Four Questions to Ask Before Using AI-Generated Content in Health Care

// By Rachael Sauceman // You get into work, grab your coffee, boot up your computer, and look at your to-do list for the day. The one and only thing you’ve left for yourself on the to-do list is the thing you’ve been putting off for days — weeks even: Write that blog on the dangers of high blood pressure. Now instead, imagine that your process looks like this: You open a browser and go to your favorite AI platform, like the buzzy ChatGPT, which has recently become a media sensation, leading to a multibillion-dollar investment from Microsoft. You type in a series of questions for ChatGPT to answer:

Does Your Health System’s Referral Management Process Need an Overhaul?

For complex health systems with numerous specialties and subspecialties, referrals are their lifeblood — particularly referrals from external providers. Texas Children’s Hospital (TCH), a specialty pediatric hospital, was having difficulty keeping track of referrals. There wasn’t a standard process for sending and receiving referrals or tracking them once they were received, usually by fax, and Read More

HMPS 2023: Join the Crowd in Austin, April 17-19

// By Jane Weber Brubaker // If you’re ready to roll up your sleeves, unwind, and soak up some inspiration for your biggest challenges, the 2023 Healthcare Marketing & Physician Strategies Summit (HMPS23) is tailor-made for you. This year’s conference reflects input from a wide range of professionals who helped shape each of the six content tracks. As a result, the program reflects the “voice of the customer,” with sessions that speak directly to the areas of greatest need.

UAMS Leverages Email Marketing to Drive Engagement with Referring Physicians

Marketing is all about understanding the needs of your market and finding ways to show how your product or service is the best solution for meeting those needs. As marketers, you know that part of your challenge is keeping your solution top of mind when people are in the consideration phase. If your service is Read More

Want More Referrals? Build a Better Provider Experience

// By Jane Weber Brubaker // For complex health systems with numerous specialties and subspecialties, referrals are their lifeblood — particularly referrals from external providers. Texas Children’s Hospital (TCH), a specialty pediatric hospital, was having difficulty keeping track of referrals. There wasn’t a standard process for sending and receiving referrals or tracking them once they were received, usually by fax, and sent to individual departments. The number-one complaint from referring physicians was that they had to resubmit them multiple times. Feedback included statements like:

How to Take Control of the Health Care Cost Narrative

As health care costs in the U.S. continue to rise, hospitals haven taken a disproportionate share of the blame in the media. While they bear some responsibility, current news coverage pins most of the blame on them. So how can your health system take control of the health care cost narrative? The cost of health Read More

How UAMS Stays in Touch with Referring Providers

// By Jane Weber Brubaker // Marketing is all about understanding the needs of your market and finding ways to show how your product or service is the best solution for meeting those needs. As marketers, you know that part of your challenge is keeping your solution top of mind when people are in the consideration phase. If your service is not visible, chances are you won’t be considered.

What to Expect From WebMD’s Acquisition of Mercury Healthcare

When WebMD announced its acquisition of Mercury Healthcare in June 2022, the press release focused on patient engagement solutions. The headline reads “WebMD Health Corp. Acquires Mercury Healthcare, Building on Leadership in Patient Engagement Solutions.” But we learned that WebMD’s strategic vision is broader, also encompassing provider engagement. In a video explaining the vision, Ann Read More

Changing the Conversation: North Carolina Healthcare Association Counters the Blame Debate on the High Cost of Care in the U.S.

// By John Marzano // Health care costs in the U.S. continue to rise. Who’s responsible? There are many contributors, but hospitals are taking a disproportionate share of the blame in the media. While they bear some responsibility, current news coverage pins most of the blame on them. How can health systems take charge of the narrative?

Revive Special Report: The Value Attack

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The time is now to defend your hospital or health system from the trend that Revive calls the value attack: a false narrative that detracts from the tangible value your organization provides to your community.

Even if your system hasn’t been criticized aloud, your reputation is suffering. Consumers, politicians, and the media are watching healthcare with a skeptical eye as costs rise and care becomes less accessible. We conducted research with 1,200 consumers to understand what consumers think about hospitals, health systems, and their priorities, and our findings uncovered insights that your organization needs to change the narrative with actionable steps to weather the storm.

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Physician Relations Management Platform Offers Faster Business Intelligence and Increased Revenue

If your organization is investing in highly compensated specialists to grow your service lines and provide needed care for patients, you want those physicians to be as productive as possible as soon as possible, and you want them to be the first choice of referring physicians. Doctivity, a novel physician relations management (PRM) platform using Read More

WebMD and Mercury Healthcare: What the Acquisition Means for Physician Strategies

// By Jane Weber Brubaker // When WebMD announced its acquisition of Mercury Healthcare in June 2022, the press release focused on patient engagement solutions. The headline reads “WebMD Health Corp. Acquires Mercury Healthcare, Building on Leadership in Patient Engagement Solutions.” But we learned that WebMD’s strategic vision is broader, also encompassing provider engagement. In a video explaining the vision, Ann Bilyew, general manager and senior vice president of WebMD Provider Services, states that physician referral management “is similar to the patient journey in that it is about understanding each individual physician’s unique preferences and learning how to reach them in the key moments of care.”

Physician Relations Management and Market Analytics Platform Accelerates Strategic Business Plans and Drives Growth

// By Jane Weber Brubaker // If your organization is investing in highly compensated specialists to grow your service lines and provide needed care for patients, you want those physicians to be as productive as possible as soon as possible, and you want them to be the first choice of referring physicians. Doctivity, a novel physician relations management (PRM) platform using proprietary algorithms, which launched in March 2022, is making it easier to achieve these critical goals.

How Walmart and SCAN Group Aim to Fill Health Care Gaps in Underserved Communities

Which is better — Medicare Fee-for-Service (FFS) or Medicare Advantage (MA)? Sachin Jain, MD, MBA, president and CEO of SCAN Group & Health Plan, doesn’t think it’s the right question. “We all know we have a broken health care system, and we have to try in our own ways to make it better,” he says. Read More

How Data Modeling Can Improve Your Health Care Marketing Strategy

Sometimes, the best input on health care marketing comes from an outside party. In a new article, George Danner, chief data scientist at Endeavor Management, offers a fresh insight on how data modeling can help improve the health care marketing process. He puts it like this: “I am not a marketer, but I have listened Read More

Maybe It’s Not Marketing’s Fault

// By George Danner // I am not a marketer, but I have listened to conversations among our marketing team members and their clients about the difficulty of the marketing role in health care. When patient volumes and/or market share are down, the organization’s reflex is to push a single lever — marketing — in hopes of re-establishing normal business activity that the system depends upon for survival. “If we had more billboards…” “Competitor X is marketing more than we are…”

6 Key Strategies for Health Care Marketing Success in 2023

Health care marketing has entered a new “era of change,” according to Amalia Stanton, senior vice president and chief strategic communications & marketing officer at Memorial Hermann Health System. It has been 34 months since the COVID-19 pandemic uprooted our lives and altered the way we work — perhaps forever. This time period has been Read More

Making Health Care Better for Underserved Communities: Viewpoints from HLTH 2022

// By Jane Weber Brubaker // Which is better — Medicare Fee-for-Service (FFS) or Medicare Advantage (MA)? Sachin Jain, MD, MBA, president and CEO of SCAN Group & Health Plan, doesn’t think it’s the right question. “We all know we have a broken health care system, and we have to try in our own ways to make it better,” he says. Jain was joined by Cheryl Pegus, MD, MPH, executive vice president of Health & Wellness at Walmart, in a session at HLTH 2022 in November, “Removing the Filter from the Business of Healthcare.” The panel discussion was moderated by Matthew Holt, founder/author of The Health Care Blog.

Moffitt Cancer Center Partners With Corporations in Effort to Address Health Disparities in Underserved Communities

Although cancer affects all populations in the United States, because of various social, environmental, and economic factors, some groups bear a disproportionate burden of the disease than others. For example, Black men are twice as likely to die from prostate cancer than non-Hispanic White men. In addition, Hispanic women are 40 percent more likely to Read More

Era of Change for Health Care Marketing: 6 Key Strategies for Future Success

// By Amalia Stanton // It has been 34 months since the COVID-19 pandemic uprooted our lives and altered the way we work — perhaps forever. This time period has been like no other for individuals working in the health care field, including the marketing and communications professionals who play a critical role in supporting operations, strategy, and the overall success of a health delivery organization. Similarly changed, consumers became less loyal to their health care brands, had higher expectations for ease of access and shorter wait times, and became increasingly less patient and forgiving.

Moffitt Cancer Center’s Health Equity Program Gives Business Opportunity to Improve Health of Local Communities

// By Althea Fung // Although cancer affects all populations in the United States, because of various social, environmental, and economic factors, some groups bear a disproportionate burden of the disease than others. For example, Black men are twice as likely to die from prostate cancer than non-Hispanic White men. In addition, Hispanic women are 40 percent more likely to be diagnosed with cervical cancer and 30 percent more likely to die from the disease than non-Hispanic White women. Over the years, many organizations have tried to implement programs and interventions to address health inequities in cancer care and other clinical areas. But many programs have fallen short due to various factors, including funding.

Physician Relations: Increasing Referrals and Driving Growth

Connections between hospitals and doctors working outside the hospital aren’t as strong as they used to be. “So many organizations have realized we have completely lost touch with our primary care physicians,” says Kriss Barlow, RN, MBA, principal at Barlow McCarthy. “They don’t come to the hospital, they use hospitalists.” The pandemic has added to Read More

The Role of Physician Relations in Driving Growth

// By Jane Weber Brubaker // Connections between hospitals and doctors working outside the hospital aren’t as strong as they used to be. “So many organizations have realized we have completely lost touch with our primary care physicians,” says Kriss Barlow, RN, MBA, principal at Barlow McCarthy. “They don’t come to the hospital, they use hospitalists.” The pandemic has added to the challenges. “Everything changed with COVID,” she says. “Now, if a liaison sees the same office person two visits in a row, it’s a surprise, so you’re starting over with relationship building, even to get in.”

Health Care Trends That Dominated 2022 and What to Expect in the New Year

“As 2022 draws to a close, two issues have dominated industry talking points and sparked record-breaking investment in hundreds of specialty ventures: customer experience (CX) and digital health,” says Lindsay R. Resnick in a new article. “I hope my newfound perspective on these trends can serve as thought starters going into 2023. “This past year Read More

Options for Achieving the Strategic and Operational Imperatives of Call Centers

// By Yuriy Kotlyar // The explosion of digital health tools for communicating with patients can make call centers seem like yesterday’s news. Of course, experience shows health care marketing leaders the strategic value of a high-functioning, efficient call center. Many patients enjoy the conveniences of digital communication tools — self-scheduling, receiving test results and appointment reminders, researching specialists — when those tools can solve their problem. But even digitally savvy patients often need human assistance. They need help navigating the widening array of care options. They also need answers to myriad questions about their financial responsibility, insurance coverage, pre-authorizations, and other complex issues.