// By Howard Gershon, LFACHE // With the shift toward value-based care and the assumption of risk, many health care organizations are beginning to understand that they must address behavioral health in conjunction with physical care for patients. Behavioral health issues are in the news every day, whether it’s a national sports figure who has Read More
// By Sheryl S. Jackson // A newly formed alliance of three Federally Qualified Health Centers provides an example of how shared expertise and pooled resources are laying the groundwork for value-based care, with the ultimate goal of driving better outcomes and lower costs in Medicaid managed care contracts. One of the keys to success Read More
// By Althea Fung // Increasingly, brands are turning to celebrity endorsers with loyal and aligned audiences — and large social media networks — to influence consumer behavior. As social media has evolved, the Federal Trade Commission has also evolved its guidance on disclosure of relationships between influencers and advertisers. In 2014, Edward-Elmhurst Health, a Read More
“Value-based care models are on the rise, and health care providers and payers are increasingly aligning to control costs while providing quality care,” says Jordan Pisarcik, vice president of growth and customer engagement at DocASAP. Here’s an excerpt from Pisarcik’s new article: According to a recent report by Humana, value-based care initiatives are proving to Read More
How to make the shift from transactions to relationships // By Jared Johnson // Health care is really good at creating transactions, but not so good at creating relationships. Today’s consumers are frustrated at health care brand experiences that fail to meet their expectations. Visionary health care organizations are listening more and more to the Read More
// By Jordan Pisarcik // Most providers do not have a digital access strategy in place that accounts for health plan initiatives, but greater payer-provider financial alignment will accelerate the need for a coherent strategy. Value-based care models are on the rise, and health care providers and payers are increasingly aligning to control costs while Read More
“If you didn’t know the whole story, you’d think last October 20 was a less-than-glorious Sunday in Seattle,” writes SHCM contributor Peter Hochstein. “It was a football day, of course, and the Seattle Seahawks lost to the Baltimore Ravens 30-16. But for two local hospitals, Virginia Mason Health System, with about 600 licensed beds, and Read More
“Not that many years ago, you would commonly find ‘senior services’ programs in almost every hospital across the country,” says Daniel Fell, a senior strategist at Optum. “But somewhere along the way, despite the demographic trends confronting the health care industry that clearly point to a seismic shift among the health care population — mainly Read More
// By Peter Hochstein // Properly done, the participation of sports teams can create impressive visibility and emotional involvement for a cancer awareness promotion. Here’s what it produced for the State of Washington’s Virginia Mason Health System and CHI Franciscan. If you didn’t know the whole story, you’d think last October 20 was a less-than-glorious Read More
// By Daniel Fell // How should hospitals and health care delivery systems think about serving the growing “senior” population? How can health systems better leverage data and technology to meet the needs of consumers and caregivers who will be using health care services at the highest rate over the next several decades? Not that Read More
Approximately 0.6 percent (about 1.4 million) of American adults identify as transgender, according to a report from the Williams Institute at the UCLA School of Law. Like all people, transgender individuals — people who have a gender identity or expression that differs from their assigned sex at birth — need access to health care. Many Read More
// By Althea Fung // Care of transgender patients is complex, cutting across multiple medical specialties and requiring an integrated, coordinated approach — including care at home. Mount Sinai’s Center for Transgender Medicine and Surgery (CTMS) offers gender-affirming care to trans men and women. Approximately 0.6 percent (about 1.4 million) of American adults identify as Read More
“Alexa, what is rotator cuff tendinitis?” “Alexa, where’s the nearest urgent care center?” “Alexa, what’s my glucose level?” Amazon’s voice assistant can now answer all these questions through the new HIPAA-compliant Alexa Skills Kit for developers. The new kit enables developers at medical organizations to build Alexa skills capable of transferring and receiving protected health Read More
// By Jane Weber Brubaker // The experience of health care often falls short for the most important stakeholders in health care — patients and the clinicians who serve them. Are health care leaders stuck trying to reengineer a fundamentally flawed system? Is reframing a way to unlock the potential? Dr. Zeev Neuwirth, author of Read More
// By Marcia Simon, APR // Boston Children’s Hospital and Atrium Health are among the pioneers of Alexa “skills,” similar to apps on a mobile device. Alexa’s HIPAA compliance has been a game changer, making it easier for users to quickly gain access to information they need. “Alexa, what is rotator cuff tendinitis?” “Alexa, where’s Read More
A vision for population health through community partnerships and innovation // By Jane Weber Brubaker // Under Dr. Tony Slonim’s leadership, Renown Health has forged strong connections with the community, acting as a catalyst for change. “If you want to improve the health of your community, engage the people who are most likely to be Read More
Measles cases are on the rise. All six regions of the World Health Organization (WHO) are experiencing large outbreaks of measles. In the U.S., health officials recorded 1,109 new cases of measles in 30 states in the first six months of 2019, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That’s the greatest number Read More
// By Althea Fung // The recent outbreak of measles puts the issue of vaccination front and center, especially for children’s hospitals. Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia has taken a leadership role in providing accurate, evidence-based information through its Vaccine Education Center. Measles cases are on the rise. All six regions of the World Health Organization Read More
“Faced with competitors who may have bigger marketing budgets and more resources, many health care marketers feel powerless in the battle for market growth,” says Jessica Walker, founder and CEO of Care Sherpa. “Thinking like a hacker may help you outsmart the competition. Five proven hacks for market share growth require little to no money Read More
Treating illness is important, but that is only a part of overall health. Social determinants of health (SDoH) — the conditions under which people are born, live, and work — are increasingly recognized as strong influences on health. Conditions like poverty, education level, and lack of social support contribute to more than half of premature Read More
// By Althea Fung // Treating illness is important, but that is only a part of overall health. Social determinants of health (SDoH) — the conditions under which people are born, live, and work — are increasingly recognized as strong influences on health. Conditions like poverty, education level, and lack of social support contribute to Read More
How to think like a hacker to outsmart your competition // By Jessica Walker // Faced with competitors who may have bigger marketing budgets and more resources, many health care marketers feel powerless in the battle for market growth. Thinking like a hacker may help you outsmart the competition. Five proven hacks for market share Read More
Are your providers losing patients because of access issues? A robust telemedicine program that offers convenient care for patients is one way to protect market share. Our new article by Marcia Simon, APR, explores how telemedicine brings subspecialties to outlying communities. Here’s an excerpt: Most of Gundersen Health System’s patients live at least 25 miles Read More
// By Marcia Simon, APR // Most of Gundersen Health System’s patients live at least 25 miles from the main hospital campus in La Crosse, Wisconsin. For the benefit of both patients and physicians, Gundersen invested early in telemedicine. Suburban and rural patients perceived distance as a barrier to seeing a specialist, so Gundersen started Read More
“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,” says Tom White, CEO of Phynd Technologies. Here’s an excerpt from White’s new article for Strategic Health Care Marketing: Marketers and business teams must create and market new networks to Read More