Advertisement

Blog Viewer

Fridays with Ambulatory Care: Marketing the Ambulatory Care Practice Model

By Christopher Shelby posted 04-05-2013 09:28

  
Let me start off by saying that I am a new practitioner. I set off from my residency in June ready to bring my expertise to my dream job. In my position, I have been tasked with creating a pharmacist run clinic that would help manage a wide array of the most common disease states affecting my community.

Fast forward to today. I sit eight months into my position as the clinical pharmacy specialist in ambulatory care at Alliance Community Hospital in Alliance, Ohio, a community hospital with about 130 inpatient beds where I am the first pharmacy "specialist."

My director and I strongly believe in what a pharmacist can do to elevate the health and well-being of our community, but most days I feel as if I'm just spinning my wheels trying to get this thing up and running.

In a non-teaching hospital it has been difficult convincing the C-Suite what I can do to help our patients and also (and unfortunately more importantly) what I can do to help our bottom line.

Does anyone have past experience with marketing their practice model to administrators and other "non-pharmacy" personnel within a community based hospital?



#Resident #Mentorship #PPMI #NewPractitioners #PharmacyPracticeManagers #AmbulatoryCare #BestPractices #Leadership
1 comment
1091 views

Permalink

Comments

Tim Brown
04-15-2013 13:53

Chris,
I think your dilemma is shared by so many practitioners, especially as we all tighten our belts due to the shift in reimbursement and the changing times of healthcare.
I continue to look for ways to market my practice model to the administrators at my institution even after 19 yrs in practice. Many times it is not just to expand services but to also increase pharmacy visibility within the hospital and outpatient clinics. I know this may sound self serving but do not forget to let your marketing or PR department know when you have been chosen to speak at MCM, or asked to be involved in professional development of other healthcare professionals, such as nursing grand rounds etc, since that also speaks to your strengths as an educator and integral practitioner at your hospital.
For example I happen to know you were just chosen as judge for Clinical Skills Competition at MCM 2013. Marketing this type of accomplishment shows you are well rounded and respected within your profession which I would hope leads to increasing acceptance of what you can and do provide within your institution.
I must admit when Mary Ann and I worked on the "Marketing chapter" we struggled just like most pharmacists. Many of us were never taught how to scream from the rooftops that we deserve to provide care since what we do speaks for itself in so many ways. However in this day and age the time is here for us to realize blowing our own horn is not just for attention, it is also for survival!!