Each week we email a tip or news that we are covering in Strategic Health Care Marketing. You can view the archives of this weekly ezine below.
The United States has experienced hundreds of thousands of confirmed COVID-19 cases and over 100,000 deaths. On the economic side, millions have been furloughed or have lost their jobs. And, sadly, “we are not anywhere near done yet,” notes David Marlowe. Here’s an excerpt from Marlowe’s new article: The health care system has been hit Read More
From Girl Scouts donating cookies they couldn’t sell, to chaplains bringing lollipops to nursing stations, to colleagues making posters and shout-outs to frontline staff, coronavirus isn’t spreading only an illness, but kindness and cheer as well. As hospitals and health care organizations seek much-needed personal protective equipment for staff, communities are responding by donating comfort Read More
Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, U.S. health care facilities face a tsunami of rapid-fire change. Hospital marketing leaders, historically charged with promoting signature service lines, are rapidly transforming their role and their tactics to meet this unprecedented challenge. Providence Regional Medical Center in Everett, Washington, cared for the first confirmed COVID-19 patient in the U.S. on Read More
“In ordinary times, we are a nation of people with high levels of anxiety,” says Howard Gershon, a founding principal of New Heights Group and a member of the SHCM Editorial Advisory Board. But “[i]n times of a pandemic such as we are experiencing now with the ongoing fear of the deadly coronavirus, anxiety and Read More
In the midst of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, health care organizations around the U.S. are focused on safeguarding the health of people living in their communities. At Boston Children’s in Massachusetts, the pediatric teaching hospital for Harvard Medical School, caring for the health of families in the greater Boston area has long been a priority. Read More
Crisis management is a standard part of hospital communication preparedness, but who could ever have anticipated the coronavirus pandemic? How do you communicate to your community and patients about a pandemic when nobody anywhere has all the answers? Yale New Haven Health clinicians and ancillary staff quickly came together, launching a call center to handle Read More
Well before cases of COVID-19 began to spike in the U.S., health care organizations were watching the response to the pandemic unfold worldwide and preparing for the worst-case scenario. Communications to myriad stakeholders have been and are being created, coordinated, and standardized across multiple channels. Accurate, up-to-date information is essential for all of us. To Read More
“Health care has lagged behind other areas such as financial services or retail in the use of technology to provide a single, consistent customer experience,” says Alexandra Morehouse, chief marketing officer at Banner Health, a nonprofit health system based in Phoenix, Arizona that operates 28 hospitals and several specialized facilities across six states. Morehouse’s background Read More
Health care spending for older adults is disproportionately higher than for other age groups. According to 2016 research from the Kaiser Family Foundation, the 65 and older group — 16 percent of the population — consumes 36 percent of health spending. The cost of care for older adults is higher, but reimbursements are lower. “It Read More
A Strategic Health Care Marketing webinar on demand for health care marketers and digital strategists
Originally presented March 24, 2020.
Your Presenters:
Investing in a physician engagement program may achieve better ROI than traditional consumer-facing mass media marketing efforts. In our new article, John Gonda, senior healthcare account manager at ddm communications & marketing, explains why. Here’s an excerpt: Physician burnout is on the rise. Across the country, the ability of doctors to practice medicine and care Read More
With the shift toward value-based care and the assumption of risk, many health care organizations are beginning to understand that they must address behavioral health in conjunction with physical care for patients. In our new story, Howard Gershon, a founding principal of New Heights Group, discusses the business case. Here’s an excerpt. Behavioral health issues Read More
One of the keys to success in preparation for value-based health reimbursement models is the use of technology to identify opportunities to close gaps in service, improve cost-effectiveness of treatments, improve outcomes, and enhance preventive care services. In Missouri, three Federally Qualified Health Centers serving more than 53 counties and 107,000 patients in mostly rural Read More
Whether you’re at the pinnacle of your career or working your way up, the value of meeting with your peers and heroes face to face cannot be overstated. Twenty-five years ago, Judy Neiman founded what is now called the Healthcare Marketing & Physician Strategies Summit (the Summit). She had the foresight back then to see Read More
In 2014, Edward-Elmhurst Health, a newly merged two-hospital system in the Chicago suburbs, wanted to find a way to differentiate itself from the dozens of other hospitals in the area. “We are in a very crowded health care market. We knew it would be a challenge to break through all that clutter,” says Sheri Scott, Read More
When you have a great story to tell, you need great storytellers. Skip Hidlay came on board as senior vice president, chief communications and marketing officer, at the University of Chicago Medicine in 2016. His 30 years in journalism prior to making the transition to health care has served both organizations well. Hidlay was one Read More
“Value-based care models are on the rise, and health care providers and payers are increasingly aligning to control costs while providing quality care,” says Jordan Pisarcik, vice president of growth and customer engagement at DocASAP. Here’s an excerpt from Pisarcik’s new article: According to a recent report by Humana, value-based care initiatives are proving to Read More
Does your contact center delight patients and uphold the promise your health care organization makes to them? Or is it a pain point with long wait times, less than empathetic associates, and questions not answered? Kristen Bishop, associate director at Brandtrust, a Chicago-based market research and branding strategy firm, recently discussed strategies to improve the Read More
Quality and star ratings matter, according to Healthgrades: Patients treated at hospitals receiving a 5-star rating have a 49 percent lower risk of dying, and a 59 percent lower risk of experiencing one or more complications during a hospital stay than if they were treated at hospitals receiving a 1-star rating in that procedure or Read More
“As health marketing strategists, we find ourselves on a frantic pace to reinvent,” says Linda MacCracken, a senior principal at Accenture and SHCM board member. “The new mantra for 2020 is to find, reach, and engage a higher purpose — that of unleashing trapped value. “Trapped value is the common challenge where digital and related Read More
“If you didn’t know the whole story, you’d think last October 20 was a less-than-glorious Sunday in Seattle,” writes SHCM contributor Peter Hochstein. “It was a football day, of course, and the Seattle Seahawks lost to the Baltimore Ravens 30-16. But for two local hospitals, Virginia Mason Health System, with about 600 licensed beds, and Read More
“Not that many years ago, you would commonly find ‘senior services’ programs in almost every hospital across the country,” says Daniel Fell, a senior strategist at Optum. “But somewhere along the way, despite the demographic trends confronting the health care industry that clearly point to a seismic shift among the health care population — mainly Read More
Hospital marketers have to be active on social media and online review sites, right? We know the answer is ‘yes,’ but who is it for and how do you do it well? A recent national consumer survey conducted by Wax Custom Communications showed surprising results about who follows social media channels and to what extent Read More
If you’re a big, distributed health network with multiple locations and thousands of employees, how do you make sure your employees keep you top of mind when they’re out in the community? “We’re a large 10-hospital network — soon to be 12 — with over 15,500 employees,” says Mary Beth Golab, director of internal communications Read More
“You can do terrible things to a puppet for popular amusement that aren’t funny when they happen to real people,” says veteran copywriter and SHCM contributor Peter Hochstein. “You can make him horribly ill. You can afflict him with a swarm of bees. You can break off his leg, or worse. Almost no matter what Read More