Doctors are frustrated with EHR vendors who see them as a sales target rather then customers

1. Seeing
Physicians
as
consumers

2. Solu2ons,
not
technology,
are
the
key
to
success
in
successfully
selling
to
today’s
physicians

3. Understanding
the
challenges
of
being
a
physician
today

4. 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

5. 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.

6. 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.

7. 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)

8. 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)

9. 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)

10. At
the
same
2me
pa2ents
want
more
from
their
doctors

11. Todays
pa2ents
are
“consumers
of
healthcare”

12. 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.

13. Even
older
pa2ents
want
online
services

14. Majority
of
physicians
don’t
use
email
with
pa2ents

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

16. And
they
are
willing
to
pay
for
it…

17. Are
pa2ent
portals
the
answer?

18. 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.

19. Most
pa2ents
prefer
to
schedule
appointments
via
the
phone

20. And
Almost
Half
of
Physicians
Do
Not
Follow
Up
With
Pa2ents;
Only
9%
Do
So
Through
a
Pa2ent
Portal

21. What’s
needed?
Steve
Jobs
approach
“simplify”

22. 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

23. 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.

24. About
Me….
Richard
Meyer
• Execu<ve
Director
“Online
Strategic
Solu<ons”
• richardameyer@icloud.com
• h`p://worldofdtcmarke<ng.com
• 15+
years
digital
healthcare
marke<ng
experience
including
first
use
of
social
media
on
pharma
website.