While visiting with physician participants last week in Southern California, I was reminded of the role that convenience plays in the success of benefit programs, particularly for physicians. Most professionals’ employer-sponsored retirement plan is their largest asset. While there are advantages to participating in retirement plans, this is most likely because of their convenience. Since physicians lead such busy lives, the convenience of their plans is particularly important. That’s why we’ve made convenience a top priority when designing our physician compensation programs. 

Here are three ways you can make your benefit plans more convenient for physicians: 

Automatic Contributions 

The “set it and forget it” feature allows participants to make their decisions annually and then automatically participant throughout the year. The complexities of physician contracts can make this more difficult than it seems. With our Physicians’ Advantage Plan (PAP), we work with hospital contracts and finance to build a seamless participation process for our participants. We involve all key stakeholders early in the process, making it as turnkey as possible.

Plan Administration

A benefit plan administrator can be your secret weapon in engaging with physician employees and making sure their benefit programs are well communicated and properly administered. But not all plan administrators understand the uniqueness of physician employment. Choosing the wrong partner can have an adverse effect on physician relationships. That’s why we’ve teamed up with a third-party administrator that has extensive experience working with physicians and healthcare systems. 

Access 

Online account access is now a must for almost any benefit plan. With the help of our administration platform partner, we continue to improve the online accessibility of our PAP, and we’re currently rolling out electronic forms. These features will make it easier for physicians to actively participate in their plans without viewing it as something they simply don’t have time for. 

When designing physician benefit programs, it’s important to keep the lifestyle of your participants in mind. Since physicians’ time is limited, using these strategies will help ensure that they are able to fully engage with the benefit programs you are providing. When physicians understand their benefit programs and are actively engaged with them, the programs will be more successful for all parties.