HMS Healthcare Marketing Services

(Source: Press Ganey Hospital Check-Up Report
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Self-managed in-house physician relations programs produce little, if any, sustained, measurable admissions gains.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The 2007 Hospital Check-Up Report - Physician Perspectives on American Hospitals examined the experiences of more than 21,000 physicians at 224 hospitals across the nation in 2006. The report provides physician perspectives on hospitals across the country. In addition to the key role physicians play in providing care and making treatment decisions, physician admission and referral patterns drive the financial health of the hospital, making physicians critical to business operations as well. Key findings from Press Ganey's research include:

The most important thing hospital administrators can do to enhance their relationship with physicians is to respond to their needs and ideas. Four of the top five priority issues doctors have for hospitals deal with communication between administrators and physicians.

One way the administration can build its relationships with physicians is to make it easier for doctors to care for their patients. One of the top national priorities for hospitals from the physician's perspective is to make it easier to provide quality care for patients.

Physicians give the quality of patient care a high rating compared to other aspects of hospital operations.

Surgeons, typically a large contributor to overall hospital revenue, are among the least satisfied physicians.

In order to increase the growth of the hospital, administrators must convince low-admitting and low-referring physicians to utilize the hospital more frequently.

	Physicians who refer the majority of their patients to the hospitals they serve are the most satisfied with the care provided.

	Those who refer less than 20% of their patients are the least satisfied with the facility..

The longer physicians work with a hospital, the higher their level of satisfaction with the hospital.

	Physicians who have had admitting privileges at a facility for more than twenty years report higher overall satisfaction

	Physicians who have practiced eleven to twenty years are the least satisfied with a hospital's performance, especially compared to those physicians at both ends of the experience spectrum.

Hospitals that are highly recommended by patients as a good place to receive care are typically lauded by their physicians and employees as well.

TOP PRIORITIES FOR MEETING PHYSICIAN NEEDS

As the primary source of all patient referrals and as leaders of the health care team, physicians play a vital role in the hospital's overall performance. Hospitals that effectively build solid relationships with their physicians benefit from a consistent patient flow. Due to high physician demand, unsatisfied physicians can be easily drawn to a competing facility. Hospitals that successfully meet the needs of their physicians enjoy both financial and clinical benefits.

The National Physician Priority Index identifies what doctors say hospital administrators can do to better meet the expectations of physicians.

The number one priority for improvement is how the administration responds to the needs and ideas of physicians.

Four of the top five priorities deal directly with doctors' relationships with administrators.

One way the administration can build their relationships with physicians is to make it easier for doctors to care for their patients.