Tips for improving work site health programs
July 1, 1999
Tips for improving work site health programs
Start by knowing your market
If you are planning to use work site health fairs, screenings, and seminars as part of your marketing program, consider the tips from two practices who know. Lyne Chamberlain, RN, BSN, MEd, MBA, MHA, marketing and new business development manager at Orlando, FL-based Physician Associates of Florida and Ken Goldberg, MD, of the Lewisville, TX practice Texas Urologists say that to be successful, you must:
1. Know your patients and who they work for. Chamberlain says demographic studies will give you this information.
2. Concentrate on local employers, at least initially. "If you are around the corner from a big company, it makes sense to go over and talk to them," Chamberlain says. "After all, you are their neighbor."
3. Find a champion in the company. "If you find someone in human resources, especially if they are a patient or former patient, you are more likely to be successful," Goldberg says.
4. Choose events that make sense. Chamber lain explains that this means screenings and seminars that either make use of your practice’s expertise or connect with passions of your staff. For instance, some of the staff at Physician Associates are involved with the American Diabetes Association. Doing blood sugar screenings builds on this relationship and gives the practice a chance to team with a national organization. If you have obstetrics, team up with the March of Dimes.
5. Stay on schedule. This is important not just to the patients, says Goldberg, but to the employers who want to limit the time their employees spend off the job.
6. Make your efforts appropriate to your size. If you have a two-physician practice, don’t commit both doctors to a large event; that means you will abandon existing patients.
7. Be efficient, but provide education. Goldberg explains that work site screenings have to include more than a "drop your pants, bend over" exam. "You have to provide education and take advantage of the opportunity to interact with people."
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