REPORT OF BOARD OF TRUSTEES
BOT Report 7-A-07
Subject: TMA Knowledge Center
Presented by: C. Bruce Malone, MD, Chair
The primary purpose of the TMA Knowledge Center is to accurately and quickly answer TMA members' questions about non-clinical issues related to the practice management, TMA membership, benefits and services, and TMA programs and events.
Knowledge Center Goals:
- TMA members obtain accurate, timely, concise, and complete answers to their non-clinical questions and clinical questions.
- Other TMA employees spend significantly less time answering members' questions.
- Texas physicians perceive increased value in their TMA membership.
- Mission-critical information is well-organized and easy for TMA staff to access.
- Effectively track member inquiries to better tailor programs and services to their needs.
Three knowledge center information specialists answer more than 14,000 inquiries per year from physicians, their office staffs, and the general public. The majority of those inquiries have come via telephone (approximately 250 inquiries come via e-mail per month). In 2006, the top three categories of member inquiries were:
- legal and practice management questions- 40 percent,
- membership questions - 25 percent,
- meeting and seminar questions - 15 percent.
Knowledge center staff primarily served the following:
- TMA members - 42 percent,
- Staff of TMA members - 30 percent,
- Nonmember physicians, residents, or students - 10 percent,
- Community - 8 percent,
- TMA staff - 5 percent,
- CMS staff - 2 percent.
The knowledge center's information specialists also are responsible for fulfilling practice management publication orders and assisting with telephoned practice management seminar registrations:
- Publication orders/year - 2,200
- Seminar registrations/year - 800
The knowledge center's librarian provided the following research services:
- References - 900
- Bibliographies - 360
- Interlibrary loans - 360
- Articles - 2,500
Satisfaction surveys are conducted to ensure the knowledge center provides the highest level of service to members and their office staffs. Respondents are made up evenly between TMA members and their office staff. Of the 257 responses received, the response has been overwhelmingly positive:
- Friendly and Professional Greeting - 100 percent,
- Knowledgeable Answer - 100 percent,
- Exceptional Service - 85.4 percent,
- Good Service - 14.6 percent,
- Timely Delivery - 100 percent,
- Recommend Service to Others - 100 percent.
TMA House of Delegates: TexMed 2007
Last Updated On
July 07, 2010
Originally Published On
March 23, 2010