FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT USING THE PHYSICIAN MATERIALS
Welcome
How do I identify the physicians to target with the materials?
A strategy on identifying physicians is outlined in the Strategy Booklet. Follow that strategy and you will easily be able to identify physicians that you should target.
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Should I start with 10 physicians?
It is really up to you. BHI sends you enough material to go to 10 physicians, but that may be too many for your practice. You may find that targeting 4 or 5 to start allow you to concentrate more on developing a lasting relationship with those and later you can target more.
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I don’t like to “cold call” and am having difficulty reaching out to the physicians?
Outlined in the Strategy Booklet, it tells you how to identify the physicians to target. If you feel nervous, try to start with a physician you already know, like you’re own or one of a friend or family member. Let them know when you go see them that you are nervous, remember always be honest and direct with the physicians. It only takes one; however, to start referring patients to you and then you can use that physician as a reference to expand your list of target physicians. When you feel comfortable with the one, it will be easier the next time.
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Which should I take first to a physician visit?
Again this is covered in the Strategy Booklet, but you should always have the studies, JAMA articles and CD with you. You never know where the conversation might lead and you don’t want to be unprepared by not having all the materials. Just don’t leave it all at once because it doesn’t give you a chance to return, but having it with you keeps you from being caught empty handed.
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How do the physicians get their CMEs?
It is done online through the CD and neither you nor BHI are involved. You can read about the CMEs on the inside jacket cover of the CD.
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What is on the CD?
You should view it yourself before taking it to a physician’s office, so you can answer any questions a physician may have about the CD.
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Can I use a marketing or staff person to visit the physician?
You can but the physician is only going to refer patients to someone they know and trust, so they need to get to know you. You can use a staff member to continue correspondence and keep the relationship moving, but they need to get to know you. As you are developing the relationship, it is helpful to have your staff to know the office and nursing staff of the physician. When they are working with patients, it helps your relationship with that physician’s practice when the two staffs have a close working relationship.
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Can we pay physicians for referrals?
No, but any questions you have in this area should be addressed with your attorney.
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A physician talked to me about coming to their office to see patients. Is that an option?
There are scenarios and instances where a hearing professional does see patients in the physicians’ office, but all arrangements like this should also be handled in a business setting and discussed with your attorney.
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I’m having a problem getting an appointment to see the physician?
Start with the nurses. If you can begin educating the nurses, the doctor will probably follow. Even set up an open house with the free screening certificates (see Strategy Booklet) for the nurses and staff. Again, the physician will get interested if the nursing/office staff gets interested.
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I need more CDs? How are you using them?
Don’t just hand them out to anyone. Make sure they understand the importance of the CD and the clinical information on them.
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Can I do a seminar for physicians and show the CD?
Yes, but you may need a hospital administrator to act as the contact with HealthStream in order for the physicians to get CME credit. Contact HealthStream, number in the CD jacket, for more information on that. A better strategy is to show a minute or so and then have the physicians who are interested to sign up to get the CD. This gives you a chance to see them again and visit them in their office.
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Can I use the materials with other medical specialties?
Yes, but not all will be able to get the CME credit. If they can refer patients to you and they are interested in learning about hearing loss, then provide the materials to them. You may need to contact HealthStream about whether this specialty can earn CMEs.
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How important are CME credits to the physicians?
First of all, always remember to say to the physicians “CMEs” not “CEUs”. Physicians get CMEs, everyone else gets CEUs. If you say CEUs to a physician, they know you don’t necessarily understand medical education. This is important. All physicians need a certain number of CME credit hours for licensure, so they are very important.
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How many CME credits do they earn through the CD?
The CD is 27 minutes long, so they can earn 1 credit hour. It is important to understand, however, that physicians can earn a lot of CME credits at conferences they attend, so the one credit hour may not be as important to them. It is important, however, to let them know that the CD is accredited for CMEs. That lets the physicians know that the information contained on the CD is good clinical information and passed through the stringent application process for CME credit. That adds validity to the CD. So the physician may watch the CD, but may not go through the process of filling in the paperwork to get the CME credit.
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What about nurses and educational credits?
They also earn 1 credit hour, however, nurses do not get as many opportunities to attend and earn credits at conferences, so they may be more inclined to view the CD and earn the credit.
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Do Canadian physicians and nurses also get educational credits?
Yes, Canadian physicians and nurses go through the same procedure in getting the educational credits. If you have any questions regarding the accreditation, it is best to contact HealthStream directly. We are not directly involved in the educational credits. They can be reached at 303/745-5996.
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We have about 7-10 physicians that we regularly market to. I am still in the process of building rapport, but I have been to each office several times and have had a lunch with two of the physicians. Referrals have been coming in consistently. Where do you recommend going from here? Do you think taking out information monthly is sufficient or do you have any other ideas? At one location, we only have three physicians that we market to. I am fairly new to this company and I wanted to know your opinion on adding new physicians. Do you recommend sending a letter first introducing ourselves or just going in with the BHI information? I need to get in the door with new physician with physicians being affiliated with other clinics. Should we call first? I guess what I am asking is what you think the initial step should be?
One tactic for those MDs that you have received referrals from them, is visiting their offices every once in a while with the evaluation results from a referred patient is good. It is a little more personalized than just mailing/faxing the report and it puts your face in front of them and you can just stop by to say hello and thank you. Also, we have sent out thousands of the new FAQ brochures to dispensers. These are great to leave in the MDs waiting room for patients and you can also go back to refill the supply occasionally, or have them call you when you run out. One dispenser was able to get a nurse in the MDs office to give the brochure to the patients when she leads them to the examining room. If you do not have any of these let me know and I will be happy to get some sent to you.
With the other location, adding new MDs is up to you. If you want to increase the number of MDs referring and probably increase business, go ahead and add them. Generally, it is a good idea to call first. If you have some patients at that location who list these MDs as their family MD, it is a good lead in. Call and ask for 2 minutes to drop off some clinical information about hearing loss. Use the MDs from one location who know the good work your company does as a list of references for the physicians in the other location. That is also a good door opener.
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As I work my way through the program, I am now looking at the pads which are called "referral for Hearing Evaluation". The one problem with these is that many insurances including Medicare require a diagnosis on the order, and these pads don't allow for that. They will cause me to have to do the extra legwork of backtracking to get the diagnosis after the fact. Is it possible now or on the future that you may add an extra line to allow and encourage the referring physician to include a diagnosis on the order.
In the beginning of the program, these referral pads were created, I understand, because many dispensers did not have their own and this was just a generic pad. With over 2,000 dispensers across the U.S. and Canada participating in the program, it isn't possible for us to make different versions and in fact, when we run out of these, they probably will not be reprinted. I suggestion to everyone now, is that they should develop their own with lots of information about your practice on the pads, even little maps, if you want to go to that extreme.
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I have a comment about the training video which says "It is easy to get in to see the doctor/office staff. Just call and ask to speak to the person who schedules the lunches." Each and every time I have tried that, the response has been," we are booked up for lunches for at least a year." That pretty much renders that suggestion useless.
As far as lunches, you may try changing that to early in the morning and bring in breakfast, coffee and pastry. It may be a good idea to let them know (you may be doing so already), that you are trying to present new clinical information to them, CMEs for physicians and CEUs for nurses and physician assistants, and when would be a good time to do so. It sounds as if they are getting wined and dined a lot by the drug companies, but you are bringing clinical information and educational credits. Their perception may be as just viewing you as another "sales person" instead of a fellow clinician. If there are still some roadblocks, ask them how a cardiologist (or any other clinician) presents new clinical information to the clinical staff at their practice. It may be interesting to hear the answer to that question.
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Many doctors I have spoken to refer their hearing impaired patients to ENT physicians- maybe because it's an established pattern or they have friends from medical school as your program suggests or for medical-legal reasons. How do you suggest I counter objections based on "I send them to ENT"?
First let them know that you are not competing with the ENTs. The ENT is the medical doctor and patients that need to see them should be referred to the ENT. Next ask the question, does the ENT have a hearing healthcare professional on staff? Most times the physicians will not know. If the ENT does have a hearing healthcare professional on staff, then ask if the patients being sent to the ENT are also having their hearing checked and is the physician receiving a report on the findings by the ENT and/or hearing professional to that effect. Physicians need to understand that about 90% of the patients with hearing loss can only be helped with amplification. If 90% of the patients being referred to the ENT are not having their hearing checked, then they are not being adequately cared for. Again, you are not competing with the ENT, but want to make sure that the physicians’ patients are receiving the proper and best care.
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What is the best way to use the April 16, 2003 JAMA articles?
First, use them together. The Scientific Review loses its impact without the Clinical Applications. When you receive the materials, go through the articles with a highlighter and mark the important sections you want to bring to the attention of the physician. You can ask the physician if they read these articles from JAMA. Chances are they didn’t or don’t remember. Point out the important points or just say that you will leave them with them to read at their leisure. Make sure to attach a business card to the article so they will remember you.
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I’ve delivered the materials and am receiving some referrals, but it could be more?
It takes time. Remember physicians have been ignoring hearing loss for a long time and they are not going to change overnight. Stay in constant communication with them. Take the time to stop by with the test results of a referred patient or just to say hello. Some clinicians take a jar of cookies with their business card attached as a thank you and then it gives them a chance to go back every so often to refill the cookie jar. Just don’t be a pest, remember physicians’ offices are busy and see a lot of patients on a daily basis.
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How do I use the Quick Hearing Check Pad?
Ask the physicians if they have a tool to screen patients. Most do not, so this is a quick and easy tool for them to use. If the situation is right, get the physician(s) to participate in a study you are undertaking. Tell them you would like to try to measure hearing loss in your community and ask that they use the pad on their patients for just a week or two. Make it a real study and provide the results of the study with all the physicians that participate. Two things could happen, both good, first, everyone gets a chance to measure a potential health problem in your community and you could get some good press in the local newspapers health section. Second, if you get the physicians and nurses screening for a week or two, it may become a habit for them.
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What kind of correspondence should I have with the physician after receiving referrals?
This is really covered in the CD and Strategy Booklet, but the first answer is timely. Don’t delay in contacting the physicians. Next, is in the beginning you should establish with the physician how detailed he/she would like the report. Some physicians want a very detailed report and others just want the basics with your recommendations. You will deal with both kinds so you need to be flexible in working with the physicians in your area.
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Some of the physicians have told me they have a network that they must refer patients in and we are not part of the network?
This is a problem that does exist and unless you become part of the network, you will not be able to receive referrals from those physicians. Don’t spend any more time on that practice. There are a lot of physicians who you can target. Remember you only need one physician to begin to refer to you consistently and others will follow.
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