The Importance of Your Practice's Online Media Reputation

In the spirit of Valentine’s Day, let’s discuss how your practice can appear more attractive to potential… admirers. There is a simple answer to the question, “How do I make my practice more appealing to referring physicians and new patients?” Improve your online media reputation. The best way to position yourself to new individuals is by creating a positive online persona and managing your web-utation.  Many might say that the return on investment would be minimal in comparrison to what goes into the process, however if a radiologist is referred to by one patient or physician a week by capturing them on their website, it is worth it. Now, say your friend sets you up with a blind date for Valentine’s Day, what’s your first thought? That’s right. You go online to check them out, the same way a patient or referring physician checks your practice out before committing to a relationship with you.  If you are not appealing online and have no way to showcase your positive features, then you just lost that lead. Probably the date too.  Let’s explore the importance of your web-utation:

Why is it so important to mange my reputation online?

The perception that referring physicians have of your practice comes from a number of things. Whether it was a past experience with poor turn-around time on a day you were short staffed or a face that a patient made in reaction to your name, the contributing factors that form their opinion of you, are uncontrollable.  Your online reputation is manageable, something you can organize in a system of uncontrollable determinants.

So, what does your website say about your practice?

Whether you have a website or not, your web presence, or lack there of is saying everything about your practice.  You could draw a parallel between your perception in the market to your presence online; either your non-existent, sub-par or advanced.  Your website doesn’t have to be Google or the newest, hottest thing online, as long as it is findable, clean and informative, you will be in a good place.

What goes into creating a “findable” website?

There are a number of steps to take in order to have your website optimized so that Google and other search engines will find it and rank it for visitors.  These steps are referred to as SEO (Search Engine Optimization).  It is important to have your website optimized with the appropriate keywords, which are the terms visitors would come to your website to learn more about.  For instance, if you sell puppies, you want to make sure the terms; puppy, puppies, dogs, dogs for sale in Tampa, are used throughout your website.  

So, You Want Informed Patients? Start With Physician Involvement

The demands of the health care industry have caused the patient experience to deteriorate over the past few years but the tides are turning and the control has been placed into the hands of the patients themselves.  Things like price-shopping and HCAHPS scores have paid a heavy toll on hospitals and independent physician practices alike, so what will it take to get “the flow back in tune,” as GE Healthcare calls it?

Eric Sharma, GE Healthcare Blogger focuses on the discordant “noise” in health care, that are upsetting the flow of success for patients and the things that are causing these “sounds.” The three main areas where practices and hospitals can improve are the following:

-       More effective scheduling processes to have seamless patient experiences

-       Updated technology to improve efficiency and accuracy

-       A fully focused staff (including the most important members of the staff… the physicians)

If these three concepts are implemented, the patient experience will be significantly improved, however the physicians’ engagement in the process is the water in the gravy, without them it’s all a big mess.  Blogger Stephen Wilkins, MPH brings up a valid point however.  How can physicians and the health care industry expect patients to be able to make educated decisions about their care and be fully engaged in the process, if the physician is not even engaged?  Now we are experiencing a very basic “What came first, the chicken or the egg?” debacle, because you cannot expect to see full commitment on either side without the involvement of both parties.

                                 

So, how can physicians get more involved in their own practice without taking too much away from their quality care?

-       Immerse themselves into the physician community by getting involved in a physician outreach program to develop a network of care.

-       Become involved in the online media reputation including blogging, social media and website activity, this means their own practice’s efforts as well as other influential leaders online.

-       Spend a little extra time face-to-face with patients in order to really HEAR them. Sir William Osler, said “listen to the patient they will tell you what’s wrong.”

(Photo from Patient Engagement Versus Physician Engagement – Which Comes First?)

The process isn’t rocket science.  If you want someone to be passionate about something, you have to first be the one to start the excitement.  You heard it here docs, get involved, your patients will thank you later.

Self-Pay is New Way: In Imaging Economics

As seen in the January/February Issue of Imaging Economics 

                   

The Last Word: A Take on the Radiology Community
Self-Pay Is New Way
by Chris Christenberry
                                 
Patient responsibility is becoming a major player, even MVP, in health care.

As reported in the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times, the Kaiser Family Foundation Health Research Survey reported that health care insurance premiums paid by employers rose by 8% in 2011. The “WOW” factor is increasingly more powerful when paralleled by the fact that premiums should have slowed as more employers elected to offer high deductible plans. The rapid growth of both employer premiums and high deductible plans foreshadows the upcoming trend for health care providers, that patient responsibility will become a major player, even MVP, in health care discourse.

I have the unfortunate dilemma of balancing health care dollars. On one hand, my facilities and the health care clients we serve face continuous reimbursement cuts. On the other hand, our company and employees are paying more each year for our own health care. And yes, our premiums rose by 8% last year as well. Over the past 5 years, we have seen close to 25% decreases in payments. Imagine the impact a quarter of your paycheck disappearing would have on you. Now imagine your expenses increasing the same amount, too. It’s a truly unfortunate dilemma, so what is the key to combating this situation?

With the unique vantage point I hold for both sides of the provider-patient relationship, I understand the challenges the nation faces in dealing with limited health care dollars. You have heard it before, “the US system is broken.” Indeed it would seem so, as one side of the political spectrum screams for our government to pay for health care it obviously cannot afford while the other side of the spectrum demands that patients pay for their own care. So what happens when these patients must resort to this?

In a more perfect world, void of the challenges that our current system faces, companies and the government would be able to afford catastrophic health care policies. By catastrophic, I mean big-ticket health care events such as hospitalization, debilitating diseases treatment like cancer care, or end-life events. Large health care insurance companies could use the actuarial tools their cousins in the life insurance industry use. In other words, if it is true as the pundits say that “most of the health care costs occur the last year of one’s life,” then the health insurance companies could surely hedge for a catastrophic event in a patient’s life; however, doing so would still require the patient to take on some responsibility.

Patients would be required to pay for normal doctor visits, medication, and diagnostic testing; however, these patients, or their companies, could be awarded reduced premiums by maintaining healthier lifestyles and receiving wellness check-ups, in much the same way that good drivers are awarded lower costs in the auto industry. Patients paying for this level of health care would create a market where they are more cognizant of their health dollar. In the near future, we’ll see tools designed to help patients understand the true costs of their health care, thus enabling them to negotiate what they pay out of pocket.

Hogwash, one might say to the notion of patients actually paying for their own health care. In reality, self-payors are growing increasingly more popular as health care players. With 17% of employees in high deductible plans, these plans have grown 25% in the last year. The average family of four already pays close to $3,500 out of their pocket for their care, and you can ask any physician group and they will tell you that the self-pay component is growing. Allow me to suggest that providers, insurance companies, and patients accept this new reality, because in the same way that paper phone books, Blockbuster, and disposable cameras have become obsolete, so will the notion that patients will be protected by their insurance, so as not to have to pay for a large portion of their health bill. Yes, patient responsibility for payment can seem daunting, like picking up the tab for an expensive dinner you know you cannot afford, but forward thinking is the key. Self-pay is the new player, and price shopping is the winning game plan.

Chris Christenberry is CEO of Atlantic Health Solutions based in Tampa, Fla.

Start shopping for your own health care at Save On Medical

                      

Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs) Explained

The Issue

Currently th U.S. is responsible for consuming 55% of the world’s healthcare dollars. Around 45% of that is being spent in hospitals and 25% is going directly to the physicians. If we continue this way and do not change our processes, by 2017 we will be responsible for 75% of the world’s healthcare spending. Excuse us, but we’re going to agree that we are in dire need of some serious health care reform. The government has proposed a number of healthcare changes that would work to achieve the goal of lowering spending to get the U.S. out of debt, but what is the most talked about resolution? Accountable Care Organizations.

So, what is an ACO really?

- A joint venture of providers that network to share responsibility of providing care to patients

- Combined: Leadership, decision making and payment

- Promotes improved quality of care for Medicare patients and lowered costs

- Physicians are rewarded for maintaining wellness for patients, rather than for services rendered

More Details

“Care Core”

The core leader of an ACO is important because the level of success that leader has had in the past can be indicative of the venture’s overall success. One might think that the logical “Care Core” would be a large hospital, however most believe the “Care Core” should be Primary Care Physicians.  This advanced style of physician integration is easier for larger facilities, but does not aim to disclude smaller practices. The Senate even states that an ACO can be built and successful without hospitals altogether.

What Will ACOs Mean for Healthcare?

- Full integration into the industry for those providers involved

- Lowered healthcare costs, movinh away from fee-for-service model

- An aligned payment system for patients and providers

- Improved quality of care 

- Lessened concern for the commoditization of imaging facilities

- Decreased over-utilization

- Focus on patient wellness and prevention of illness

Proposed Legislation in Florida to Require Cash-Pay Price Listings

Physicians throughout Florida have commented negatively on this proposed legislation which would require their offices to post pricing in their offices.  Many are saying that the law would  not only be intrusive but also pointless for patients.  The need for pricing transparency in healthcare is evident however, and this could be a step in the right direction for patients, but it is not the cure-all answer. Our in-house legal council, Jeff Greenberg, comments on the proposed legislation:

Proposed legislation in Florida may require doctors and other providers  to post signs in their waiting rooms showing the prices to be charged a person paying with his or her own funds, i.e.,  without insurance. Charges for those with insurance depend on the applicable policy and would not have to be posted.  However, with the immense amount of uninsured Americans rising steadily and the prevalence of patients with the popular 80-20 plans, these cash-pay pricing structures will prove to be a necessity for much of the patient population.

This new legislation would require urgent care centers, surgery centers and imaging centers to show prices for their most common procedures. Additionally, two separate bills on the issue would require price sheets to be given to every patient. Voluntary disclosures have not worked, but most industry lobbyists do not appear to think these bills will help patients either, and may just end up adding costs to medical providers for the signs.

It seems that while conceptually the bills are aimed at helping patients make their decisions, it is still unclear whether or not it will really change much for them, unless they call in advance for the pricing. If the patient arrives at the office and sees the pricing, would they be willing to walk away because of the prices without knowing what other comparative facilities might charge for the same service? The pricing transparency is much needed, however the efforts will not be beneficial to patients without the ability to compare. Also, the prices listed may still not actually be ones that patients would ultimately pay, as they could just be part of a standard “fee schedule” which may not be reflective of an actual cash-pay price that would be acceptable to a provider. Cash-pay patients are able to negotiate better rates for services though through online scheduling services like Save On Medical or by direct communication with the provider.

Whether the legislation will become law is unknown at this time, but whether it does or not, the level of impact it will have will be null without further efforts of patients and providers alike.

Jeffrey Greenberg

Greenberg Hirshfeld PL

Atlantic Health Management Solutions, LLC