Sick of Being Treated Like A Commodity? Try These 3 Proven Strategies For Standing Out As A Physician

If you are an employed physician, the deck is stacked against you.

The system is bent on commoditizing you by throwing you in the “provider” bag together with midlevels. All in an effort to create the perception of “equivalent care” in the eyes of patients and employers.

Even when everyone involved knows it’s simply not equivalent.

The illusory truth effect is the idea that if you repeat something often enough, people will start to believe it’s true.

In this essay, I share the 3 things you must do to break free from commoditization:

1. Develop A Personal Brand

When patients don’t intentionally choose you, you are a commodity.

If you only get new patients is as an in-network provider, then patients are getting you, not choosing you. In their mind, you are the same as any other provider – be it a physician or a midlevel. This is what the industrial medical complex wants.

A personal brand allows you to stand out in the sea of sameness and become the specialist in your specialty.

2. Build and Nurture an Email List

Building personal relationships with potential patients is how you avoid commoditization.

Like every other personal relationship, this one takes time and multiple contacts. Best way to achieve this is through email. Not using email when developing a personal brand is like running a marathon in sandals. It’s doable but, why would you not make it easier for yourself?

3. Create New Sources of Revenue

Every single practicing physician should become an entrepreneur.

The moment you realize you can monetize your expertise, you take your power back. When you don’t need to make money from your employer or from insurance, they lose the power to bully you into accepting unfavorable conditions.

When you do these 3 things, you are in control of your financial future and no one can get between you and your patients.

And remember: you are a physician, not a provider.