Physicians are not only technology users; they’re the drivers of its success in the clinical setting. They are on the frontlines and are influential in deciding whether a new tool becomes a game-changer or another piece of forgotten software collecting digital dust.
Why is physician engagement so critical?
Getting a busy physician to change their routine takes work. It’s like asking a seasoned chef to swap their favorite knife for a shiny new one they don’t trust. They’ve spent years perfecting their craft with the help of the tools they know and trust. So why should they give a new technology a try? The answer is simple: it could improve their lives, the lives of the other clinical and admin staff, and their patients’ lives.
What technology are physicians actually using?
Physicians are no strangers to technology. Here’s what they are using on the ground regularly:
- Electronic Health Records (EHRs): These are the bread and butter of modern patient care by housing patient data, enabling e-prescribing, and care coordination.
- Telemedicine platforms: The pandemic made telemedicine a household name, but now, it’s here to stay and is considered essential with remote patient consultations and extended care access.
- Practice management software: Scheduling, billing, and patient communication – technology that makes the admin side of things more bearable.
Beyond these, there is a slew of other operational tools that physicians engage with on a regular but less frequent basis, such as referral management systems, prior authorization platforms, risk adjustment, and quality performance reporting tools. Tech today needs to fit the day-to-day needs of a clinic, so the tools used and vendor selection will vary.
How does physician tech engagement relate to strategic initiatives for payers, MSOs, ACOs, and value-based care enablers?
For physicians to capture and report on data required for a strategic partnership like an MSO or ACO, they need to be willing users of the tech tools assigned for the task. If the tool is not user-friendly, buggy, or does not meet their basic requirements, adoption will fail, risking patient outcomes, patient care, and reimbursement.
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So, how do you get Physicians to love your tech?
There is no magic bullet, but here are some proven successful tactics:
- Get them involved early: Don’t arrive at the table with a finished product and expect applause. Get feedback during the tech evaluation stage (or design phase if you are the developer) so they feel like the tech is theirs and not something handed down.
- Don’t overwhelm them: physicians have enough on their plate, so ensure you come prepared with a fine-tuned, intuitive, and easy-to-understand integration and onboarding flow with help from your vendor. Sharing recorded demos and interactive guides is a plus!
- Provide ongoing training and support: Have you ever heard of “tech support fatigue?“ Physicians get tired of having to figure out why something’s not working. Ensure your vendor can provide accurate, ongoing, easy-to-access, and fast-responding support.
- Leadership needs to lead: When physician leaders advocate for technology, it sets the tone for the entire organization. Find the physician champion leader and lean on their insights and feedback.
- Listen to feedback: Build feedback loops that allow physicians to share their challenges and ideas for improving the system. They’ll appreciate it, and so will your technology vendor. Surveys, check-in calls, and advisory team invitations can all serve as excellent feedback touchpoints.
- Make integration seamless: Product-market fit happens when your solution aligns with users’ workflows. Even brilliant tech won’t gain adoption if it feels out of place. Many tech pilots fail because they miss this alignment, especially in healthcare. Having an amazing solution is just the start. Think of product-market fit as building a car:
- The Engine: The Solution
The invention (software, algorithm, care model, etc.) is the engine. It must deliver real, valuable results. - The Body: Workflow Integration
The solution must fit into existing workflows (e.g., physician EHRs, payer operations, patient tools). A Ferrari engine in a golf cart creates chaos—similarly, forcing a solution into workflows it doesn’t fit will stall adoption. - The Buyer: Financial Alignment
Identify who benefits, who pays, and how. Value, budgets, and willingness to pay must align. Selling a high-cost “Ferrari engine” to someone needing a low-cost “family car” leads to failure.
Refining your engine isn’t enough—fit and alignment drive success.
Why Vim’s solution works (and why Physicians Love it)
When it comes to Vim, we’ve cracked the code on physician engagement. It’s not about flashy bells and whistles—it’s about making the physician’s life easier by integrating directly with their existing EHR to reduce friction and giving them more time to focus on what they do best: caring for patients. We involve them in the process, collecting their feedback at various touchpoints along their Vim journey to ensure the platform addresses the fundamental pain points in clinical settings. That’s how you get engagement. You make them part of the solution, not just passive users.
The final prescription for physician engagement
Physician engagement is not just a checkbox on a project plan. It’s the key to making technology transformative. By focusing on ease of use, continuous support, and ongoing collaboration, organizations can ensure that the tech solutions they invest in don’t just sit on a shelf. Instead, they’ll become integral to the future of patient care.
