Physician Liaison Job Description

Many hospitals and health systems employ physician liaisons that regularly visit physician practices to promote the hospital or health system where they work. They work to increase the awareness of their employers, share information about the hospital or health system’s services and work to grow patient referrals.

A physician liaison works as the primary sales and marketing person for a hospital or health system. She works with physicians' offices to build a relationship between the office and their hospital or health system to increase the number of patients sent to their organization for treatment and care. She networks with physicians and their staffs to improve communication, develops sales plans for physician practices with measurable goals and objectives, conducts personal visits to referral sources on a daily basis, and facilitates meetings for physicians to learn about a hospital or health system's offerings and services.

A physician liaison should have a bachelor’s degree in marketing, business administration, management or sales. These programs teach the foundations of operating a business, promoting and marketing services, and the underlying principles of sales and selling. Courses in these programs range from organizational behavior, micro- and macroeconomics, management, accounting, marketing and sales, marketing metrics and research, business strategy and innovation, promotion and communication, business sales and sales management. A physician liaison should also have experience in health care sales.

Physician liaisons should have exceptional interpersonal communication skills. They must be comfortable speaking in front of large and small groups of people, and they should be able to work with a range of medical professionals, from physicians and surgeons to physician assistants, nurses and medical office staff. They also need to be able to relay large amounts of medical knowledge, as it pertains to their hospital or health system's services, treatment offerings and equipment. A physician liaison must also have strong writing skills, as they will need to share reports with their supervisors on their daily activities and the results of their referral efforts.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, a physician liaison, which is one of several jobs in the medical service management field, earns an average median salary of $88,580. Earnings are dependent on geographic location and the size of the health system. Those that work in medical or surgical hospitals can earn up to $104,680 annually.

Medical and health services managers earned a median annual salary of $96,540 in 2016, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. On the low end, medical and health services managers earned a 25th percentile salary of $73,710, meaning 75 percent earned more than this amount. The 75th percentile salary is $127,030, meaning 25 percent earn more. In 2016, 352,200 people were employed in the U.S. as medical and health services managers.