The Office of Physician Relations
Phone 713.792.2202; 800.252.0502
Fax 713.794.4685
http://www.mdanderson.org/departments/physicianrel

For more than a decade, the Office of Physician Relations has facilitated relationships between M. D. Anderson Cancer Center faculty and staff and community physicians. Our mission includes creating opportunities for mutually beneficial interactions by providing comprehensive information about the faculty, staff, and unique clinical programs, services, and procedures available at M. D. Anderson Cancer Center. At the core of the program are excellent customer service, knowledgeable referral assistance and coordinated continuing medical education programming in the community. Community physician feedback is encouraged and has led to improvements in M. D. Anderson processes and systems that support patient and physician access to the Cancer Center.

At Your Service
Our staff of Medical and Administrative Personnel provide customer service via email or telephone, Monday through Friday from 8 am to 5 pm.

Lewis Foxhall, MD	Co-Medical Director
Richard Babaian, MD	Co-Medical Director
Lyle Green, MBA	Assistant Vice President for Referral Development
Melanie Levine, MBA	Manager, Physician and Referral Relations
Alex Sandoval, MS	Manager, Physician Relations Programs and Systems
Doreen Brandenberger	Office Manager
Chyi Chou, MHA, RN	Senior Physician Relations Specialist
Lori Lund	Senior Physician Relations Coordinator
Lori Scott	Physician Relations Coordinator
Michele Ortiz	Physician Relations Coordinator
Micheline Abboud	Physician Relations Coordinator
Diane Birkner	Physician Relations Coordinator-Pediatrics
Yvonne Bazunu	Physician Relations Staff Assistant
Jessica Walters	Physician Relations Education Coordinator

Physician Relations Coordinator Program: Bringing Our Services to Your Office
The Office of Physician Relations employs a team of Physician Relations Coordinators who visit referring physicians and their office staff in the convenience of their offices in Texas and western Louisiana (see map). We are pleased to add a Pediatric Physician Relations Coordinator to our team this year. These individuals provide information aimed at raising community physician awareness about M. D. Anderson’s specialized services, clinical trials, and continuing medical education (CME) opportunities. They also assist community physicians with resolution of problems concerning patient referral and follow-up communications.

An office-based Physician Relations Specialist with a nursing background in research and clinical oncology extends the core functions of the Physician Relations team to physicians outside the state of Texas. Physicians who are interested in referring patients to one of the more than 800 clinical trials at M. D. Anderson may contact the Physician Relations Specialist directly to obtain information and assistance in determining if a patient may be eligible for referral to one of the available trials.

The Physician Relations Coordinators provide community physicians with a mechanism to communicate concerns and address immediate needs for information and assistance. They offer a personalized level of customer service to M. D. Anderson’s referring physicians and their office staff. The Physician Relations Specialist triages requests for additional information on clinical trials and provides support for resolving problems with the referral and communications processes.

Medical Society Meetings
The Office of Physician Relations coordinates the M. D. Anderson exhibit at annual medical and oncology-related conferences. If you are planning to attend these meetings, we encourage you to visit the M. D. Anderson exhibit for the opportunity to meet faculty and staff. M. D. Anderson usually exhibits at the annual meetings of the following organizations:

American Association of Pediatricians	October
American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists	May
American College of Surgeons	October
American Society of Clinical Oncologists	May
American Society of Hematologists	December
American Society of Therapeutic Radiation Oncologists	October
Society of Surgical Oncologists	March
Texas Academy of Family Physicians	August
Texas Academy of Internal Medicine	November
Texas Medical Association	May

Faculty Speakers Bureau
The Faculty Speakers Bureau provides a mechanism to promote education and relationship building between the M. D. Anderson faculty members and community physicians. The program offers hospitals and physician groups a resource for oncology-related presentations with continuing medical education (CME) accreditation. Relationships have been established with CME Coordinators of local and regional hospitals in order to understand the specific educational needs and interests of the community hospital’s medical staff. The Physician Relations Education Coordinator obtains data for CME accreditation, provides topics and needs assessments to the appropriate CME Office, and attends most presentations.

Referring Physician Satisfaction Survey
The Office of Physician Relations conducts an ongoing, formal survey process to assess referring physician satisfaction with M. D. Anderson services. The survey is intended to request feedback from our referring physicians in order to gain a better understanding of the specific needs and expectations they have with respect to their relationship with the institution. Your feedback is provided to each of M. D. Anderson’s Clinical Care Centers in summary form to facilitate referral and communications process improvement activities.

We are continually looking for ways to enhance our relationships with referring physicians by working to meet and exceed your expectations regarding the referral of your patients to M. D. Anderson. We use the results of the survey process as a tool that inspires positive changes. Your continued willingness to complete and return each of the satisfaction surveys that you receive is greatly appreciated.