Technology Platform Integrated with Primary Care Takes Aim at One of Health Care’s Most Crushing Problems: Mental Health

// By Cheryl L. Serra // Fragmentation and lack of coordination in health care are still rampant. Intermountain Healthcare has proven that a team-based, holistic approach to mental health, rooted in primary care and enabled through technology, improves outcomes and reduces cost. More than 20 years ago, Brenda Reiss-Brennan, PhD, APRN, recalls being invited by Read More

Free White Paper: 4 Key Reasons Why a Provider Data Management System is a Must-Have in 2022

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Is investing in a provider data management system worth it? For forward-thinking health systems say it’s a fundamental technology that powers the innovations and operations needed to enhance access to and provide superior care while improving financial performance.

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Tele-Mentoring Model Connects Specialists with Primary Care Providers

Health care industry expert Paul Keckley challenges the belief that all health care is local, calling it “the myth that refuses to die,” in his 2018 post on The Health Care Blog. But he notes one exception: “For the least fortunate in our communities, staying at home for care is reality.” Taking time off from Read More

Conference Preview: Industry Leaders Share Key Trends for Health Care Marketing and Strategy in 2022

// By Jane Weber Brubaker // Get an exclusive inside view of the major themes at this year’s Healthcare Marketing & Physician Strategies Summit.  Looking to recharge and reconnect? Head to the 27th Healthcare Marketing and Physician Strategies Summit in Salt Lake City, May 16-18. Not only will you finally be able to emerge from Read More

Project ECHO Moves Knowledge, Not People

// By Jane Weber Brubaker // One physician specialist’s vision for sharing his expertise with primary care providers has grown into a global movement that extends specialized care to patients in underserved communities. Health care industry expert Paul Keckley challenges the belief that all health care is local, calling it “the myth that refuses to Read More

Report From the Front: Weathering COVID’s Ongoing Storm

In spite of the population of Austin, Texas growing by a net of 150 people a day — and with it, an increase in demand for services — surgical volume at Ascension Texas dropped during the pandemic’s early days, when Governor Greg Abbott issued an executive order mandating a pause in elective surgeries. “Our leadership Read More

How Walmart Is Remaking Itself as a Health and Wellness Destination

Notwithstanding the health care industry’s keen interest in Walmart and figuring out what its next move might be, most consumers still think of Walmart as a retail store, not a health and wellness destination. Karissa Price, Walmart’s vice president of marketing, food, consumables, and health and wellness at the time of our reporting, sought to Read More

Personalized Content Key to Earning Consumers’ Trust in Walmart As a Health and Wellness Destination

// By Jane Weber Brubaker // Walmart’s marketing VP believes that high-quality, personalized health care content is the start to building trusted relationships with consumers, and supporting them on their health care journeys. Notwithstanding the health care industry’s keen interest in Walmart and figuring out what its next move might be, most consumers still think Read More

Riding the Waves of COVID and Pushing Progress in Physician Relations

// By Jane Weber Brubaker // The urgent need of health care organizations to make up for lost business during the pandemic creates an opportunity for physician relations teams to become the critical communications link between service-line leaders and high-priority referring physicians. In spite of the population of Austin, Texas growing by a net of Read More

Los Angeles Gets Creative To Encourage the Resumption of Routine and Preventive Care

“Patients are still postponing routine care and preventive screenings due to the COVID-19 pandemic,” says Rhoda Weiss. “In one dramatic example, the CDC reported in June 2021 that breast cancer screenings through its Early Detection Program had declined 87 percent. Additionally, a National Poll on Healthy Aging taken in January 2021 reported nearly one in Read More

Why Tracking Lifetime Value Metrics Can Help Retention Efforts

If acquiring a new customer is up to 25 times more expensive than retaining an existing one, why is so much attention paid to patient acquisition and so little to retention? Even the definition of “new patient” is relative. At what point does a former patient who has leaked out of the system have to Read More

One Top Trend for 2022: Health Care at Home Is Booming

“The ability to attract, activate, and guide consumers through health care’s labyrinth depends not only on reimagining the business of health care but building relationships of value and trust that result in inspired, confident customers,” says Lindsay R. Resnick of Wunderman Thompson Health. Here’s an excerpt from his new article: Health care transformation was all Read More

Free White Paper: Returning to Profitability in a Post COVID Environment

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Hospital systems world-wide have been one of the hardest-hit industries during the COVID pandemic. Not only are they struggling with the current and future management of the crisis, but they’re also learning how to dissect the “new normal” by re-engaging with their communities and promoting revenue-generating service lines and elective procedures.

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Latest Campaign from Consortium of Los Angeles Health Systems Coaxes Patients Back for Routine and Preventive Care

// By Rhoda Weiss, Ph.D. // Patients are still postponing routine care and preventive screenings due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In one dramatic example, the CDC reported in June 2021 that breast cancer screenings through its Early Detection Program had declined 87 percent. Additionally, a National Poll on Healthy Aging1 taken in January 2021 reported Read More

Mobile Screening Targets Lung Cancer in West Virginia

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in West Virginia, with more deaths each year than breast, cervical, and colorectal cancers combined. According to the 2019 West Virginia Cancer Burden Report, lung cancer accounts for 18 percent of all new cancer diagnoses in the state. Only 22 percent of those receiving a lung Read More

Why Investing in Patient Retention Is as Important as Investing in Patient Acquisition — and How to Make the Case with Data

// By Jane Weber Brubaker // If acquiring a new customer is up to 25 times more expensive than retaining an existing one[1], why is so much attention paid to patient acquisition and so little to retention? Even the definition of “new patient” is relative. At what point does a former patient who has leaked Read More

Six Impact Trends for 2022: Health Care’s Transformation Journey Continues

// By Lindsay R. Resnick // The ability to attract, activate, and guide consumers through health care’s labyrinth depends not only on reimagining the business of health care but building relationships of value and trust that result in inspired, confident customers. Health care transformation was all the buzz throughout 2021. To be transformed means to Read More

Industry Leaders Reflect on the Unique Challenges of 2021

“For two years, marketing and communication professionals have faced the excruciating crisis of a pandemic nothing fully prepared us for,” says Rhoda Weiss, president of the Rhoda Weiss Consulting Group. “We’re changing how and from where we work, balancing dichotomies of layoffs and staff shortages, experiencing colleague and personal burnout, dealing with new and conflicting Read More

Family Caregivers Are Vital, But Often Underappreciated

Family caregiving is an emotionally charged issue that creates an opportunity for providers to create highly engaged and valued relationships. As the shift to value-based care gains momentum and more health systems participate in accountable care organizations and hospital-sponsored Medicare Advantage plans, management of services related to seniors and their caregivers has great potential to Read More

WVU Cancer Institute Takes Lung Cancer Screening Mobile with LUCAS Program

// By Althea Fung // In a rural state with the highest smoking rates in the country, lung cancer screening is a critical need. WVU Cancer Institute built on its legacy of finding new ways to serve remote areas and offer patient education. Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in West Virginia, Read More

View from the C-Suite: A Look Back at the Challenges and Opportunities of 2021 from Five Industry Leaders

// By Rhoda Weiss, Ph.D. // As we approach the two-year mark of the pandemic, it’s clear that the crisis has forged strong alliances across the industry. Leaders have come together to share best practices and help one another address challenges common to all. For two years, marketing and communication professionals have faced the excruciating Read More

Family Caregivers: An Untapped Resource in Value-Based Care

// By Marlene Kurban // More than 50 million Americans — one in five — provide unpaid care for their loved ones valued at $950 billion annually. But their contributions to reducing the total cost of care are often overlooked and undervalued by health systems. As the shift to value-based care gains momentum and more Read More

Retail Health Is Expanding Into Uncharted Territory

“Traditional primary care is being disrupted, right in front of our eyes,” says sales and marketing consultant James A. Gardner. “Blink and I suspect you soon won’t recognize it.” Here’s an excerpt from Gardner’s new article: Look around and new competitors, new thinking, and new delivery models are seemingly everywhere. Venture-backed startups, large employers, government Read More

AI an Essential Tool in Managing Vaccine-Related Call Influx

If you’ve called any business in the past 18 months, you’ve probably heard a cheerful robotic voice apologizing for the hold every 30-60 seconds due to “unusually high call volume.” In some industries, call volume to call centers jumped over 600 percent from normal levels, while agent call capacity dropped by 20 percent, according to Read More

The Crucial Intersection of Public Health and Clinical Care

COVID testing. Vaccines. Health equity. Do they fall under public health or clinical care? In most cases, it’s both, or should be. The gap between hospital-based clinical care and public health is shrinking, as community health initiatives increasingly focus on wellness and prevention. Health systems typically function as separate entities. Nationwide, the drive for revenues and Read More