A public relations proposal to design a creative and efficient way of communication that improves relationships with referring

physicians.

Brittagh Flynn, PCM477

Refer to Children’s Because Kids

Deserve The Best.

*STEP 1: Research the Client

*The Client: Children’s Specialty Group

*My Connection: Pat Radoszewski

*COO of the pediatric specialty group practice joint venture between the Medical College of Wisconsin and Children's Hospital and Health System. Responsible for practice operations for the 350+ clinician group with revenues of $140M.

*What I learned from the client:*Children’s Specialty Group is currently looking for many

different ways to increase the volume of patient visits.

*Patient referrals are highly dependent on referring physicians and their relationship with Children’s Hospital.

*Is Children’s Specialty Group utilizing their available resources to their utmost capabilities to create sound relationships with referring physicians? Radoszewski believes there is room for improvement.

*STEP 2: Research the Audience*The Audience: Referring Physicians of Wisconsin

*Building Connections:

*Dr. Larry Condon, Pediatric Surgeon, HealthPartners

*Dr. Richard Barthel, Child Psychiatrist, Medical College of Wisconsin

*Dr. Howard Gollup, Pediatrician, Aurora Healthcare

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Who knows who?

*What I learned from the audience:*76% of referring physicians are either at full capacity or overextended and overworked.

*63% of referring physicians said their amount of paperwork has caused them to spend less time with patients, which increases job stress.

*“The staff at Children’s is extremely large and this makes it difficult for referring physicians to feel that they know and trust the physicians. The large staff also makes patients and their families feel that there is no personal connection when in the care of CHW.”

*STEP 3: Identify the Need*Referring physicians want to feel a sense of closeness and

trust when they refer their patients.

*Due to their incredibly busy schedules, referring physicians also look for hospitals which they know have superb ways of communication.

*NEED: to implement new ways of communication that reach to referring physicians on a personal level to gain and maintain a trusting and loyal relationship.

*STEP 4: Objectives*Impact Objective

The overall goal of this program is to increase patient referrals by 5% over the next 12 months while simultaneously improving CHW’s relationship with all referring physicians. The program will aim to:

• Enhance components of the CHW website to create more organized and efficient communication.

• Use print media as a way to show recognition to these physicians for the patient referral success. This media is meant to create a more personal and appreciated relationship between Children’s Hospital and its RP’s.

• Develop a media relationship with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, by way of a pitch note and news release, to create awareness to referring physicians and all public audiences.

5%

*STEP 5: The Program

*The Star List: Enhancing the CHW Website

* Create a Star button next to all information that fits the subcategories chosen by CHW to adhere to physician needs.

*Create a “right-click” function on the star button so that, when right-clicked by a physician, they can choose from a dropdown menu which subcategory they would like to store that particular information into.

*Create additional webpages that pop up when the physician clicks on a subcategory of his or her star list that lists all information that he or she chose to save.

*Output objective: To increase referring-physician-portal-page hits by 10% over the next 12 months.

*STEP 5: The Program

Dr. John Smith saved the life of young Charlie when he noticed an abnormality on a scan and asked for a second opinion from Dr. Jane Doe, a pediatric surgeon at Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin. With their combined efforts, a malignant tumor was removed and Charlie has been cancer free for 6 months! Thank you for your referral, Dr, Smith!

 

 

Dr. John Smi th o f Aurora S t . Luke’s

Dr. Jane Doe o f Ch i ldren ’s

Hosp i ta l o f Wisconsin

 

PRST-STDU.S. POSTAGE

PAIDCITY, ST

PERMIT NO. XXX

Dr. John Smith1234 Riverwood WayMilwaukee, WI 55123

Output Objective: To be published at least three times over the next 12 months in the “Cue” section of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel for patient referral success stories.

Highlighting an appreciation for referrals from outside sources in the form of a postcard starts a fresh, new way of communication in a very positive fashion.

*STEP 5: The ProgramTo: John Fauber

Subject: REFERRALS THAT SAVE LIVES!

 Message: Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin has launched a new campaign, “Refer to Children’s because kids deserve the best,” to celebrate all of the successes that come from patient referrals. Children’s Hospital is making every effort to improve the simplicity of their referral process as well as publicize their gratitude to referring physicians. There are many components of the new campaign that would be an excellent addition to your Tuesday health section in the Cue.

Referring physicians are always looking for current news that can help them improve their relationship with patients. More so, parents are constantly looking for up-to-date healthcare headlines that can better their kid’s quality of life. Reporting stories about miracles that can occur through the act of referring a patient will grab many readers attention and increase awareness of your health section of the Cue, as well.

A prototype of the postcard described in the attached news release is available to view upon request. I would appreciate the opportunity to meet in person to go over this innovating new campaign in more detail. I will call within the next week to check in. Thank you very much for your time and consideration.

Respectfully,Brittagh J FlynnHead of PR DevelopmentChildren’s Hospital of Wisconsin

NEWS RELEASENEW EFFORTS TO SIMPLIFY REFERRALS AND CELEBRATE PATIENT

SUCCESS

Milwaukee, Wis.) Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin is making internal and external changes to simplify the patient referral process and better their relationship with referring physicians and their patients and families. The slogan adhering to these changes is, “Refer to Children’s because kids deserve the best.”

A brand new function has been added to the website used by physicians to make a referral to Children’s Hospital. This function is known as the Star List and allows physicians to find information faster and more efficiently. The Star List also allows them to make their own decisions as to what information they want to remember and be able to access on the spot.

Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin will also begin sending monthly postcards which share patient survival stories that resulted from a referral with Children’s Hospital. Children’s is using these postcards as an opportunity to not only celebrate the life that was saved, but to also commend a proper note of gratitude the physician that referred the patient.

Building awareness about these operating changes that are being implemented can start a trend of referral increase which can save lives for many more years to come. Do you want to help save a life? Share this story today!

For more information about the Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin referral campaign, please visit our website at (insert campaign website here).

*RESULTS

Brittagh,

This project fits perfectly with a major project that we are currently working on to enhance our referring physician experience. Yesterday I provided your proposal to Children's Manager of Marketing and Communications as well as the Children's Specialty Group Manager for Physician Marketing and Education.

The thoughtful ideas you have outlined have real merit and I believe could nicely complement the current project efforts. The options to personalize functions on the website is something we will review with our community physician advisory group and could significantly add ease for their personal needs.  

I also really like the monthly post card recognizing the partnership efforts between the referring and specialty providers. It would be an excellent way to both show appreciation as well as that we are a team caring for the child and family.

It was a pleasure working with you and hope that you feel that working with us provided a nice opportunity for the focus of your project. Best of luck as your complete your studies and I will keep you posted about your recommendations. Great work!

Thanks,

Pat