Medical Technologists, especially mobile providers, need to establish great relationships with their facilities. It is a partnership and the facility essentially drives business to you and usually provides much of the resources you use to do your job. Having a good working relationship with them will not only make them more agreeable to work with, but can make your job easier!
So how do you build a good relationship? Here are a few tips to keep in mind:
1. Communicate Availability. Facilities want to be clear on when you are available so they can plan their own schedules accordingly. Set expectations clearly so there is no miscommunication. If they ask for extra coverage, be clear with them if this is a one-time service or risk being asked to come in for extra coverage more often than you expect.
2. Customer Service. Don’t resist talking to customers: the referring physicians or patients. The customer appreciates getting to talk to the technologist and getting their questions answered. Show the facility manager you value their partnership by handling customer service tasks like answering questions about a confusing order, or offering to speak to a dissatisfied customer. When the technologist is disengaged, or resists involvement, it means more work for the facility staff, which they will be guaranteed to remember later on!
3. Marketing Efforts. Customers think of imaging services as being completely managed by the medical technologist, even though the facilities are usually not theirs. So it is important for those customers to see and know you. Both you and the facility can benefit from your involvement. Offer to meet with referring physicians at an open house, or offer to provide content about your services for brochures and websites.
4. Quality First. Everyone gets frustrated with poor quality work. So make sure there is a feedback or QA/QC system in place and be involved in its development and updating. Comment regularly, for both good and poor quality but make sure your critical comments are constructive. Ask to see statistics and evaluations regularly and try to help with improvements. There are new advances in imaging technology that can help improve quality. The facility wants to be able to boast to customers about their, and your, quality services!
5. Do more than your competitors. For many facilities, especially outpatient, there may be more than one group reading. So you need to stand out. Instead of only doing what others do, do more. Studycast® web based digital imaging solutions are on the forefront of making medical imaging more accessible.
Be the leader in integrating new technology, marketing and customer service and you will be rewarded with a stellar working relationship!
About Core Sound Imaging, Inc.
Core Sound Imaging, the provider of Studycast®, is on the frontier of image storage and delivery, and they have integrated other diagnostic testing into their workflow solution. Traditional methods for transmitting ultrasound studies could take up to an hour, whereas the unique Studycast® approach means that studies can be transmitted in five minutes or less. Once a study is uploaded, a physician can view both ultrasound still images and ultrasound loops instantly via a web browser. All study data is transmitted along with the images, and Studycast® automatically populates the data in the SmartWorksheet. The SmartWorksheet is a reporting tool for the interpreting physician, and it’s quick and easy to use. This facilitates a more accurate and prompt interpretation of the ultrasound study. Studycast® also delivers the final report to the ordering physician upon approval from the interpreting physician. This powerful workflow solution is more cost-effective than most traditional storage models as well.
Core Sound Imaging is based in Raleigh, NC, and its clients include hospitals, cardiology practices, primary care physicians, mobile ultrasound groups, and providers of telemedicine and teleradiology services throughout the United States. Contact us today to learn how our teleradiology solutions can help improve your relationships with your facilities.
