Current Landscape of Healthcare
Vonda Sexton, VP Chief Strategy and Business Development Officer, Nemours Children's Health

Concurrent Workshops

Maximizing Impact: Leveraging Virtual Outreach to Drive Patient Growth and Efficiency
Christine Ragusa, Physician Liaison, Shriners Children's
Elizabeth Holcombe, Physician Liaison, Shriners Children's

Expanding Our Reach: The Collaborative Efforts of Physician Liaisons to Grow Regional Presence and Revenue
Jodi Kennedy, Physician Outreach Liaison, Nebraska Medicine
Jessica Freedman, Physician Outreach Liaison, Nebraska Medicine
Scott Muldoon, Physician Outreach Liaison, Nebraska Medicine

In this presentation, we will explore how our hospital has expanded its footprint through the strategic efforts of our Physician Liaison team. We’ll discuss their cross-collaborative initiatives that have successfully grown our outreach clinics, bringing vital healthcare services to more communities. We’ll highlight the resulting revenue growth and increased patient referrals to our hospital and specialty clinics, showcasing the value of our clinical programs. Additionally, we’ll delve into how our Physician Liaisons have shifted the mindset from patients needing to come to Nebraska Medicine to meeting patients in their own communities, particularly in rural areas. We will also discuss the steps we take to decide where to open new clinics and the detailed process involved in establishing them. Finally, we’ll emphasize the importance of thinking like a business to ensure our continued growth and effective service to the region.

Building Your Bench: Strategies for Hiring and Inspiring High-Performing Teams
Susan Boydell, Principal, Barlow/McCarthy
Tricia Anderson, Senior Consultant, Barlow/McCarthy

In a competitive market, finding and inspiring top talent is a critical challenge for physician relations leaders. This session will offer innovative approaches to identifying, attracting, and retaining exceptional team members, even in a tight hiring environment. Learn how to assess essential attributes, spot great talent during recruitment, and keep them engaged and committed to your organization. Discover key leadership skills—including impactful coaching techniques and ways to communicate your team’s value to senior leadership—that will help you bring out the best in your team and drive results. 

Refreshment Break/Visit Our Sponsor Partners

Concurrent Workshops

Win Your Own Race: Solo Strategies for a Department of One
Diane Tirakis, Provider Relations Liaison, Wooster Community Hospital Health System

Innovative Strategies and Tools to Amplify Your Outreach Tactics
Alice Hou, Market Outreach Executive Liaison, Sanford Health Care
Colton Williamson, Senior Account Executive, Dot Card

Outreach 101 - Building Strong Connections by Bringing Value
Margie Berg, Senior Physician Liaison, Children's Wisconsin
Diane Dorrow, Senior Physician Liaison, Children's Wisconsin

The Physician Liaison role is unique and multifaceted, requiring strategic energy to consistently deliver value to stakeholders, including providers, office managers, and support staff. This presentation highlights valuable resources from AAPL to support your work and goals, reminding you that you are not alone. We’ll share strategies to simplify your role and tools to help you excel.

Dealing with Difficult People in the Field as a Liaison
Monica Aunan, AAPL Past President/Provider Relations Manager, Hospital Administration,
University of Iowa Health Care
Brian Potenski, AAPL President/Senior Trauma and Critical Care Liaison, Penn Medicine

In this session we will highlight the different challenges liaisons have in the field.  We encounter challenging conversations in all areas, including Clinic and Department Managers, Office Staff, Gatekeepers, Physicians, and even coworkers. You will learn ways to recognize and manage personalities in a professional manner.

Sponsored Concurrent Workshops

Driving Growth with Insightful Outreach: A Data-Backed Approach for Physician Liaisons
Sponsored by Clarify Health
Emily Martinko, Manager, Customer Success, Clarify Health

Liaisons are vital in securing new patient referrals, with success relying on early identification of opportunities. UMP's custom analytics provide liaisons with clear insights into market and referral trends by analyzing competitor utilization and simulating scenarios to project potential in-network gains. These tools enable liaisons to strategically prioritize outreach, directly contributing to UMP's market growth and network expansion. 

Streamlining Success: The Critical Role of an Online Physician Hub
Sponsored by Conexiant
Scott Clelland, Director, Business Development, Conexiant
Lindsay Carrillo, MBA, Director, Business Development, UCI Health

In today’s fast-paced digital landscape, physicians often find themselves overwhelmed by information across multiple platforms. To engage them effectively, hospitals must deliver immediate value. This presentation will highlight the transformative power of a centralized content hub that streamlines provider referrals and boosts physician outreach. Attendees will explore how to create an ecosystem that fosters data-driven decision-making, optimizes SEO and omnichannel marketing, and enhances outreach efficiency. By leveraging key performance indicators and integrated reporting, you’ll be empowered to showcase tangible ROI and drive continuous improvement. Join us to learn how a centralized approach can amplify your team’s impact and propel success across all service lines!

Breakout Session Presented by Huron

Concurrent Workshops

Enhancing NICU Care in Texas: The Neonatal Outreach Program at Children's Health
Carlos Sepulveda, Manager, Hospital and Regional Outreach, Children's Health

Being a Marker Inside a Crayon Box: Understanding the Diversity of Liaison Roles
Brian Potenski, AAPL President/Senior Trauma and Critical Care Liaison, Penn Medicine

In the healthcare industry, liaison roles are often perceived as uniform, yet the reality is far more complex. This presentation aims to explore the diverse nature of liaison roles, drawing from my extensive experience as a Trauma Critical Care, Rescue Services, Transfer, and EMS Liaison.

Concurrent Workshops

Eye on the Prize: Building Meaningful Connections in Ophthalmology
Karen Benedikt, Senior Physician Liaison, EyeSouth Partners
Micha Sassic, Regional Physician Liaison, Central Florida Eye Specialists

Mastering Leadership Communication: Demonstrating Value and Engaging Effectively
Ashley Hilliard, Sr. Director of Practice Growth and Referral Relations, Texas Oncology

During this session, we will dive into the critical aspects of leadership communication that drive organizational success. This session aims to equip attendees with a clear definition and comprehensive understanding of what effective leadership communication entails, ensuring they can articulate its importance within a business context. Additionally, we will identify common barriers to effective communication and provide practical strategies to overcome them, enabling leaders to navigate and address communication challenges adeptly. Finally, we will empower leaders to recognize and communicate the unique value they and their teams bring to their organizations, fostering a culture of transparency, credibility, and trust.

Setting Up New Physicians for Success
April Foster, Physician Relations Territory Manager, The University of Kansas Health System
Kayla Joy, Physician Relations Territory Manager, The University of Kansas Health System

Let’s explore the key components of assisting our new physicians in building their practice, incorporating our unique approach. Some of the items we will present include:

Integrate to Innovate: A Wildly Successful Outreach Formula
Kimm Dinsmore, Corporate Director, Provider Relations and Engagement, Penn Medicine
Tammy Tiller-Hewitt, FACHE, CEO, Tiller-Hewitt Healthcare Strategies

System integration means something different to every healthcare organization. Penn Medicine saw their system-wide integration as a perfect gateway to redesign an enterprise-wide Provider Relations Program in alignment with their new and fully integrated model.

This session provides practical lessons on how they brought 4 liaison teams together to assess and redesign a cohesive outreach program. Adapting national best practices and focusing on consistently delivering strategic growth and measurable results, they rooted the program on three proven success pillars:
Systems – Data – People.