mommyjenlin

Your price information is out there. Your outcomes information is out as well. And you already have developed by word-of-mouth either a positive or negative patient experience reputation. Whether you like it or not, the horses are out of the barn and it’s too late to corral, get them back into the barn, and pretend like it never happened. As the hospital segment of the healthcare industry evolves to a more consumer centric model along the three dimensions of price, outcome, and experience, will you use that publicly available data to differentiate yourself to potentially establish market dominance along those brand dimensions that you excel? This is not a frivolous marketing question. This is about how you are going to be competing in the near future. The healthcare brands of hospitals and health systems will come to be defined by these attributes. And don’t think that the industry is so unified that no one will make that first attempt to define their market vies a vie their competitor...

Interesting question isn't it? It presupposes that healthcare consumers know what they need in the way of healthcare services. Which many in the hospital and medical professional world will howl and say its way to complicated for the healthcare consumer to know what they need to be able make a reasonable treatment decision based on quality. Yes and no. On one side yes, in that medical care is complex and diagnosis is not as easy as reading a book or talking to someone. But the healthcare consumer, once they realize that their wellness is not to what they normally experience, will more often than not seek medical advice as to the cause of the illness. Then in seeking that medical advice they begin the process of gaining the necessary information to make reasonable decisions, or at the very least to participate in the process. On the other side no, in that once the healthcare consumer has acquired a basic understand of what is medically wrong, they have now the ability to use quality...

Now that more healthcare information general and personal is available today than at any previous time, and healthcare reform is only going to accelerate the information exchange including outcomes transparency, how can you market and leverage in a comprehensive fashion, all that information and change? What do you think the networked patient is saying about you in social media circles, after CMS announced the penalties for 2013 because of your high readmission rates and you greeted that with silence? Welcome to the age of the networked patient. The networked patient is someone who has an intense curiosity about their health condition, expects to have an active role in making healthcare decisions and this is most important, they want control of their health information. They actively use the internet, social media , blogs, web site, apps and seek out others. They read and study about their health condition. They ask questions and will seek out alternatives. The look at providers from a...

In a very enlightening article "How to Stop Hospitals From Killing Us", by Dr. Marty Makary, Wall Street Journal, Saturday, September 22. 2012, writes about the importance of outcomes transparency for hospitals. It's about releasing your outcomes data to patients and others so that they can make informed decisions. It's time for hospital executives to stand up, be counted and stop the equivalent of four, fully loaded jumbo jets crashing each day and killing all aboard like we do in healthcare. This is a topics that is near and dear to me. Well maybe even a soapbox issue, having written about using outcomes dates and being transparent in healthcare marketing for the past couple of years. And I am glad to see a physician stand up and say, it's time for a change. Writing specifically on the types of data and in a dashboard format. I think and have maintain for a while now, that it is time to give the healthcare consumer be it physicians, payers, government, employer...

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...

Is nearly everyone missing the most important piece of the marketing puzzle to generate demand, revenue and market share in outpatient healthcare? Especially with the market competition heating up between hospital owned physicians/ clinics and the private sole practitioners/multi-specialty or single specialty group practices and retail clinics. One area that is greatly lacking in most outpatient healthcare marketing, is an intelligent dialogue on your outcomes with your audiences. Payors', pharma and medical device, have recognized this and are leading in the use of quality and outcomes data to drive decision-making. It is time for the rest of the healthcare industry to catch up. And in my experience, it works, driving demand, volume, revenue and market share. Where is the outcomes and quality data? I maintain that even in this economy, there are healthcare dollars out there. Healthcare consumers willing to spend those dollars, if only that had a compelling reason to do so. With a...

Patient experience and satisfaction is no longer a nice too have, but a got to have in healthcare. Difficult to achieve and tough to beat once you have it, experience and satisfaction with your medical products, clinical services and processes regardless of the vertical, be it specialty pharmacy, medical device, pharma, hospitals, doctors etc., will drive revenue. Revenue from the standpoint of Pay-for-Performance (P4P) programs and volume from consumers aka patients, selecting you in a very commoditized and provider undifferentiated healthcare market place. As you create your networks, Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs), Medical Homes (MHs) and other yet undefined organizations, you have the opportunity to "get it right" this time. The healthcare consumer of today, will view your services as: value= f(cost, quality, satisfaction) as compared to the near past where value= f(cost, quality). Value here is the defining moment and is a function of cost, quality and satisfactio...

Now that the final rules for ACOs have been released by CMS , it seems that there is more positive interest in the ACO model first proposed under PPACA . The basic premise remains the same, to engage the patient, aka the healthcare consumer, in the care and treatment decision making process. Medicare ACOs remain open networks, meaning that members can go outside the ACO for service. The marketing challenge before you is to attract members to your ACO, engage and retain them. You must be prepared to deliver an individualized experience that meets the needs of that patient. A mass customization, of your patient experience process, down to the individual level. One size does not fit all. In entering the brave new world of ACOs, here are some things that you need to consider for marketing: 1.) Clear and easily stated Value Proposition . Not a mission statement, this is crucial for communications and focusing the message to members, employers, payers, government and community. Not flo...

Tough economy and getting worse. Hospital volume, scripts and specialty drug orders, flat or down. Little differentiation among competitors in many healthcare verticals. New proposed cuts in Medicare and Medicaid spending. High unemployment with no end in sight. Political gridlock. Healthcare payment models evolving from production payment focused on care delivered, to pay-for-performance based on quality outcomes. Price competition. And finally, a growing empowered healthcare consumer, taking control and playing an active part in the healthcare decision-making process. With all this transpiring, most are taking the same past course of marketing action. Advertise services by making claims of world-class service. "Me too" messaging, attempting to driving volume because we focus all of our efforts and resources around you. (Isn't that what you are supposed to do anyway?) Sales forces all focusing on the same a therapy or drug class in specialty pharmacy which, in most cases...

Healthcare is changing at a far more rapid pace that at any time in its history. I am not referring to the pharmaceutical or technological advances which have no doubt improved the quality of care and in most cases, the quality of life as well. Since 1983 with the introduction of DRGs, we as an industry have been touting the benefits of wellness, individual responsibility in health and the patient taking an active role in their healthcare. Much has changed since that time and much has remained the same. But now, the game has really changed . Welcome to the age of the networked patient. The networked patient is someone who has an intense curiosity about their health condition, expects to have an active role in making healthcare decisions and this is most important, they want control of their health information. They use in internet, social media and seek out others. They read and study about their health condition. They ask questions and will seek out alternatives. The look at provide...

The dynamic has changed. With the advent of HCAPHS and the Affordable Care Act (ACA) consumer satisfaction is no longer a nice too have but a got to have in healthcare. Difficult to achieve and tough to beat once you have it, consumer satisfaction with your medical services, regardless of the monikers we place on them, will drive volume and revenue. Revenue for the standpoint of Pay-for-Performance (P4P) programs and volume from consumers selecting you in a very "commoditized" and provider undifferentiated healthcare market place. As you create your networks, Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs), Medical Homes (MHs) and other yet undefined organizations, you have the opportunity to "get it right" this time. For the past 10 years, I have been writing and working within healthcare organizations to improve satisfaction. Ten years ago, I had the opportunity to coauthor a book with Ralph Bell, PhD., on satisfaction entitled- How to Use Patient Satisfaction Data to Impro...

Entering the new world of healthcare where quality and accountability are drivers to reduce cost, how do you market an Accountable Care Organization (ACO )? Especially as healthcare providers, namely doctors and hospitals, 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. Anybody seen the new United Health commercials? They are already touting call us, we can send you to the best doctors. Anywhere in the country. Organizations that control the data, control the market and control the price. So for those doctors and hospitals looking at ACOs , better get your track shoes on. The big insurers are already moving forward with physician groups and pilot programs to test the concept. In the end, I believe that insurers will control ACOs by the simple fact that they have the data. The...

Mayo Clinic has no marketing budget, only PR. They have never done a direct mail campaign, print or electronic media advertisements or any other traditional types of marketing. Yet everyone knows who they are and what to expect in the way of customer service and quality. So Quality + Reputation + PR = Success . So on a local level, why do hospitals spend endless dollars on misleading ads and claims when the answer to market success lies before their very feet?

Economy With the economy nearing recession it is a safe bet all the talk about healthcare reform and national health insurance will slow down. People want jobs and economic security. That debate is beginning to overshadow everything. Politicians are like a 3 year old child's short attention span and they focus on the flavor of the day. Until someone comes up with that private government combo plan for reform, its dead in the water. Look for incremental change that tinkers around the edges but fails to address underlying systemic issue. If real change is going to come it will have to come from employers large and small. As the old saying goes....Money talks and ........, well you know the rest. Hospital margins We all know that hospital margins for the most part have been showing signs of improvement the last couple of years. With the growth in spending in Medicare and Medicaid, and CMS realizing its out of control faster than they even thought, reductions are in the works. That wil...