doctors are consumers too
TRANSCRIPT
It’s not easy being a doctor
• Malprac2ce insurance has skyrocketed in the wake of many lawsuits aimed at specific physicians, hospitals, and the field of medicine in general.
• Integra2on with EHR’s has been a challenge and can be costly.
• Pressure from powerful HMO's and the public to keep costs to a minimum is greatly decreasing the earning poten2al of solo prac22oners. – Consequently they must work longer hours
and see more pa<ents to make ends meet.
• Nine of 10 doctors discourage others from joining the profession.
Source: h*p://www.mommd.com/beingadoctor.shtml
And it’s not geIng easier?
• The difficulty dealing with insurers has caused many physicians to close their prac<ces and become employees.
• The <me crunch causes doctors to rely on guidelines instead of personally tailoring medical care. Unfortunately, mindlessly following guidelines can result in bad outcomes.
• Physicians have to constantly try to improve their “produc<vity” and pa<ent sa<sfac<on scores—or risk losing their jobs.
• An unmanageable number of forms—oGen illegible—show up daily on a physician’s desk needing to be signed. Reams of lab results, refill requests, emails, and callbacks pop up con<nually on the computer screen.
EHR’s were supposed to make life easier but….
• Physicians who use electronic health record systems experience more administra<ve burdens than their peers who use paper records, according to a study published in the Interna:onal Journal of Health Services, FierceEMR reports .
• The study found that physicians who used EHRs reported spending about 17% of their working hours on administra<ve tasks, compared with 15.5% of those who used paper records.
• Doctors using both EHR and paper records faced the greatest administra<ve burden of all groups, spending about 18% of their workweek on administra<ve tasks, according to the study.
Physicians top complaints with EHR Vendors
1. The soOware is not intui2ve. 1. It takes too long to learn how to master. 2. Training by vendors is <me consuming and
uneven. 3. Updates oGen come with too much
documenta<on.
2. Too many vendors 1. The market is fragmented. 2. Interoperability between soGware vendors is
lacking. 3. More emphasis on selling, less on trea<ng me
as a “customer”.
Source: Qual Research, July 2014, n=85 (PCP’s)
Comments from physicians EHR vendors
“The last soTware update came with over 200 pages of documenta:on! When am I, or my staff,
supposed to find the :me to read that?”
“The soTware is takes too long to learn and isn’t easy to use plus they are always trying to get me
to buy add-‐ons”
“The interface, from using my laptop to my iPad are so different that it’s like having two different
versions of the product.”
“I can write faster than I can type using EHR soTware”
Source: Qual Research, July 2014, n=85 (PCP’s)
In addi2on too many EHR vendors don’t treat physicians
as customers
• They develop products in a vacuum, and don’t get get physicians involved at the earliest stages of soOware development.
• They don’t conduct usability tes2ng throughout the whole development process.
• They don’t think like a doctor; too much emphasis on “selling”.
• They don’t focus on physician needs first. • Technology creates more problems and there are too
many changes that require staff to relearn how to use EHR’s. Source: Qual Research, July 2014, n=85 (PCP’s)
How do you prefer to communicate with a doctor or healthcare provider?
Younger pa2ents want online communica2on but they don’t want “automated” online communica2on.
Maybe, but it has to have real value for pa2ents
• Nearly 40 percent of pa<ents are
unsure if their primary care physician has a pa<ent portal system. Less than half of pa<ents (49.2 percent) report being shown a portal either during or outside of their visit.
• Over half of pa<ents report that their physician did not follow-‐up with them aGer their appointment. – Of prac<ces that did follow-‐up, only 9.1
percent did so through a pa<ent portal.
• Overall, pa<ents report that the number one way they’d like to schedule appointments is over the phone. – However, pa<ents aged 18-‐24 prefer to use
an online calendar.
• 42.7 percent of pa<ents prefer to receive test results over the phone. – Only 18.1 percent prefer email, and 14.1
percent prefer online messages.
Solu2ons, not technology, are the key to success.
• Demonstrate how EHR’s can give physicians more 2me with pa2ents to focus on
pa2ent outcomes. • Provide a solu2on to 2me constraints of emailing pa2ents. Understand the
challenges of emailing pa2ents and how other physicians are handling the tasks of online pa2ent communica2on(s).
• Automa2on may not be the solu2on. Pa2ents don’t like automated messages from their doctors.
• Physicians are data driven; tell a story with data on how EHR soOware can help them beeer manage their prac2ce with key messages that are tested with your audience.
• Leverage medical mee2ngs to communicate key points but keep audience size small.
• If your soOware updates come with more than 25 pages of notes it’s too big. • Conduct usability via the whole development process. • Empathy: Think like a doctor
The boeom line..
• Solu2ons, not technology, are the key to success. – Widespread electronic adop<on requires
services and products that appeal to current payers because pa<ents, highly sensi<ve to price, will provide li`le income.
– Consumers’ sense of en<tlement with regard to health-‐ care aggravates this price sensi<vity.
• Vendors must concentrate on solving physicians problems. – Technology is an essen<al, but not
sufficient, tool in this endeavor.
About Me….
Richard Meyer • Execu<ve Director “Online Strategic Solu<ons” • [email protected] • h`p://worldofdtcmarke<ng.com • 15+ years digital healthcare marke<ng experience including
first use of social media on pharma website.