Health Care Consumerism

How Effective Is Your Provider Information Management Platform?

// 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

BayCare Health’s Vision: Evidence-Based Design for Care Delivery

Jane Weber Brubaker

// 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

High-Tech Care Delivery Plus High-Touch Human Interaction

Ed Rafalski, senior vice president and chief strategy and marketing officer at BayCare Health System

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 cultural challenges, the pain points on Read More

Consumerism: 9 Factors Reshaping the Health Care Landscape

“Health consumerism continues to revolutionize the health care industry,” says Ken Robbins, founder and president of Response Mine Interactive (RMI). “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 Read More

Health Consumerism — 9 Trends to Watch

// 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

Why Effective Management of the Patient Journey Is Essential

Rich Phillips CEO and co-founder of Customer Evolution

“The U.S. health care industry is undergoing tremendous change — some might say disruption,” says Rich Phillips, CEO and co-founder of Customer Evolution. “This is driven by multiple factors, including rising consumer expectations, the significant cost of care noncompliance, and the emergence of nontraditional competitors.” In his new article, Phillips explains why health care marketers Read More

Making the Shift from Journey Mapping to Journey Management to Improve Patient Experience and Health Outcomes

Rich Phillips CEO and co-founder of Customer Evolution

// By Rich Phillips // The U.S. health care industry is undergoing tremendous change — some might say disruption. This is driven by multiple factors, including rising consumer expectations, the significant cost of care noncompliance, and the emergence of nontraditional competitors. To thrive within this tumultuous environment, health systems are increasingly focused on two important Read More

What Do Consumers Want From Your Health Care Organization?

Dan Clarin, senior vice president of Kaufman, Hall & Associates

Want to increase your health care organization’s market share? Think like a consumer. That’s the advice of Dan Clarin, CFA, senior vice president of Kaufman, Hall & Associates, a health care consulting, software, and data company. Improving access to care, aligning price with value, and providing better patient experience are key to increasing market share, Read More

Think Like a Health Care Consumer to Increase Market Share

Wendy Stark Healy

// By Wendy Stark Healy // Want to increase your health care organization’s market share? Think like a consumer. That’s the advice of Dan Clarin, CFA, senior vice president of Kaufman, Hall & Associates, a health care consulting, software, and data company. Improving access to care, aligning price with value, and providing better patient experience Read More

Book Takes a Positive View of Health Care Achievements

Michael J. Dowling, president and CEO of Northwell Health

There are many reasons to write a book, but Michael J. Dowling, president and CEO of Northwell Health, identifies the need for an objective look at health care that takes positive achievements into account as well as challenges as his reason for co-authoring Health Care Reboot: Megatrends Energizing American Medicine. “I was growing increasingly frustrated Read More

Hybrid Model Combines the Best of Emergency Care and Urgent Care

Jane Weber Brubaker

If your health system is in a geographic region experiencing rapid growth, it makes sense to capitalize on that trend and expand right along with the population. Hamilton County, a suburb of Indianapolis, is “growing by leaps and bounds,” according to Seth Warren, president and CEO of Riverview Health. Riverview Health’s primary location in Noblesville Read More

Riverview Health Expands with Freestanding ER & Urgent Care Facilities

Jane Weber Brubaker

// By Jane Weber Brubaker // If your health system is in a geographic region experiencing rapid growth, it makes sense to capitalize on that trend and expand right along with the population. Hamilton County, a suburb of Indianapolis, is “growing by leaps and bounds,” according to Seth Warren, president and CEO of Riverview Health. Read More

Be Our Guest: The Importance of a Stellar Patient Experience

Kim Mott, marketing and customer service manager for Florida Orthopaedic Institute

The last time you went on vacation, you probably enjoyed five-star treatment from the staff at the hotels and restaurants you visited. But while customer service is paramount when it comes to dining and accommodations, most health care systems don’t think to treat their patients like valued guests. The danger is that if you’re not Read More

Five-Star Service: Treat Your Patients Like Valued Guests, or Else

Kim Mott, marketing and customer service manager for Florida Orthopaedic Institute

// By Lisa D. Ellis // The last time you went on vacation, you probably enjoyed five-star treatment from the staff at the hotels and restaurants you visited. But while customer service is paramount when it comes to dining and accommodations, most health care systems don’t think to treat their patients like valued guests. The Read More

5 Key Dynamics for Health Care Marketers in 2019

Linda MacCracken, senior principal at Accenture

“In my ongoing conversations with industry leaders about what’s shifting in health care, five factors rose to the top of the list for 2019, as marketing moves to new dimensions, and closer to health system collaborative scaling of smart pilots.” In our new article, Linda MacCracken, senior principal, customer engagement at Accenture Health, and Strategic Read More

How To Market When Your Specialists Are Booked Out

David Marlowe, author of Marketing Plans That Work

In our new article, David Marlowe, principal, Strategic Marketing Concepts, and Strategic Health Care Marketing Editorial Advisory Board member, shares results from five recent nationwide studies he’s conducted of what consumers consider to be “reasonable” wait times for routine, non-urgent visits. Will this type of information give marketers the hard evidence they need to stand Read More

Position Your Health System for Success in 2019

Linda MacCracken, senior principal at Accenture

Five Key Market Dynamics for Marketers to Manage  // By Linda MacCracken // “In my ongoing conversations with industry leaders about what’s shifting in health care, five factors rose to the top of the list for 2019, as marketing moves to new dimensions, and closer to health system collaborative scaling of smart pilots.” In this Read More

Design Thinking: A Key Competency for Health Care Marketers

Michael Joyce, design specialist with Kaiser Permanente’s Innovation Consultancy

Health care marketers have much to gain by getting up to speed on the concept of design thinking. This approach is becoming increasingly valuable in helping organizations effectively meet patients’ needs and address an array of challenges. With more people living longer and needing to manage chronic conditions, and with the health care model shifting Read More

2019 Trend: Staying Relevant as Consumers Take Health Care into Their Own Hands

Russom-Braden-Smith-Jones; caption: Braden Russom, account planner, Smith & Jones

// By Braden Russom // What drives consumers to look for alternatives to traditional medical care? And how can health care marketers respond? Here, Braden Russom, account planner at Smith & Jones, shares some of the factors contributing to changes in consumer behavior, particularly among millennials, and recommends proactive marketing strategies to stay relevant. 2019 Read More

Ambulatory Pricing: Transform Your Pricing Strategy to Protect and Grow Market Share

Craig Ahrens, managing director, health solutions, Ankura

// By Craig Allan Ahrens and Sarah Hull // Hospital systems will be required to publish their chargemaster “list pricing” online by January 1, 2019, with the finalization of the Fiscal Year 2019 Medicare Hospital Inpatient Prospective Payment System (IPPS) and Long-Term Acute Care Hospital (LTCH) Prospective Payment System Final Rule (CMS-1694-F). Many states have Read More

Getting Emotional — In an Understated Way — Helps a Hospital with a Good, Strong Reputation Stand Up to Another Hospital with a Good, Strong Reputation

Peter Hochstein

How do you stand out in the crowd — especially when your #1 competitor is a world-famous brand? Pamela Maas, Gundersen’s chief business development and marketing officer, was able to overcome this challenge. “It seemed like so many systems in health care were looking and feeling exactly the same,” she says. “We recognized that brand positioning was really about building an emotional connection with consumers.” In Peter’s latest column, we’ll see how a new campaign triggered a deluge of fan mail — accolades from patients who had been touched by Gundersen staff members.

Cross-Cultural Messaging Can Improve Patient Satisfaction

Jill Mead

“With patient experience increasingly recognized as connected to a host of measures, including patient outcomes and your bottom line, it’s essential to reach all of your target populations with education and messaging that resonate with people’s cultural backgrounds and native languages,” says Jill Mead, in-house compliance counsel for full-service language solutions company Vocalink, Inc. “More Read More