price transparency

Keys to Effective Health System Service Line Planning for the Future

Amanda Trask, senior vice president, Clinical Institutes and Service Lines for CommonSpirit Health

// By Brian Griffin // CommonSpirit Health’s framework for successfully achieving clinically aligned service line growth. In the evolving health care landscape, developing successful service line strategies is more challenging than ever. Health systems are dealing with a range of issues and trends that affect the process, such as: Mounting financial pressures. Shifting payment models. Read More

“Fasten Your Seatbelts”: Health Care Trends to Watch Out For in 2024

Political, social, and marketplace trends crisscrossing the health care landscape going into 2024 present actionable strategic and operational challenges — and opportunities. Overall, the 2024 forecast for the health care sector is “fasten your seat belts.” Investments in technology adoption or replacement, labor costs, spending on infrastructure, and a volatile economy translate into higher insurance Read More

Health Care Trends 2024: Sector-by-Sector Watchlist

featured image hc trends

Political, social, and marketplace trends crisscrossing the health care landscape going into 2024 present actionable strategic and operational challenges — and opportunities. // By Lindsay Resnick, MHA // Overall, the 2024 forecast for the health care sector is “fasten your seat belts.” Investments in technology adoption or replacement, labor costs, spending on infrastructure, and a Read More

Hospital Billing Overhaul: Northern Light Health’s Reputation Rescue

Vince Galloro headshot

Hospital billing practices have a direct and significant impact on a health care system’s brand reputation. Take this first-hand account shared by Suzanne Spruce and Vince Galloro in a new article: “In August 2022, the Portland Press Herald — the paper with the highest circulation in the state of Maine — published a long article Read More

How to Manage the Reputation Risks of Hospital Billing

Headshot of Suzanne Spruce smiling. She has short blonde hair and is wearing a black blazer with a white shirt.

Focus on what you can control and create patient-friendly bill pay web pages with clear financial assistance information. // By Suzanne R. Spruce and Vince Galloro // In August 2022, the Portland Press Herald — the paper with the highest circulation in the state of Maine — published a long article on unexpected medical bills. Read More

Payviders Seek a Holistic Approach to Patient Well-Being

Wunderman Thompson

“In a health sector bombarded with labels such as InsurTech, HlthTech, FemTech, and AgeTech, it’s no surprise that confusion and mis-categorization run rampant,” says Lindsay Resnick, executive vice president of Wunderman Thompson Health. “And now there’s another category being promoted by consumer-centric health companies bringing a tightly integrated financial and clinical health care experience to Read More

Resurgence of the Payvider

Lindsay Resnick

// By Lindsay R. Resnick // A consumer-centric swimlane unites payers and providers around shared objectives. In a health sector bombarded with labels such as InsurTech, HlthTech, FemTech, and AgeTech, it’s no surprise that confusion and mis-categorization run rampant. And now there’s another category being promoted by consumer-centric health companies bringing a tightly integrated financial Read More

Women Make Health Care Decisions – Does Your Marketing Reflect This?

Kathy Selker

“While hospitals cater to everyone, their most influential consumers are women, who make 80 percent of health care decisions in America,” says Kathy Selker. Selker is president and CEO of Northlich, an independent full-service marketing and advertising agency. In our new article, Selker discusses how to connect with this key health care demographic. Here’s an Read More

10 Ways Hospital Marketers Can Connect with Women

Kathy Selker

// By Kathy Selker // While hospitals cater to everyone, their most influential consumers are women, who make 80 percent of health care decisions in America. It’s important to segment and target by gender, but remember that women prefer gender-neutral marketing messages. With recent social media movements toward greater equality for women (in all realms, Read More

Christine Woolsey: Bringing Two Health Systems Together as SCL Health

Christine Woolsey, senior vice president and chief communications and marketing officer, SCL Health

Christine Woolsey began working with SCL Health — then known as Sisters of Charity Leavenworth Health System — as a public relations consultant helping the organization manage issues and communications related to a merger with another health system. In 2010, she joined SCL as senior vice president and chief communications and marketing officer. “At the 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

How To Navigate The New World of Health Care Cost Transparency

Daniel Weinbach, president and CEO of Weinbach Group; Richard Klass, co-founder of KCI Partners; and Justin Irizarry, co-founder and CFO of OrthoNOW

You probably wouldn’t buy an appliance or book a cruise without knowing what it will cost. Yet historically, health care systems have expected patients to undergo various diagnostic tests, procedures, and treatments without any idea of what they will be charged. But times are changing quickly. While most patients are not yet comparison-shopping based on Read More

Learn What Your Patients Really Want—And Target Your Marketing Accordingly

West logo

Health care organizations increasingly focus on improving the patient experience as reimbursement levels are now tied to this essential measurement. Further, when patients aren’t satisfied with their medical care or how office staff treats them, they are apt to shop around for a new provider. Yet all too often, areas where health care organizations invest Read More

How Gen X and Boomers Shop for Health Care

Ken Robbins, CEO of Response Mine Interactive

“Much has been written about marketing health care products and services to millennials, and for good reason,” says Ken Robbins, CEO and founder of digital agency Response Mine Interactive. “Since millennials are coming into disposable income and are extremely health-conscious, it makes good sense to understand how to reach them. But marketers cannot afford to Read More

Gen X Is All Grown Up: Meet the Patients Driving Health Care Consumerism

Ken Robbins, CEO of Response Mine Interactive

// By Ken Robbins // Much has been written about marketing health care products and services to millennials, and for good reason. Since millennials are coming into disposable income and are extremely health-conscious, it makes good sense to understand how to reach them. But marketers cannot afford to overlook other generations. More focus should be Read More

How To Thrive Amidst ACA Uncertainty

Lisa Ellis

The fate of the American health care system is currently unknown as a new health care plan is making its way through Congress, raising many questions for people working in health care organizations, as well as for the patients they serve. How can you be sure your organization is well positioned for whatever comes next? Read More