent channels?

Do physicians generally know what content they can expect to find from different channels (e.g., newsletter versus weekly emails versus portal)?

Audit for Physician Executives1


©2014 The Advisory Board Company advisory.com2

Section I: Build a Communication Platform

Red Flag Audit

Email Functionality

Are you maintaining a functional, up-to-date physician listserv?

Are you maintaining segmented email lists to send custom messages to specific groups of physicians?

Can you track which physicians have opened and/or responded to emails?

Strategic Channel Selection

Are you considering content and tone of a message to determine the appropriate channel to push that message?

Does the organization push important messages to physicians through consistent channels?

Do physicians generally know what content they can expect to find from different channels (e.g., newsletter versus weekly emails versus portal)?

Do you create a detailed action plan in preparation for campaign-style communications on the most important messages?

Are you limiting “communication campaigns” to the highest-priority messages?

Have you assessed the communication preferences of different groups of physicians?

Do you select communication channels in order to reach target audiences?

Audit for Communication Staff



LEGAL CAVEAT

The Advisory Board Company has made efforts to verify the accuracy of the information it provides to members. This report relies on data obtained from many sources, however, and The Advisory Board Company cannot guarantee the accuracy of the information provided or any analysis based thereon. In addition, The Advisory Board Company is not in the business of giving legal, medical, accounting, or other professional advice, and its reports should not be construed as professional advice. In particular, members should not rely on any legal commentary in this report as a basis for action, or assume that any tactics described herein would be permitted by applicable law or appropriate for a given member’s situation. Members are advised to consult with appropriate professionals concerning legal, medical, tax, or accounting issues, before implementing any of these tactics. Neither The Advisory Board Company nor its officers, directors, trustees, employees and agents shall be liable for any claims, liabilities, or expenses relating to (a) any errors or omissions in this report, whether caused by The Advisory Board Company or any of its employees or agents, or sources or other third parties, (b) any recommendation or graded ranking by The Advisory Board Company, or (c) failure of member and its employees and agents to abide by the terms set forth herein.

Additional Resources

Survey Solutions: Physician Engagement

Helps organizations develop and execute a data-driven physician relations strategy by uniting a dynamic survey construct reflective of today’s market, decades of Advisory Board physician expertise, and our proven Dedicated Advisor model in a unique partnership offering.

advisory.com/solutions/survey-solutions

Crimson Continuum of Care

Performance technology initiative that helps hospitals manage physician performance to improve inpatient quality and cost per case.

advisory.com/crimson

Southwind

Helps hospitals and health systems achieve full medical staff integration through physician practice management and consulting services addressing physician employment, physician practice acquisition, clinical integration, and alternative models of physician alignment.

advisory.com/southwind

About the Physician Executive Council

This piece is published by a research membership dedicated to supporting the CMO and team with best demonstrated practices, insights, tools, expert consultations, and networking opportunities.

We provide expert guidance to our members as they build an effective physician leadership team, engage the medical staff, and minimize clinical variation.

To learn more and access additional resources, visit: advisory.com/physicianexecutivecouncil»

»

»

»

Project DirectorMegan Zweig

Contributing ConsultantsCassie Dormond, MA

Managing DirectorsAmanda Berra, MAAllison Cuff Shimooka, MBA

DesignerStefanie Kuchta

Sources

Pages 1, 8, 10, & 12: Advisory Board Survey Solutions—Physician Engagement survey and analysis, 2014.

Pages 10—11: Wolters Kluwer Health, “Wolters Kluwer Health 2013 Physician Outlook Survey,” 2013.

Physician Executive Council interviews and analysis.

Endnote

1) Represents 41% independent physicians and 59% affiliated or employed physicians, which includes, “Affiliated through an exclusive contract to provide services,” “Employed through a contract,” and “Employed through a medical group.”

We all know communication is a powerful tool—it not only helps physicians understand and believe in health system strategy, it is essential to drive practice change. But to work, messages must be heard. and when cmos communicate high-priority messages, they’re not reaching 100% of the medical staff.

Toolkit in BriefPhysician executives are in a tough spot. it’s more critical than ever to generate awareness and buy-in among the medical staff in support of organizational priorities. But, it’s becoming more difficult to actually reach physicians. They’re inundated with information—they don’t know who and what to listen to, especially when their time away from patients is so limited. Too often, the hospital’s critical messages become part of that communication noise. This means executives are spending a lot of their time communicating, but they are not being heard.

despite these real challenges, there are tested strategies and tactics organizations can use to inform and engage physicians. The Physician executive council has built the Physician communication Toolkit to connect physician executives and communication staff with these solutions.

This toolkit overview is organized by four key communication imperatives. Within each imperative, readers will learn high-level strategies and get a glimpse of the resources available in the Physician communication Toolkit. The toolkit offers benchmarks, templates, tips, and step-by-step tools to help leaders and staff save time and avoid common pitfalls. The full version of the toolkit is available online and can be accessed any time, by anyone at your organization.

access and download all resources by visiting: advisory.com/pec/communicationtoolkit

toolkit overview

29782

2445 M Street NW, Washington DC 20037

P 202.266.5600 | F 202.266.5700advisory.com


Rese aRch and insights Perfo rm a n ce T ech n o lo g ies c o n su lTin g a n d m a n ag em en T Ta l en T d e v elo Pm en T

Introducing the Physician Communication ToolkitStrategies and Tools to Reach 100% of the Medical Staff

introducing the physician communication toolkit toolkit strategies and tools to reach 100% of the...

Documents