doctors are consumers too

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Seeing Physicians as consumers

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Seeing  Physicians    as  consumers    

Solu2ons,  not  technology,  are  the  key  to  success  in  

successfully  selling  to  today’s  physicians  

Understanding  the  challenges  of    being  a  physician  today  

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)  

At  the  same  2me  pa2ents    want  more  from  their  doctors  

Todays  pa2ents  are    “consumers  of  healthcare”  

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.  

Even  older  pa2ents  want    online  services  

Majority  of  physicians  don’t  use  email  with  pa2ents  

How  consumers  want  to  communicate    to  meet  health-­‐related  needs    

 

And  they  are  willing  to  pay  for  it…  

Are  pa2ent  portals  the  answer?  

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.    

Most  pa2ents  prefer  to  schedule    appointments  via  the  phone  

And  Almost  Half  of  Physicians  Do    Not  Follow  Up  With  Pa2ents;    

Only  9%  Do  So  Through  a  Pa2ent  Portal      

What’s  needed?  

Steve  Jobs  approach    “simplify”  

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.