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The 2014 Physician’s Success Plan No Guarantee of Results: The suggestions, comments, tactics and strategies contained herein are meant only to provide examples about running a successful business. They are not intended as a guarantee that the same or similar results can be obtained in every matter undertaken by you or your company; and you should not assume that a similar result can be obtained in any circumstance, no matter how similar to the example. The outcome of a particular strategy or tactic, or any combination thereof can depend on a variety of factors and, often, unexpected developments and circumstances beyond the control of any person, business owner or industry play a role in the resultant outcome. Professional Liability Insurance Group (PLIG) is not responsible for any action or inaction on your part as a result of reading this material. It is only to be used as a general guide. PLIG does not accept liability for any errors or omissions in the contents of this writing.

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Page 1: The Physicians Success Plan

The 2014

Physician’s Success Plan

No Guarantee of Results: The suggestions, comments, tactics and strategies contained herein are meant only to provide examples about running a successful business. They are not intended as a guarantee that the same or similar results can be obtained in every matter undertaken by you or your company; and you should not assume that a similar result can be obtained in any circumstance, no matter how similar to the example. The outcome of a particular strategy or tactic, or any combination thereof can depend on a variety of factors and, often, unexpected developments and circumstances beyond the control of any person, business owner or industry play a role in the resultant outcome. Professional Liability Insurance Group (PLIG) is not responsible for any action or inaction on your part as a result of reading this material. It is only to be used as a general guide. PLIG does not accept liability for any errors or omissions in the contents of this writing.

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I. INTRODUCTION:

As a physician, there are many variables involved when running a successful practice. Marketing, coding, patient retention, insurance matters and so much more go into running a medical practice. It is easy to get overwhelmed and let things fall to the wayside. This white paper aims to do some of the legwork for you when it comes to staying on top of all your medical practice matters, and, with The Professional Liability Insurance Group’s experience and knowledge in the field, we know a little something about successful physician practices and their needs.

Follow the advice in this guide and please do not hesitate to contact us if any of these tips help to send you on your way to a more prominent and effective practice. Our main goal at The Professional Liability Insurance Group is not only to protect our clients, but to educate them as well. Your success is our success and we want nothing but the best for your practice in this new year!

Sincerely,

Shayne Bevilacqua, MBAPrincipalThe Professional Liability Insurance Group

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II. Marketing Your Medical Practice

So, you finally got that shiny new office with the nice desk that you’ve been in need of, but now it’s time to start getting patients through that front door. How can you do this successfully? Well, the best course of action would be to implement a marketing plan that includes the following tips…

1.) Gather E-mail AddressesIn this era of the Internet, email addresses are golden. They can be used for a multitude of purposes. Need to get some information out to your patients and potential patients? How about setting up a quarterly newsletter? Want to make sure that you keep the patients you do have? Send them a greeting on their birthday to show them you care and did not forget. There is so much that you can do with e-mail addresses to not only acquire, but to retain your patient base, that nothing else could be “number one” on this list. Also, don’t be afraid to offer incentives to your staff to help out with this effort. Collecting e-mail addresses is vitally important to the success of your practice.

2.)Communicate With Your Patients Nearly Every Single DayNow that you have yourself a nice cache of e-mail addresses, it’s

time to start communicating with your constituency. If you haven’t fancied yourself a purveyor of social media, now may be the time to start heading into the

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deep waters of Lake Facebook and Twitter. Social media hubs like Twitter and Facebook are great places to build your following. Perhaps you may already have a social media maven in your office; make him or her the “voice”. This person would make announcements regarding events, happenings, health tips, contests or maybe even some fun facts about the staff. Make your Facebook page the place where people can go to get to know you and your office staff a little bit better. Hold a contest on Twitter to reign in potential patients. Create a QR code to put on your newsletter that links back to your website or Facebook page. There are literally countless ways you can use new media to your advantage.

3.) Patient Satisfaction SurveysDo you and your staff know what your patients think of you after they leave the waiting room area? Creating and implementing patient satisfaction surveys is a quick and easy way to get a 360-degree view of how your patients are being treated every time they come into the office. Since you already have some e-mail addresses, why not use a service like Vertical Response or Constant Contact to e-mail your survey? Or, if that proves too challenging, just create a paper survey that’s accessible to your patients whenever they come in. The point is, to understand your patients’ expectations and experiences in your office, you must inquire about their time spent. Once you get your feedback, make the proper adjustments and continue to offer the premium service your patients have become accustomed to.

4.) Internal MarketingYour poor front office staff. They work hard all day long following

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up on appointments, answering the phone, and filing away precious documents. With a bevy of tasks in front of them, don’t be surprised if your patients do not get the full customary greeting every time they walk through the front door. This is why you want to make sure that you have a weekly or monthly internal meeting where you stress the finer points of your marketing plan (this may be a good time to bring up those incentives we spoke of earlier). Praise or remind your staff of the continued effort you expect out of them. Make sure that whatever it is that you want to convey to your patients, your staff is just a diligent as you are in getting that message across.

5.) Try Something New Each Year If you’ve tried the traditional marketing methods, then it’s time to try something a little bit different by stepping out of your comfort zone and thinking outside the box. Here are just a few ideas to get your creativity juices flowing:

• Revamp your websiteLooked at your Google analytics account and noticed that your website isn’t getting as many visitors as when you first started? It may be time for a site redesign. Make your site dynamic, interesting, bold, and you may soon be reaping the rewards aplenty just for being aesthetically pleasing.

• Referral programThis is a great idea for bringing in new patients. Start a program where patients get rewarded for referring their colleagues and friends to you. We know of one office that gives a free T-shirt with their name and logo on it to the winner of a random referral drawing each month. That becomes free advertising whenever the winning patient wears the ‘prize’, and possibly more referrals.

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• Online marketingUse the e-mails we discussed to connect with your patient base. Use Google Adwords, Facebook Ads, email campaigns and more to viscerally engage your audience.

• Start a blogA blog is a good way to get key terms and words onto your webpage, plus it keeps your website fresh with new content. Make sure you display relevant topics to your potential patients. Introduce your staff. Have fun with it and you’ll see just how absorbed your patients become with your original commentary.

• Start a newsletterYour bi-monthly or quarterly newsletter can be the hub in which you display your marketing messages. Create a QR code that links to your webpage. Start a contest. Inform your patients about important dates. Recognize patient birthdays to connect more personally with then. Whatever message it is that you are trying to convey, just make sure it is clean, clear and concise. III. The State of Medical Malpractice Claims

The weight of malpractice insurance is one that seems to become heavier as time goes on, but that is just a facade. Even though we are in a period right now with legislation changing the landscape of the healthcare industry—HIPAA, HITECH, PPACA—nothing could be further from the fact that we are stuck in a static state. Not only are we in the midst of unprecedented stability, but we also have even seen a decline in malpractice insurance rates.

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Since 2006, the medical professional liability field has seen a 20% decrease in direct written premiums. And, since 2008, average premium rates have gone down for nearly every specialty. You may be asking yourself: why have liability rates continued to decline, especially when insurance companies are continuing to post record profits? How can companies afford to reduce their rates and remain competitive in this current market while continuing to maintain a strong financial portfolio?

Well, there are two reasons for this event. The first caveat is that claims are decreasing in numbers. According to a MedicalLiability Monitor article, as of 2012, the number of claims had fallen by half compared to the previous decade, making this the sixth year in a row that claims have dropped in frequency. With fewer claims and payouts, it’s clear to see how premiums have been lowered.

The second caveat is the fact that while the average cost to defend claims has risen slightly, the average cost to the insurance companies has only risen marginally in the past few years. And yet, despite premiums remaining unusually level or decreasing for many years—considered to be the longest “soft-market” in over 40 years by some—it really is hard to say why insurancecompanies are turning such profits. One thing is certain though, at least in the short-term, this situation seems to be good for all those involved. Even more so, it seems like this trend will last for

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the next few years.

Experts can agree that the malpractice insurance industry isn’t going to raise its rates anytime soon. The historical trend maintains that the industry has to see a few years in an uncomfortable financial trend and right now pundits claim we are in a good financial trend (you can see from similar historical patterns it’s only a financial squeeze that is likely to make the industry adjust, and even so the response usually comes a few years after the financials start declining).

Evenmoreso, the combined ratio--which is a measure of how an underwriting company is making profits--is under 100%, which means we are in a state of underwriting profitability. While rates may fluctuate in either direction from time to time, the general consensus is that we are seeing a steady market where insurance rates will not be hitting any kind of massive upswing anytime soon.

IV. Why Physicians Should Pay More Attention To Mobile Users

Here’s a startling fact: In 2009 only 29% of American adults used Internet access on their mobile devices. Today? Ninety-one percent of adults use the Internet on their phone. As you can see, there has been a huge shift in the way consumers are using technology. This is why now is the time to shift your focus towards mobile users and how you as a health care professional can engage your customers in new and exciting ways. Here are a few ways you can start…

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Mobile Devices are Optimized For Local Searches

Ed Parsons at Google has stated before that mobile searches have localized intent. What that means is, when you search for a

business or location on your phone, your mobile device automatically searches for the closest areas that fit your description. How can you take advantage of this? Make sure you have a Google+ business page set up so that Google recognizes your location whenever someone searches for a product that you represent.

Mobile Leads To Action

In 2013, a study by Nielsen and Google uncovered that 73% of mobile searches triggered additional actions. These addition actions include things like phone calls, e-mail follow-ups, research into your practice, visiting your location and more! In addition, research shows that these additional actions happen within five hours of engagement. That means that you have five hours to draw your patient in with calls to action such as a “click-to-call” feature, or even enticing potential patients with mobile ads that feature testimonials. According to another Nielsen study, 65% of mobile users noticed ads. Whatever it is, make sure your potential patient has a practical way to follow up on their interest in your practice.

Embrace Your Mobile Site

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Studies show that 45% of mobile searches are goal-oriented, which means that users are searching for something specific—they know what they want. If your website is hard to read on a mobile device, chances are that the user will never return to the experience again. This means that it is imperative to optimize your site for mobile viewing. You want potential patients to have a great mobile experience, one indicative of the experience they will have in your office.

V. The ‘Patient Portal’ to Financial Incentives

Beginning in 2014, under a program run by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid services, doctors and other health care providers were eligible for financial incentives should they make electronic health care records available online and if they communicate with their patients online. In addition, doctors need to make sure that at least 5 percent of their patients are using this online technology.

The main hub of this online communication will be “patient portals”, a secure website that will allow patients to monitor their health records, pay bills, view lab reports, email their physician, access health monitoring tools, look at personalized health plans and so much more.

While still in its inception, patient portals are not yet perfect and will certainly come with some glitches when they begin to roll out. Also, this government program is voluntary, so not all physicians will be able to give patients access to a portal. Despite that, should a portal become available to a patient, there are plenty of reasons

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as to why he or she should access it.

As Julie Hollberg, MD, chief medical information officer of Emory Health Care in Atlanta states:

“(Electronic records and patient portals) break down the hierarchical doctor-patient relationship, where the patient’s health information is sent to the doctor and the doctor controls when and how the patient sees it. The hope is that portals will engage patients in their own health care and change the relationship to be more of a patient-provider partnership.”

A New England Journal of Medicine study revealed that people with diabetes “seen by doctors who used electronic health records were 35 percent more likely to get all of the recommended screening measures such as eye exams and blood sugar tests,” (Consumer Reports). Additionally, patients were observed to be 15 percent more likely to have favorable outcomes on those measures.

Kaiser Permanente also released a study showing that patients with diabetes who e-mailed their doctors received better care compared to those who did not. But, it’s not all gravy when it comes to these patient portals, as there may be one problem: patients may not be able to understand what they are seeing.

Kings College in London released a study claiming that 1/3 of patients accessing the portals just didn’t understand the

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information. Because of this, some portals are including glossaries in order to decipher any medical jargon. Despite this small hang-up, patient portals seem like they are a fantastic way for patients to get involved in their own health care.

“If you can look up your lab results in the portal or e-mail me to ask ... your question, it saves you a phone call,” says Daniel Sands, M.D., M.P.H., a physician at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston. “If I can answer a question over e-mail it may save you an office visit.”

Our prescription for success has ended, but this is where you begin down a renewed path of success and prosperity. If you enjoyed the advice in this free white paper, or if you have some tips of your own, please e-mail us at [email protected]. We enjoy hearing from physicians like you! Lastly, we wish you all the best with your career and practice. Good luck!