Physician referrals remain an important driver of patient volume, but the relationship with referring providers is inherently tricky. This past April, Paula Frey, GLC's Senior Vice President of Marketing & Client Services, co-presented ”How to Keep Your Medical Staff Close and Your Referring Physicians Closer,” with Josie Aguirre, Director of Physician Relations and Communications at the University of Michigan Health System. The presentation took place at the 2013 Association of American Medical Colleges Group Institutional Advancement conference in Hollywood, Florida. Learn more about Univ. of Michigan Healthy System's Colleagues in Care custom magazine program: http://glcdelivers.com/our-work/university-of-michigan/

1.
AAMC
–
GIA
Conference
2013
How to Keep Your Medical Staff Close
and Your Referring Physicians Closer
Presented by University of Michigan Health System
and GLC Custom Media

2. Agenda
› Introduc+ons
› UMHS
Physician
Rela+ons
Challenge
› Physician
Survey
Data
and
Outcomes
› Referring
Physician
Communica+ons
Plan
› The
New
Colleagues
In
Care
› Program
Goals
› Media
and
Content
PlaDorm
› Redesign
› Metrics

3. The
University
of
Michigan
Health
System
Strategic
DirecAon
› UMHS
more
than
any
organiza7on
in
Michigan
relies
on
distant
referrals
for
success
› UMHS
must
engage
physicians
and
health
systems
throughout
the
state
to
ensure
we
remain
the
preferred
referral
center
in
Michigan
Competition in Michigan Markets

4. The
University
of
Michigan
Health
System
Physician
RelaAons
Program
› Program
and
Func7onal
Overview
› UMHS
implemented
a
comprehensive
ins+tu+onal
referring
physician
communica+on
services
program
model
in
1986.
› Department
goals
are
to:
› Capitalize
on
all
poten+al
referrals
› Counterbalance
marke+ng
efforts
of
compe+tors
› Retain
long
term
referral
rela+onships
› Compensate
for
narrowing
profit
margins
by
promo+ng
increased
referrals
per
referring
physician
› Develop
a
referring
physician
communica+on
plan

5. The
University
of
Michigan
Health
System
Physician
RelaAons
Program
› Current
Environment
› 37,000
licensed
providers
in
the
state
of
Michigan.
› 22,000
physicians
are
ac+ve
referrers
to
UMHS
(60%).
› Referring
physician
survey
suggested
poor
communica+ons
as
being
among
the
most
frustra+ng
difficul+es
when
trying
to
access
the
resources
and
physicians
of
the
Health
System.
“I
don’t
refer
to
a
clinic,
I
refer
to
your
physicians”
“Share
your
knowledge
–
treat
us
as
colleagues”

6. 2009
Referring
Physician
Survey
&
Findings
Preferences
for
Mode
of
Communica+on
about
MaZers
Other
than
Pa+ent
Informa+on

7. 2009
Referring
Physician
Survey
&
Findings
Preferences
for
Mode
of
Communica+on
about
MaZers
Other
than
Pa+ent
Informa+on

8. AcAon
Plan
Based
on
survey
responses,
UMHS
created
a
quarterly,
12-­‐page
newsleZer
to
reach
referring
physicians
in
2009.
Original newsletter In-house Redesigned newsletter

9. Crea7ng
the
NEW
Colleagues
In
Care
with
GLC

10. UMHS’
Challenges
and
Needs
› UMHS
was
struggling
to
execute
the
publica+on
on
+me.
› The
content
strategy
needed
focus.
› A
digital
presence
was
desired
to
easily
view
rich
media.
› UMHS
wanted
to
reach
pediatricians
with
targeted
content
to
support
the
new
women’s
and
children’s
hospital.
“We need to raise the bar”

11.
Magazine/
Versions
Digital
Magazine
E-­‐newsleZer
Exclusive
Content
(webinars,
video,
podcasts)
Social
Media
Targeted/Versioned
E-­‐newsleZer
Mobile
Apps
Determining
the
Right
Content
Strategy

12. › Redesign
the
magazine
and
enhance
the
content
to
beZer
support
the
marke+ng
and
communica+ons
goals
at
UMHS
› Deliver
the
adult
physician
version
quarterly
and
the
pediatric
version
bi-­‐annually
› Add
a
new
magazine
website
to
build
engagement
and
introduce
rich
media
opportuni+es
› Con+nue
promo+ng
800-­‐962-­‐3555
for
direct
pa+ent
referrals
24/7
New
Approach

13. Content
PlaMorm
Cover
The
cover
of
Colleagues
in
Care
engages
clinical
audiences
through
the
use
of
deliberate
messaging
and
custom
imagery.
It
posi+ons
UMHS
as
a
leader
and
posi+ons
the
magazine
as
a
“must
read.”
Of
Note
This
sec+on
features
several
short
ar+cles
that
introduce
readers
to
topics
that
demonstrate
the
excellence
of
UMHS,
announcements
and
news
and
offer
+ps
for
working
with
UMHS.
Cover
Story
A
pa+ent-­‐focused
feature
story
that
explains
how
a
cuhng-­‐edge
treatment,
test
or
other
clinical
protocol
unique
in
the
region
to
UMHS
or
pioneered
at
UMHS
benefited
a
pa+ent.
The
goal
is
to
highlight
the
unique
care
available
at
UMHS.

14. Content
PlaMorm
Discoveries
Recently
published
or
soon-­‐to-­‐be
published
research
completed
at
UMHS
including
short
sidebars
and
pullouts
that
profile
lead
researchers
and
visually
explain
results.
This
sec+on
posi+ons
UMHS
as
one
of
the
top
academic
and
research
medical
centers
in
the
country
and
how
the
research
is
translated
to
pa+ent
care.
New
Research
Upcoming
studies
and
clinical
trials
at
UMHS
currently
now
enrolling
pa+ents
and
other
promising
new
or
ongoing
research.
Explain
how
and
why
UMHS
is
on
the
leading
edge
of
medicine.
Back
Cover
M-­‐LINE
ad
to
ensure
physician
connec+ons,
rela+onship
development
and
referrals.

15. Colleagues
In
Care
–
Adult
Magazine

16. Colleagues
In
Care
–
Pediatrics
Magazine

17. Colleagues
In
Care
–
Magazine
Interiors

18. Colleagues
In
Care
-­‐
Companion
Websites
Adult
Medicine
Version
Pediatric
Medicine
Version

19. Ar+cle
Page
Rich
Media:
Video
Doctor
Profile
Infographic
Sidebar
Landing
Page
Colleagues
In
Care
–
Website
InteracAves

20. Magazine
Awards
Gold
Award
-­‐
Best
New
NewsleZer
Design
Bronze
Award
–
Physician
Referral
Program

21. › Reader
survey
completed
with
Fall
adult
medicine
issue
› On
a
scale
of
1-­‐9
(9
high),
80%
of
respondents
rated
the
value
of
the
magazine
between
6-­‐9.
Of
this
80%,
over
50%
of
respondents
rated
the
value
as
8/9.
› On
a
scale
of
1-­‐9
(9
high),
50%
of
respondents
rated
overall
magazine
content
as
an
8/9.
2012
Reader
Feedback

22. › Reader
survey
completed
with
Fall
adult
medicine
issue
› 96.2%
of
respondents
recommend
that
UMHS
con+nues
to
provide
Colleagues
in
Care.)
followed
by
email
with
link
to
website
(15%
avg.),
followed
by
E-­‐newsleZer
(11%
avg.)
2012
Reader
Feedback

23. › Reader
survey
completed
with
Fall
adult
medicine
issue
› Physician
preference
for
print:
› 84.6%
of
respondents
are
print-­‐only
readers.
15.4%
have
reviewed
the
magazine
online.
› Respondents
prefer
print
for
all
Health
System
communica+ons
(70%
avg.)
followed
by
email
with
link
to
website
(15%
avg.),
followed
by
E-­‐newsleZer
(11%
avg.)
2012
Reader
Feedback

24. Engagement
Metrics
–
Adult
Microsite
AnalyAcs

25. Engagement
Metrics
–
Peds
Microsite
AnalyAcs

26. Thank You!
Paula
Rosenberg
Frey
Senior
VP,
Marke+ng
&
Client
Services
pfrey@glcomm.com
847.205.3062
Josie
Aguirre
Director
of
Physician
Rela+ons
&
Communica+ons
jaguirre@med.umich.edu
734.763.6703