How can you manage a patient advocacy team on a limited budget?
Patient advocacy is a vital role in the health care system, but it can also be challenging and costly. If you are leading a patient advocacy team, you may face limited resources, high demands, and complex situations. How can you manage your team effectively and efficiently on a budget? Here are some tips to help you.
-
Mary Beth FolgerB2B marketing leader | Lover of startups | Demand generation | ABM/ABX | SFDC & HubSpot admin | Meme collector |…
-
Dr. Nadeem AhmedForbes 30u30 | McKinsey - Gen-AI use cases, Public & Pvt. Health Systems | Harvard Public Health Review - Managing…
-
Varun Reddy ThummalaStrategy Consultant | Ex - Novartis & WNS | Commercial Insights | Competitive Intelligence | Business Development |…
Before you allocate your budget, you need to have a clear vision of what you want to achieve as a patient advocacy team. What are your priorities, your target population, your expected outcomes, and your indicators of success? Having a well-defined mission and strategy will help you focus your resources on the most important and impactful activities, and avoid wasting money on unnecessary or irrelevant tasks.
-
It allows for strategic allocation of resources, focusing on high-impact areas that align with the team's objectives. By setting goals, priorities become clearer, ensuring that money is spent meaningfully. This approach helps in avoiding unnecessary expenditures and ensures that the team's efforts are directed toward achieving maximum results with the available funds.
-
Defining mission and goals often feels like a strenuous unnecessary step when you already know your team is all fighting to the same thing - but it's crucial. Having the group come together and establishing these PRIOR to budget setting helps everyone to stay on track and prioritize the RIGHT tasks. The mission and goals should act as your soundboard, your final decision maker in what work should be prioritized and funded. If there is a disagreement amongst the team in regards to where funds should be allocated returning to the goals and mission as a group shines light on the right decision minus the bias.
One of the best investments you can make as a patient advocacy leader is to train your team members. Training can enhance their skills, knowledge, and confidence, as well as foster a culture of learning and collaboration. You don't need to spend a lot of money on expensive courses or consultants. You can use online platforms, webinars, podcasts, books, or peer-to-peer mentoring to provide your team with valuable and relevant information and guidance. You can also encourage your team to share their experiences and best practices with each other, and to seek feedback and support when needed.
-
A well-trained team is something that I have come to appreciate - even more than company I'm working with. I've only come to know this through exposure to teams that were not well trained. Unfortunately, untrained teams are just simply less organized and less efficient. There is time wasted sharing irrelevant ideas, ideas being shared that other members on the team can understand etc. Time is also wasted mid task to bring folks up to speed in order to tackle the task ahead. Being proactive with training sets your team up for success, puts everyone on the same page, and ensures everyone can count on their colleagues to lean on in times if need.
Technology can be a powerful tool for patient advocacy, especially when you have a limited budget. You can use technology to streamline your processes, communicate with your stakeholders, access and analyze data, and create and distribute content. For example, you can use online surveys, forms, or databases to collect and manage information from your patients, partners, or donors. You can use email, social media, or video conferencing to keep in touch with your team, your patients, and your network. You can use software, apps, or websites to create and share reports, newsletters, flyers, or videos. You can also use technology to automate some of your tasks, such as scheduling, invoicing, or reminders.
-
There are more than 8,000 financial assistance resources at the national and state levels; 20,000 including county-level resources. Each resource with unique eligibility criteria and enrollment processes. On top of this, there isn't an effective way to identify a financially at-risk patient. Most patients self-identify, leaving many more patients unaware of the resources that are available. Considering the sheer volume of available resources and patients in need, it is humanly impossible to approach this without technology specifically designed to identify patients, uncover more resources and ease the administrative burden. The technology will pay for itself with the reduction of uncompensated care and bad debt.
Another way to manage your patient advocacy team on a budget is to collaborate with other organizations or individuals who share your goals and values. Collaboration can help you leverage your resources, expand your reach, and increase your impact. You can collaborate with other patient advocacy groups, health care providers, researchers, policymakers, or media outlets. You can exchange information, ideas, or referrals. You can co-create projects, campaigns, or events. You can also join or form coalitions, networks, or alliances to amplify your voice and influence.
Finally, don't forget to reward your team for their hard work and dedication. Rewarding your team can boost their morale, motivation, and retention. You don't need to spend a lot of money on rewards. You can use simple and meaningful ways to show your appreciation and recognition. For example, you can say thank you, give feedback, celebrate achievements, or acknowledge challenges. You can also offer flexible work arrangements, professional development opportunities, or wellness benefits. You can also create a positive and supportive work environment, where your team feels valued, respected, and empowered.
-
Rewarding the team on a limited budget can be achieved through creative, non-monetary means. Recognizing team members' efforts and achievements through public acknowledgment, certificates, or personalized thank-you notes can be highly motivating. Offering professional development opportunities like attending webinars or online courses can also serve as a form of reward, contributing to the team's skill enhancement.
-
Embrace change management. Inefficient processes are the leading driver behind employee frustration and burnout, and patients probably feel it too. Map out your processes and discuss as a team. Some things to consider: Where are you seeing the most friction? Where do you spend the majority of your time? Are the right people in the right place, and are their roles clearly defined? How could you refactor your process to be more proactive? Where are you seeing the most denials and what can you do to reduce them? Decide how you're going to track effectiveness and introduce changes incrementally. Check in with employees and patients often. Once you've found success, document it and train against it.
-
Resource optimization and digitalization: - Identify & prioritize activities to allocate resources efficiently - Leverage digital tools for cost-effective engagement and campaigns Ambassador program: - Explore mutually beneficial partnerships that align with shared objectives - Establish advocates network, who can serve as ambassadors, extending the program reach without increasing budget significantly
Rate this article
More relevant reading
-
Patient AdvocacyYou need to find the best patient advocacy tools for your work. What's the most effective way to do it?
-
Patient AdvocacyYou're working in patient advocacy. What's the best way to stay innovative?
-
HealthcareHow can you measure the effectiveness of your patient advocacy network?
-
Patient AdvocacyHere's how you can establish a strong reputation as a patient advocacy entrepreneur.