mommyjenlin

In a most robust discussion on LinkedIn , in the Society for Healthcare Strategy and Market Development group page, regarding meaningful differentiation in healthcare , a question was posed by one of the participants, that received no comment, but is very important. Has healthcare become a commodity? If we look at the definition of a commodity as I remember it from my graduate econ classes, a commodity has the following properties: It is produced and sold by many companies; There is generally uniform quality between competitors' that sell or provide it; There is demand for the product or service; And it is supplied without qualitative differences between one company's products and services from another. Sounds like a hospital, doctor, home care agency, infusion center and specialty pharmacy company to name a few. When you think about it in this light, I would maintain that the majority of healthcare providers can be considered commodities, with a few notable exceptions, such a

The other day, I was reading my local community newspaper, the Herald-News and a national publication, The Wall Street Journal . Yes, I am kind of old fashion that way, reading a newspaper where you actually have to touch and turn a page, and move your head to read a story. In both papers, I saw several healthcare advertisements and a placed story. Normally, one would probably would scan the ads or the story, make a fast determination of usefulness, and move on. Especially, if you don't need that particular service or clinical capability at the time. The placed story led with "A spa like atmosphere". Really. But when looking at all the placements, I asked myself, what were the distinguishing differentiation characteristics, that separated everyone? What was the brand promise? What were the key messages? And most importantly, what, as a healthcare consumer, did you expect me to do? Sadly, I could not find any clear and unambiguous differentiation. This is not a challenge

Who is your customer? It is a deceptively complex question that a surprising number of B2B companies cannot answer. The difficulty stems from several causes: Inconsistent definitions for customer attributes (account name, industry, segment, organizational hierarchy, contact name/email, etc.) Fragmentation of the data across multiple databases and applications Departmental perspectives on customer relationships Lack of an enterprise customer data management approach The impact of all this is a severe slow down in decision making and an inability to optimize critical processes in customer facing functions, most poignantly in marketing and sales. The solution is to define customer creation as an enterprise process – not something that happens only in marketing and/or sales – and the implementation of data standards and governance to support it. This enables marketing to be data driven, but there are four distinct stages of data driven marketing and not all of them lead to success: 1.

The game is changing. Rapidly. That's what I call Aetna's introduction to its members, of its easy-to-use, out-of-pocket payment estimator . Simple really, know the cost of a test, visit or procedure; know what it will cost you. But it doesn't stop there, it allows the healthcare consumer to compare the cost across multiple network providers. You can compare costs across 10 different hospitals and doctors. WellPoint through its AIM subsidiary has shown where it was possible to incentivize physicians and plan members, to shop for radiology services and choose the lowest cost provider. It's reducing healthcare costs; while maintaining quality. United HealthCare , though its Innovation Center , is empowering its clients and 70 million members across a broad array of data driven products and services, for the healthcare consumer to better understand their healthcare utilization, and make cost effective choices. And these are just a couple of the price and cost decision-

Really. Have you given any thought to the marketing and operational challenges that Baby Boomer consumers represent to healthcare? In a time of great change in healthcare, from a provider directed and controlled model, to a consumer directed and controlled healthcare model, the Baby Boom generation will have a more significant impact than maybe what you have considered. Think about it for a moment. The Baby Boomer wave has changed virtually every industry they have encountered. Identified what they wanted and forced that industry to adapt to them. Brand, brand promise, and brand experience delivered they way they want it and when they want it, has changed entire industries. It has brought new products and services to market; created entirely new industries and channels. They have buried products, services, markets and channels on the ash heap of history, for not meeting their needs or expectations. What makes you think that the Baby Boomer won't be focused heavily on healthcare, a

The new healthcare consumer is seeking information on great outcomes and experience. That's right, great outcomes and experiences, not ordinary outcomes or experiences. You are expected to care. You are expected to provide high-quality care. Telling the healthcare consumer that you provide compassionate care and high-quality medical care, is falling on deaf ears. Especially, when the experience doesn't even come close to the claim. And as time moves along, healthcare consumers will bypass those hospitals and healthcare providers that have less than great outcomes or experiences. I am not saying that is fair, or right. It is a reality of a changing marketplace. When healthcare executives are surveyed, the majority say that Patient Experience Management is a critical business success factor along with patient safety and cost reduction. But at the same time, the majority of healthcare CEOs, admit that they really don't know where to start on successfully managing the patient e