On June 20, 2013, I am an Inspirational Speaker for the American Association of Physician Liaisons conference in St Louis, Missouri.
Over 300 physician liaisons from a variety of institutions like hospitals, clinics and more will attend.
I am no stranger to healthcare, since I have presented for over 300 healthcare events and this audience is truly unique.
The role of the physician liason (PL) is diverse and duties vary depending on the facility they work in. Overall the PL role is to keep physicians happy, which keeps patients happy. They may field complaints from doctors about patient follow up, procedure, outreach etc.
Nurturing relationships is critical; an unhappy physocian quickly becomes a priority so the PL must have structured but flexible schedule.
Physicians (or their offices) may call for various reason i.e. to see why tests weren't ordered or if a patient has been transferred. The other role of the PL is to make sure that doctors are connected. For instance, a primary care physician may need to speak to a patient's specialist like a cardiologist, and the PL makes this connection happens.
To continue to nurture physician relationships the PL will contact physicians to inquire if there is anything they need or see if they have had the opportunity to make a referral to the hospital.
Other challenges include reimbursement rates dropping and insurers pitting hospitals against physicians.
Many PL's travel extensively through their territories essentially to make house calls to physicians, solidify relationships and encourage doctors to make referrals to their hospitals.
This is a very competitive industry. Some areas will have 5 hospitals within a 10 block radius competing for the same patient base. Some physicians are very loyal and always refer patients to specific specialists within certain hospitals. Other doctors are known as "Splitters" as they are not loyal to one healthcare facility but refer patients to several institutions.
Doctors are also now being forced to utilize electronic medical records which is a big change especially for older physicians who aren't as tech savy. A physician liaison is the bridge between a healthcare facility and the physicians and specialists they work with.
The other inspirational speaker for the physician liasons is Dr. David Barde doing his motivational speech, How Medicine is Changing for Physicians.
As the opening inspirational speaker for the physician liasons I will deliver the motivational speech, The Nerve to Serve... Say Hello to Humor and Goodbye to Burnout! I will also do a break out session featuring the motivational speech, I Love my Job, it's the People I can't Stand!
