Health Care Brand Management: Overcoming Branding Challenges Unique to ACOs

Andrea J. Simon, Ph.D., President of Simon Associates Management Consultants

“As physicians are evaluating whether to participate in Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs), they are facing a new reality, one that demands they change their practice processes, reduce health care utilization, and improve wellness for the patients they care for,” says Andrea J. Simon, Ph.D., President of Simon Associates Management Consultants.

“They must now refer to new specialists, coordinate their patients’ care, and use data and information systems in a new, more integrated way.”

Consumers, too, face a new reality when their physicians are part of an ACO, Simon notes: “[T]hey might be aware that their physicians now have a Medical Home and maybe want them to be part of a chronic care program, but they aren’t sure what that means for them. Neither are they clear about the new network of specialists their doctors want them to use to coordinate their care. Might they…also need a new, emotionally comforting, clearly understandable brand? Resoundingly, yes.”

Simon feels this situation requires not just one branding strategy, but two: “[O]ne strategy to build the trust needed among physicians and staff operating within an ACO, and then a second brand for consumers, patients, and communities trying to evaluate different ACOs.”

For more on managing this delicate balancing act, including a case study of Dignity Health in Arizona, read the full article now: How to Turn Accountable Care Organizations Into “Hot Brands”

Best regards,
Matt Humphrey
President