3 Steps to Develop a Hospital Referral Program

The MedTech industry has historically relied on interpersonal networks to execute transactions and drive growth. As market pressures mount, winning companies are moving more aggressively to a consultative approach to commercialization.

Medical device commercial teams can add value for their hospital clients or prospects by helping them save money, make money, or manage risk. Supporting the hospital's market development activities is one great example of a consultative approach to engaging the client. 

​Help your hospitals clients: 
(1) figure out who to target
(2) what value to position in the market and
​(3) how to build a sustainable program

PROVIDE INSIGHT TO CREATE VALUE FOR YOUR CLIENT’S BUSINESS 

Research and plan

Depending on your relationship with their hospital and their access, you may be  able to leverage the hospital's own data. Alternatively leverage public claims files to approximate the following attributes to inform the market development strategy.

• What is the hospital's current strengths and which areas do you want to grow?
  • Initial analysis will focus on who refers by geography and clinical specialty. Further analysis should focus on the hospital's ability to deliver more of those services in a cost effective way. One example may to calculate relevant metrics about that service line and benchmark it to other providers
• Why do current referring partners send you patients?
  • Expose the existing referral relationships and understand the dynamics behind the decision to share patients. You will also want to explore the role of employers and payor relationships to determine how reimbursement relationships may impact patient flow.
• Who are potential new referral sources?
  •  Look at the current revenue/volume of the service lines you are looking to grow and determine the opportunity to increase it by one to two percent by targeting these new sources.
  • Research the attributes of physicians or practice groups that are currently referring cases to other facilities or groups.

Tip: Calculate the value of the next 5 patients to set expectations and goals appropriately

Define competitive advantage

​​When you approach the market you need to be confident that a product or service you are offering that is of interest to prospective referring physicians.

• Does your practice deliver the service in a unique or valuable way, participate in quality programs, receive good patient reviews?
• Has the practice recently invested in new technology that you can highlight during your outreach?
• Can you offer CME programs can be offered to the referring physicians or screening programs to the referring provider?

Tip: Calculate market share compared with other hospitals in the region to identify strengths and understand the competition

Get commitment from internal stakeholders

The big question here is to consider who is going to get the word out and approach the referral sources. Building awareness in a market requires a commitment across departments to not only win new referral relationship but to keep and grow those referrals.

Consistency is key in building and sustaining the relationship. The hospital should be willing to assign dedicated field representatives to serve as a consistent resources when developing new business. This person will book meetings and build the relationship alongside physician liaisons. As new relationships develop, you'll want to ensure the referring provider has a responsive point of contact who can provide feedback on results, ensure patient outcomes are communicated and help resolve any care coordination issues.

Tip: Market development requires dedicated resources who can focus on outreach and build strong relationships alongside their physician partners.

Carevoyance offers a set of tools to enable commercial teams to identify, engage and convert the right physicians and facilities. Our data and analytics is the driver of many effective market development programs. Reach out to discuss how we can help you partner with your hospital clients or prospects.