This Pillar is challenging to build as hospice companies have traditionally done a poor job of understanding how to go about obtaining “traction” in this referral channel. Further, hospice sales staff don’t feel comfortable calling upon physicians and their offices.
Physicians, as we all know, are hard to get to. There are ways to accomplish this. There is value in developing key relationships with the physician office referral nurse and/or office manager.
Knowing how to target key physicians is critical; an obvious statement!! You can buy Medicare physician utilization data that shows the number of hospice referrals a physician makes and to whom the referral goes. This data will give you great focus on where to place your efforts.
Hospice Payment Reform
Preparing Your Organization for Hospice Payment Reform
At last week’s National Association for Home Care meeting in Chicago, it became apparent that Medicap and CMS are finally on the same page (or at least close) to reform of the hospice payment system.
The reformed payment system comes close the U shaped payment system under consideration the past several years. This payment system focused on paying more at the early and late portion of a patient stay and less for the “bottom” part of the U. Most higher Length of Stay patients have long an elongated shape.
Hospice & Home Care Consultant, Speaker, Trainer, Coach – Kurt Kazanowski
Expert business services for health care organizations looking to improve service delivery, grow market share and enhance profitability.
Everyone works the “middle” in the hospital referral chain. Those Case Managers, Discharge Planners and Social Workers that get bombarded daily by hospice, home care and LTACH sale people. There are however many other customers in the hospital that need to be cultivated if you wish to develop a productive relationship with an acute care organization. I have a list of over 25 different customers in a hospital and the related value propositions I would be more than happy to share. Just drop me a line.
You would not believe how many sales folks I have hired in the early part of my career for hospice and home care positions that were BOOMS!!! I mean BIG BOOMS!! In 2001, for one hospice I was helping execute a growth strategy, we hired 4 sales people who within 4 months left the organization as they just weren’t a fit. But you learn from your mistakes and make adjustments. Lessons learned were past sales experiences and performance is key. Just because someone tells you they have tons of “relationships” in the community doesn’t mean they will be good sales people and drive business.
The first and most important pillar for growth is Creating a Culture of Growth. This is easier said than done and yet vital. To create this culture an organization must first understand the “Invisible Velvet Glove On The Spigot of Growth” phenomena! The “invisible” factors such as weekend admission “put” offs, after-hours “excuses,” and medical director “apathy,” are a few examples that prevent organizations from serving more patients and growing. These factors can sometimes be so soft and silent (the velvet glove) that most organizations don’t even know there growth spigot is being closed off. Does your organization have a velvet glove at work?
I am so excited to start my journey into the world of blogging. My in depth experience in hospice, home care and hospitals provides me a wealth of knowledge, expert resources and problem solving ability. I look forward to sharing humorous stories, tragic experiences, and life changing events that I encountered along the way.
I hope you will join me in this journey to explore ways to grow your business and deliver extraordinary care. Your personal stories and insights will be valuable to all readers. If you have a topic you would like to discuss, please let me know. I welcome and encourage your comments and questions and look forward to hearing from you.
