An Interview with William Maples, M.D. // By Lisa D. Ellis // How satisfied are your patients with the care they receive in your facility? Your answer may be based on the latest HCAHPS (Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems) data, which provides an important way to track key measures from the patient Read More
Notable Health Care Advertising // By Peter Hochstein // This story is a departure from what you usually find in this space. It’s about television advertising for the services of a single practitioner, not a group practice or hospital. It’s also about a rare occurrence—real knee-slapping humor in a spot supporting treatment for a medical Read More
// By Lisa D. Ellis // If you had a suspicious mole or rash on your leg, what if you could have it evaluated by a dermatologist tomorrow without having to miss any work or activities and could find out quickly whether the area is cause for concern? You’d probably find this approach invaluable. And Read More
// By Andrea J. Simon, Ph.D. // A colleague called me not long ago to discuss his dilemma. He had the opportunity to join an ACO (Accountable Care Organization) and was perplexed, to say the least. He is a smart guy, but the options before him were overwhelming: Should he look for a hospital-based ACO? Read More
“The concept of measuring the metrics associated with health care marketing and communications efforts is far from new,” notes David Marlowe, Principal of Strategic Marketing Concepts in Ellicott City, Maryland (and member of the Strategic Health Care Marketing Editorial Advisory Board). “When I entered the field in 1980, one of the first questions asked by Read More
// By Bill Tourlas // Historically, consumers have played a relatively limited role in their health care decisions, especially as it relates to selecting an insurance plan. People had little concern for price or health plan comparison since employers dominated consumer choice, paying most, if not all, of the premium and typically offering employees plans Read More
Flip through the channels of your television set any evening and chances are you’ll stumble across an episode of a reality TV series that was filmed in a hospital emergency department. Over the past few years, such “real” medical TV that presents traumas as they unfold has grown in popularity among viewers, and some organizations Read More
“As a health care marketer or leader, you know your health care system doesn’t specialize in everything,” Keith Schneider notes. “By pairing the needs of your market with your unique differentiators, your team has chosen its investments wisely. “This intelligent approach allows you to focus on excellence. Yet you might be surprised that, despite service Read More
“As the Affordable Care Act continues to alter the profile of health care in America, hospitals are challenged to meet the objectives of the Triple Aim and offer access, quality, and affordability in their care delivery even while reimbursement continues to be ratcheted back,” says Dennis Knox, Chief Executive Officer of Aethena Healthcare Holding Company. Read More
Notable Health Care Advertising // By Peter Hochstein // As the health sciences have advanced, pressure to see more patients in less time has also grown. Little wonder that doctor-patient relationships often seem less personal—and consequently less satisfying—than they once were. It was just this kind of society-wide malaise that provided a branding opportunity for Read More
// By Lisa Ellis // Flip through the channels of your television set any evening and chances are you’ll stumble across an episode of a reality TV series that was filmed in a hospital emergency department. Over the past few years, such “real” medical TV that presents traumas as they unfold has grown in popularity Read More
// By David Marlowe // Albert Einstein is famously quoted as saying “everything that can be counted does not necessarily count and everything that counts cannot necessarily be counted”—probably an apt philosophy for the challenges facing marketers in health care provider settings relative to the area of “metrics.” These days we often refer to these Read More
// By Keith Schneider // As a health care marketer or leader, you know your health care system doesn’t specialize in everything. By pairing the needs of your market with your unique differentiators, your team has chosen its investments wisely. This intelligent approach allows you to focus on excellence. Yet you might be surprised that, Read More
It’s common today for people to buy their food and clothing online, and to arrange their travel reservations through web-based services. Now many health systems also allow patients to view and pay their health care bills online. In addition to increasing patient satisfaction with this offering, health care systems can also save valuable staff time Read More
// By Ross K. Goldberg // It has been said that all motion is relative. If that is indeed true, then it’s entirely possible to go backward by simply standing still if the world around you is changing. Over the past half-dozen years, those entrusted with health care communications have pushed forward by focusing a Read More
Placing your service lines, retail clinics, and outpatient facilities in optimal locations may mean the difference between success and failure in today’s competitive marketplace. These days, it’s no longer enough to make decisions about where to locate new offerings based on available sites or what an organization “thinks” might work. Rather, the savviest organizations are Read More
“Until recently, health care businesses often did little or no marketing as a general rule,” says Ken Robbins, CEO of award-winning digital agency Response Mine Interactive (RMI). “Now, we are experiencing a seismic shift to the point where online marketing such as paid and organic search have helped it become a clear and distinctive focus in health care. Read More
Notable Health Care Advertising // By Peter Hochstein // In most other markets, the Floating Hospital for Children at Tufts Medical Center would be in the catbird seat. The 94-bed hospital is part of a larger teaching hospital. It’s connected to a prestigious medical school. And it has won its fair share of awards and Read More
// By Lisa Ellis // It’s common today for people to buy their food and clothing online, and to arrange their travel reservations through web-based services. Now many health systems also allow patients to view and pay their health care bills online. But this process can be complicated if it isn’t managed well, and can Read More
// By Dirk G. Schroeder, ScD, MPH // Nowadays, when I travel for a conference or meeting, I don’t rent a car, preferring just to jump in an “Uber.” I often end up with a Hispanic driver and use the ride to conduct an informal, in-depth interview about the U.S. health care system. This can Read More
When new CEO David Feinberg, M.D., arrived at Geisinger Health System in May 2015, he saw a large system with a great reputation for medical innovation and outcomes. “But its reputation among its patients based on their hospital experiences? Not so great,” says copywriter and regular SHCM contributor Peter Hochstein. Hochstein notes that the hospital regularly surveys employees, patients, Read More
// By Lisa Ellis // Placing your service lines, retail clinics, and outpatient facilities in optimal locations may mean the difference between success and failure in today’s competitive marketplace. These days, it’s no longer enough to make decisions about where to locate new offerings based on available sites or what an organization “thinks” might work. Read More
In the wake of the Orlando tragedy, it’s more important than ever for health care organizations to keep their messages all-inclusive. Here’s how. // By Sara Tack // Hospitals and health systems are responsible for taking care of anyone and everyone regardless of race, religion, gender orientation, or age. That’s the nature of health care: Read More
“Health care advertising often falls short of representing the various populations that hospitals and health systems serve,” says Sara Tack. “We are inclusive to a point, covering our diversity bases by featuring ads with Caucasians, African Americans, Hispanics, and Asians. Sometimes, these images come across as pandering or obvious tokenism to the point where the Read More
It used to be that if you built a good health system, people would come. But in today’s hectic world, many organizations find it necessary to extend their services to places their patients frequent instead. In fact, these days, organizations providing the highest-quality care are a given, but how that care is delivered—and where—have become the Read More