Quality and Outcomes

Get a More Complete Picture of Patient Experience

William Maples, MD, Chief Medical Officer for Professional Research Consultants, Inc.

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 perspective. This can provide valuable insight into your strengths and weaknesses. But Read More

Five Difficult Topics Health Care Marketers Need To Tackle

Ross Goldberg

“It has been said that all motion is relative,” notes Ross K. Goldberg. “If that is indeed true, then it’s entirely possible to go backward by simply standing still if the world around you is changing.” Goldberg, President of Kevin/Ross Public Relations in Southern California, says that “[o]ver the past half-dozen years, those entrusted with Read More

Going Beyond HCAHPS Data to Track Customers’ Experiences

William Maples, MD, Chief Medical Officer for Professional Research Consultants, Inc.

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

Strategic Marketing’s Response to Rising Health Care Consumerism

Bill Tourlas

// 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

Partner Up to Externally Rightsize Your Health Care Organization

Dennis Knox

“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

Five Issues Health Care PR Folks Aren’t Talking About (But Should Be)

Ross Goldberg

// 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

Emotional vs. Rational Health Care Advertising—With a Nod to a 1960s Hit Song

Peter Hochstein

Peter Hochstein, our crackerjack marketing writer, likes to interview hospital marketing departments and their advertising agencies for his column. “And I often ask them identical questions. I justify this with an analogy concerning two people viewing an elephant from opposite ends,” he notes. “One party tells you the animal’s most notable feature is a skinny tail. Read More

Strategies for Encouraging Patients To Become Storytellers

Daniel C. Potts, Founder and President of the Cognitive Dynamics Foundation

How much do you really know about your patients? If you and your staff haven’t asked the people you treat to talk about their personal experiences, their families, their careers, and the things they care about, you could be missing a valuable opportunity to connect with them on a deeper level—and you may also be Read More

Storytelling as an Effective Population Health Management Strategy

Beth Sanders, Founder and CEO of LifeBio

How much do you really know about your patients? If you and your staff haven’t asked the people you treat to talk about their personal experiences, their families, their careers, and the things they care about, you could be missing a valuable opportunity to connect with them on a deeper level—and you may also be Read More

7 Tips to Improve Patient Experience Through Life Stories

Daniel C. Potts, Founder and President of the Cognitive Dynamics Foundation

You can help your patients become authors of their own life stories. These tips from Beth Sanders, BA, Founder and CEO of LifeBio and Dr. Daniel C. Potts, FAAN, Founder and President of the Cognitive Dynamics Foundation will help get you started and guide your efforts:

How To Successfully Shift to Value-Based Population Health Management

David Wildebrandt

“There’s no denying it: Value-based population health management is here to stay,” says David Wildebrandt, a member of the Berkeley Research Group’s (BRG) Healthcare Performance Improvement practice. “But how can hospitals best manage the transition from a fee-for-service approach to treating sickness to adopting one that focuses on keeping patients well in the first place?” Most Read More

ACO Marketing Strategies: What is Effective Now?

Over the past year, Clay Cutchins of Franklin Street, a health care brand consultancy, worked with his team to help form the messaging and positioning of a new pediatric Accountable Care Organization (ACO) in Texas. This was not his first experience developing ACO marketing strategies. “Previously, we had helped sculpt the brand framework for a Read More

5 Lessons from a Marketer’s Trip Down the ACO Rabbit Hole

// By Clay Cutchins // Over the past year, my teammates and I helped form the messaging and positioning of a new pediatric ACO in Texas. Previously, we had helped sculpt the brand framework for a Medicare ACO. Recently, we decided to gather to cull some of the lessons we have learned in our own Read More

Hint: The Secret to Transforming Health Care Is Hiding in Plain Sight

Dr. William Maples

// By William Maples, M.D. // Your marketing department relies on strong communication skills and effective message development to promote your services and draw more patients to your facility. But have you thought much about training the rest of your staff and clinicians to be effective communicators with one another and also with your target Read More

Are You Training Staff and Clinicians to Be Effective Communicators?

Dr. William Maples

“Your marketing department relies on strong communication skills and effective message development to promote your services and draw more patients to your facility,” notes Dr. William Maples. “But have you thought much about training the rest of your staff and clinicians to be effective communicators with one another and also with your target audience? If Read More

A Rebrand That Keeps Residents From Fleeing To The City for Health Care

When your health system lives in the shadow of academic medical centers and urban-based powerhouse healthcare brands, its takes real work to compete. Cape Cod Healthcare (CCHC) has undergone a transition to do just that, according to Patrick Kane, Senior Vice President of CCHC’s Marketing, Communications, and Business Development. A series of organizational changes have Read More

Health Care Convergence: Are You Ready for This New Model?

Mark Fish, Managing Director, Health Solutions, FTI Consulting

In pursuit of high-quality, cost-effective care that revolves around the patient, many health care organizations seek new ways to foster system-wide collaboration. This concept involves breaking down barriers that have traditionally separated payers, providers, and patients to enable everyone to work more closely together to meet common goals. Such a way of doing business, commonly Read More

Is Your Organization Well Positioned to Adopt Value-Based Care? These 7 Questions Can Help You Assess Your Readiness

Lisa D. Ellis

By Lisa D. Ellis In pursuit of high-quality, cost-effective care that revolves around the patient, many health care organizations seek new ways to foster system-wide collaboration. This concept involves breaking down barriers that have traditionally separated payers, providers, and patients to enable everyone to work more closely together to meet common goals. Such a way Read More