// By Marcia Simon, APR // Boston Children’s Hospital and Atrium Health are among the pioneers of Alexa “skills,” similar to apps on a mobile device. Alexa’s HIPAA compliance has been a game changer, making it easier for users to quickly gain access to information they need. “Alexa, what is rotator cuff tendinitis?” “Alexa, where’s Read More
View from the C-Suite // By Sheryl S. Jackson // Health care leadership extends beyond the walls of the hospital into the halls of government for Nick Ragone. “Creating an open dialogue among legislators, state agencies, and health care organizations gives all of us a different perspective,” he says. Ragone was recently appointed to the Read More
// By Peter Hochstein // How brave do marketers have to be to use humor in a spot for pediatric emergency care that shows kids flirting with danger? Uh oh! Trouble in the backyard. On a steeply sloping patch of lawn, three girls who appear to be the right age for middle school have erected Read More
// By Ross K. Goldberg // Many of the people practicing health care public relations or marketing communications owe their educational roots to journalism school where they were taught, in no uncertain terms, that the elements of a good story are found in the five W’s. Who, what, where, when, and why became the Bible Read More
Here’s a new approach to hospital advertising that turns an old technique on its head. // By Peter Hochstein // It’s difficult to sift through hospital advertising month after month without regularly coming across some variation of the phrase “We care about you.” Little wonder. As hospital systems grow larger and busier, they also can Read More
A vision for population health through community partnerships and innovation // By Jane Weber Brubaker // Under Dr. Tony Slonim’s leadership, Renown Health has forged strong connections with the community, acting as a catalyst for change. “If you want to improve the health of your community, engage the people who are most likely to be Read More
Winners are betting on data-driven insights, personalized experiences, and relationships built on trust. // By Lindsay R. Resnick // With today’s constant stream of digital health tools, it’s never been easier or faster for customers to take charge. They’re following a path to care where they feel important and are treated well — and they’ll Read More
// By Althea Fung // The recent outbreak of measles puts the issue of vaccination front and center, especially for children’s hospitals. Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia has taken a leadership role in providing accurate, evidence-based information through its Vaccine Education Center. Measles cases are on the rise. All six regions of the World Health Organization Read More
// By Wendy Stark Healy // How well prepared are you to help your organization manage the aftermath of a mass shooting? Comprehensive preplanning and practice are critical to navigating a chaotic, evolving situation. Sadly, it’s not a question of if but when. In the wake of three shootings in Texas and Ohio in August Read More
Why Doesn’t It Work? // By Andrea Simon, PhD // Change is hard, and leadership style can either make it easier — or more difficult. When traditional change management processes try to fix the symptoms, not the disease, the result is friction, resistance, and company fatigue. In today’s highly competitive, technologically disrupted health care environment, Read More
Notable Health Care Advertising // By Peter Hochstein // “Hyperlocalization” may not be a real word. But NYU Langone has made it a real advertising thing. And it turns out to be an amusing, identifiable, and highly effective technique. There’s nothing new about hospitals giving their advertising a distinctly local flavor. We described one successful Read More
// By Althea Fung // Treating illness is important, but that is only a part of overall health. Social determinants of health (SDoH) — the conditions under which people are born, live, and work — are increasingly recognized as strong influences on health. Conditions like poverty, education level, and lack of social support contribute to Read More
How to think like a hacker to outsmart your competition // By Jessica Walker // Faced with competitors who may have bigger marketing budgets and more resources, many health care marketers feel powerless in the battle for market growth. Thinking like a hacker may help you outsmart the competition. Five proven hacks for market share Read More
// By Jared Johnson // With the ever-changing nature of health care and communications today, the need for career guidance and professional development is stronger than ever. Programs like Emerging + Evolving Leaders by the New England Society for Healthcare Communications (NESHCo) give professionals new opportunities to gain the skills, relationships, and self-awareness needed to Read More
// By Marcia Simon, APR // Most of Gundersen Health System’s patients live at least 25 miles from the main hospital campus in La Crosse, Wisconsin. For the benefit of both patients and physicians, Gundersen invested early in telemedicine. Suburban and rural patients perceived distance as a barrier to seeing a specialist, so Gundersen started Read More
Notable Health Care Advertising // By Peter Hochstein // Fighting words and images may be just the thing some hospitals need to break through the miasma of inattention. In an upcoming issue of this publication, a fellow contributor, James A. Gardner, will write about a campaign for the Canadian pediatric hospital, Sick Kids. The campaign Read More
// By Daniel Fell // The latest release of Monigle’s Humanizing Brand Experience report lays out a wealth of new information and insights into understanding what makes strong health care brands today, as well as challenges that health care leaders face in achieving higher levels of brand engagement and brand loyalty. The report itself is Read More
// By Tom White // Marketers charged with leading their health systems into the new era of consumerism understand the hard truth about regional markets: They are a zero-sum game. Every covered life gained is a win over the competition, and the stakes are high: CMS pegs healthcare spending per person at nearly $10,800 annually, Read More
// By Jane Weber Brubaker // Consumerism is driving all industries to innovate, and health care is no exception. The ideal state is a digitally enabled, frictionless consumer experience. But in a highly complex industry like health care that has traditionally operated with a command-and-control vs. consumer-centric mindset, it’s a massive change. Adding to the Read More
View from the C-Suite // By Althea Fung // The evening of January 11, 2018, Steve Long, president and CEO of Hancock Health and Hancock Regional Hospital, got a call he’s not likely to soon forget. “Our administrator on call had received a call from the lab. They said there is something wrong with our Read More
How Marketing Can Support Your Employer Brand // By Kathy Selker // Facing a nursing shortage projected to increase in coming years, hospitals need to know how to hire and retain top talent — and marketing has a key role in this critical objective. Health care needs in the U.S. are growing rapidly. Baby boomers Read More
// By Ken Robbins // Health consumerism continues to revolutionize the health care industry. The days when patients blindly followed their doctors’ recommendations — often without a single question asked — are long gone. Today, physicians and health care organizations face a much more engaged and empowered population. Patients are playing by a different set Read More
// By Wendy Stark Healy // Tysen Kendig, vice president of communications for the University of Connecticut, was recently hiring an assistant vice president for health marketing at UConn Health and noticed a much stronger applicant pool. Unlike past searches, he wasn’t getting a handful of good people mixed with marginally qualified applicants and those Read More
The Strategic Health Care Marketing Editorial Advisory Board is made up of leaders in the health care marketing field who are committed to shaping the future of the industry. They offer ongoing feedback on our editorial coverage, write occasional articles, and point us to developments and people SHCM members like you should know about. I am very pleased to announce that Edward M. Rafalski, Ph.D., MPH, FACHE, and Kathy Selker have joined this elite group.
What can radio deliver for hospital advertisers that other media can’t? It’s more than just another way to reach your target market. Notable Health Care Advertising // By Peter Hochstein // As often as not these days, radio advertising is an afterthought — part of the creative mix that gets done after someone has written Read More