mommyjenlin

Just about everyone has some kind of healthcare Center of Excellence and these programs are continually marketed by healthcare organizations. But does that marketing change in shared-risk or value-based payment environment? And if it does, then how do you market a Center of Excellence? I believe that yes, the new healthcare payment models change the marketing and value of Centers of Excellence. And that is good at many different levels. In a shared-risk or value based payment environment, you will need qualitative and objective proof. That proof can come in many different forms, be it via outcomes, technology, accreditation, price, satisfaction etc. Sure you can still say you have a Center of Excellence in an effort to obtain new payment agreements. But if that effort is not supported by pricing and outcomes transparency, then how do you prove to the newly minted healthcare insurance card carrying consumer in 2014, that yours is better than the one down the street? The point here is th...

I have to admit, this is a pet peeve of mine, stupid hospital advertising. In a day and age where healthcare is experiencing great change, some hospital "marketers" and C-suite leadership continue to treat the healthcare consumer like they are some kind of idiot, incapable of making informed choices. Do you believe that by offering a massage with a digital mammography, that women will choose to have their mammography at your facility? I would like to see the market research on that one. But then, odds are on that there wasn't any market research. Remember, when you are marketing to individuals, they don't become a patient until they receive a service from you. So in one-third of the time in their interactions with you, the "person" is only a "patient" during diagnosis and treatment. Two-thirds of the time they are not patients, and most likely are arguing with your billing department about the charges. And healthcare marketers wonder why no one tak...

As with almost all functions within a large and complex marketing organization, the Market Intelligence (MI) organization is under pressure to transform. In our recent discussions with top MI executives, three transformational trends stand out as "guidance" for this profession. 1. Transform the MI organizational model and team to be more proactive. MI staffs tend to be spread thin and rarely have the bandwidth to move out of "response" mode. IDC believes that the MI function needs to increase the self-service capability for the majority of its internal clients. Better information portals, and the tools and training to access these resources are key to this effort. In doing so, MI should then be able to place more active attention to the second guidance area which is: 2. Increase executive support. This implies higher level insights and better "packaging" of externally-sourced MI content, so that it looks and feels palatable to an executive audience. 3. Be ...

Now that PPACA is the law of the land, private and public ACOs will be springing up like weeds in a field. It may really be the last best chance to bend the cost and quality curve of the American healthcare system which is unsustainable. After all, its now about the right care; at the right time; for the right cost; in the right care setting. In the end though, the basic premise remains the same, to engage the patient, aka the healthcare consumer, in the care and treatment decision making process. The marketing challenge before you is to attract members to your ACO, engage and retain them with outcome and price transparency delivered with an exemplary customer/patient experience. In entering the brave new world of ACOs, here are some things that you need to consider for marketing: 1.) Transparency and Quality dashboards. This is about improving care, using best practices, learning and improving as a system to the individual level, by engaging the patient. If you do not plan t...

With the reformation of healthcare in the U.S. moving forward full speed ahead, most healthcare providers will need to undertake a full detailed examination of their position in the market vies a vie their competitors. A simple question that is not easily answered. That is, if you're being honest. Positioning is not a tactic. It is a strategy. If someone in your organization tells you it's a tactic then they are once again showing that they don't marketing, and don't know what they are talking about. And just because you think you are superior, and say so in your marketing, doesn't mean the market sees you as superior. Too much organizational group think at play perhaps? There are really only three positions you can have in a market, superior, equivalent or inferior. And just saying you have the newest hi-tech equipment, offer world-class care, revolve around the customer, build a new building, or produce a white paper does not, let me repeat, does not mean you hol...

The die is cast and the way forward never more clear. Value-based payment, physician integration, bundled payments, population health, demand management, ACOs, P4P structures evolving and leading the transformation of healthcare as we know it. All of which is followed by the slow and painful demise of fee-for-service payments. Enter now into the reality of healthcare where quality, accountability, reduced care fragmentation, value for the price paid and innovation are king. And with great change comes great opportunity . How do you market in a time of upheaval and charge? Especially as healthcare providers must compete on outcome transparency, quality and cost. A triple threat and uncharted territory. Outcomes data will be the driver and available to the consumer to make an informed choice. A monumental shift in the market place of who controls the information. What worked in the past won't work tomorrow. Brand Your message needs to be clear and concise, echoing your brand promise ...