Hospital Marketing Journal

Physician Marketing – A Balanced Approach

Part 3 of 3

by Scott Mosley, Vice President of Strategy

In blog posts the past two months, I outlined the first two of five strategic focuses as the foundation for effective physician marketing. Administrative Leadership Engagement Outreach Program/Coordinators      Education/Medical Orientation      Print/Electronic Communications  Data on Utilization/Referral Patterns      I’ll address the final three of these in this follow-up post. Strategic Focus #3 Education/Medical Orientation Providing Valuable Insight It is apparent that physicians and practice administrators are looking to their hospital partners for support in staying current on healthcare issues.  They value well-designed educational pieces and are seeking credible information which can benefit their practice and bring value to their patients. They are looking to hospitals for proactivity in pushing information out to them in a concise, focused manner, respecting the volume of information they face on a daily basis.  Physicians assess the value of information on its usefulness in helping them care for their patients or develop their practice.  Practice administrators value information which informs them of relevant changes within the health system, helps them steer and coordinate referrals and deal with key issues related to the efficient operation of the practice. Physicians and practice administrators see value in hospital-sponsored educational sessions as long as their content is substantive, timely and of direct relevance to their practice’s administration or quality of patient care.  There is diminishing interest in socially-oriented gatherings, particularly on the part of younger professionals facing the pressures of building practices. Strategic Focus #4 Print/Electronic Communications Providing Access to Credible Information Hospital marketers are often surprised by limited familiarity with the print and electronic publications over which they labor so diligently.  Physicians do not invest time in sifting through hospital publications to see if there may be something of value for them.  Most of their communication is done from a smart phone or other hand-held device which usually makes it difficult to view attachments. Practice administrators are more open to receiving periodic publications but also urge their hospital partners to keep it short and simple, providing a contact resource should additional information be needed.  Providing access to medical news (i.e. that provided through MGMA and specialty organizations) is usually viewed as a valuable gesture.  We find that ListServs for local practice administrators are generally welcomed and can establish an electronic “community” of hospital-affiliated practice administrators. An e-newsletter obviously provides the hospital with a link to their physician practices, but making the content relevant and easy to consume, with links to more detailed information, is of paramount importance.  Practice administrators often suggest archiving high-value digital information in an accessible location to access as needed. Healthcare organizations are also finding value in the use of social media platforms for the distribution of information to engaged medical partners.  This type of digital platform has been used to support communication between hospitals and patients, but is now being used as a way of engaging members of the medical community. Healthcare organizations are also investing in the development of web portals specifically designed to place information literally at the fingertips of their provider partners, addressing the challenge of leveraging the considerable investments already made in health information technology solutions to accommodate more fluid communication. Strategic Focus #5 Data on Utilization/Referral Patterns Identifying and Targeting Opportunity Credible data is the foundation on which any solid marketing program is built.  The specific data to be collected should be determined by the need for the following perspective. Current Medical Staff Profile – A careful inventory of physician resources across the scope of the health system helps identify and prioritize opportunities associated with shifting dynamics/alignments within the medical community, the entrance and exit of physicians practicing within the market, gaps in service offerings and clinical competencies and practice growth opportunities. Current Utilization Trends – A routine examination of utilization trends is an important element of the physician marketing information platform.  The goal is to proactively assess, in as current a context as possible (not retrospectively), emerging trends in utilization patterns so as to pose informed questions about prospective issues at a point where they can be proactively addressed. Opportunity Assessment – With this base of information at hand, the challenge becomes identification and prioritization of opportunities to either enhance business relationships and utilization patterns or head-off a negative trend with proactive administrative outreach.  In highly-effective organizations, this process is hardwired into the administrative routine, as a vital element of the organization’s marketing program. Medical Staff Perceptions – Remaining attentive to shifting perspectives of physicians and other members of the medical community provides a valuable leading barometer, useful in defining current priorities and forecasting future engagement opportunities.  The development of engaged relationships requires continuous awareness of prevailing sentiments on key issues and a periodic, more formal assessment of trends in awareness, attitudes and preferences.

Physician Marketing – A Question of Balance

Part 2 of 3

by Scott Mosley, Vice President of Strategy

In a blog post last month, I outlined five strategic focuses as the foundation for effective physician marketing.  I’ll address the first two of these in this follow-up post and the last three in a subsequent post. Ten Adams’ experience leads us to focus on five vital areas as we work with clients on physician engagement and marketing. Administrative Leadership Engagement (Leveraging Openness and Operational Authority) Outreach Program/Coordinators (Extending Balanced, Personalized Sales/Service) Education/Medical Orientation (Providing Valuable Insights) Print/Electronic Communications (Providing Access to Credible Information) Data on Utilization/Referral Patterns (Identifying and Targeting Opportunity) As healthcare industry leaders, we need to find ways to create balanced relationships that work, engaging physicians as vital partners in successfully negotiating a dramatic shift in how healthcare is delivered. Strategic Focus #1 Administrative Leadership Engagement Leveraging Openness and Operational Authority Effective physician marketing starts with the attitude and positioning of the organization’s administrative leadership and management groups.  The posture of the management group typically reflects perspectives at the executive level of the organization, serving to amplify executive leadership's point-of-view on building quality working relationships with physicians. It is important to understand that physician engagement is a key responsibility shared by each of the organization’s top administrative leaders.  The impact of a solid, well-focused outreach program is enhanced immensely when the efforts of outreach coordinators (physician liaisons) are coupled with those at the executive level of the organization. The most important engagement is on the part of senior executives with direct administrative responsibility for key service lines.  Physicians and other medical practitioners understand and respect the influence that these senior leaders have over operations and the ability to directly respond to a physician’s operational issues and concerns. Strategic Focus #2 Outreach Program/Coordinators Extending Balanced, Personalized Sales/Service The outreach coordinator (physician liaison) sits at the intersection of hospital goals and physician/practice needs.  They are charged with "balancing" attention to the hospital's interests and needs/priorities of physicians, working to optimize utilization and referral patterns.  This role is absolutely vital today but will be even more so as healthcare reform elevates the importance of hospital/physician integration under accountable payment systems. The most effective outreach programs are designed to meet the needs of the organizations they serve.  These needs range from a strong focus on organizational growth (sales orientation) to a strong focus on resolving service issues (service orientation).  Most organizations’ outreach efforts reflect a balanced emphasis of sales and service with the majority leaning toward service.  This reflects the general evolution of healthcare as organizations across the country move toward fuller hospital-physician integration.  This sharpens the focus on collaborative efforts to improve clinical efficiency and service delivery. Experienced healthcare leaders point to three factors determining the effectiveness of outreach efforts, each worthy of attention. Driving Outreach with Individual Physician Data – selecting physician outreach targets using individual physician data analysis to maximize the impact and return on investment in the outreach program. Aligning the Focus of the Outreach Program with Hospital Strategy – alignment of the outreach programs principal focus and goals with organizational strategy to ensure the proper objectives drive the work of outreach consultants. Personalizing Outreach to Physicians – gaining the support and involvement of engaged physicians in performing outreach activities, taking advantage of existing relationships to enhance the overall effectiveness of the outreach program.

A Pinteresting Case for Healthcare Marketing

by Lauren Wunderlich

Pinterest is the hot new social media phenomenon.  But will it succeed in the long run? Many believe Pinterest’s unique place in the social media atmosphere will help it succeed, while some critics believe privacy issues might hint at a bumpy road ahead. For hospital marketers, the overlap of the key healthcare decision maker + the demographic of the average Pinterest user — higher income women ages 18-34 — is more than enticing. (TechCrunch). This is one obvious case for Pinterest’s value in healthcare marketing strategies — but is it worth precious marketing dollars and time?  Read on to find out. The Basics So what makes Pinterest so…um, interesting?  After all, it’s just pictures, right? Hive Strategies says this:  “People use Pinterest to organize their favorite things and browse other people’s favorite things.”  Users create boards to pin items of interest and share them with others.  Pinterest goes far beyond pretty pictures and gives the user something else entirely — inspiration. (And a way to nurture their inner Martha Stewart.) Value to Healthcare Marketers Pinterest is a great way to organize content so it can quickly + easily be accessed. This ability to curate content is a great argument for Pinterest’s value to hospital marketers. By aggregating content in one space, whether from your own hospital website or other sources, a hospital can easily educate + engage patients. Think of it this way: instead of sending a patient home with brochures on stretching exercises or a new diabetic meal plan, staff can just direct them to the “Rehabilitation Exercises” or “Diabetic Recipes” board on your hospital’s Pinterest page. http://pinterest.com/summitmedicalnj/rehabilitation-exercises/ http://pinterest.com/trishbarker/diabetic-recipes/ Another sell for healthcare marketers is Pinterest’s ability to generate web traffic.  Pinterest drives more referral traffic than Google+, LinkedIn + YouTube combined, according to Shareaholic. Impressive numbers — made all the more impressive knowing most of these visitors are our coveted female, 18-34 demographic. Still need convincing?  Check out these stats from ragan.com: Pinterest retains and engages users two to three times more efficiently as Twitter did at the same age. Pinterest accounts for 3.6 percent of referral traffic, while Twitter is just barely ahead, accounting for 3.61 percent of referral traffic. In July 2011, Pinterest accounted for only 0.17 percent of referral traffic.  More than one-fifth of Facebook-connected users are on Pinterest daily. This represents more than 2,000,000 members In May 2011, an average Pinterest visitor spent 13.7 minutes per month on the site. In January 2012, each Pinterest visitor spent an average of 97.8 minutes per month on the site. Who’s on Pinterest? As the statistics show, Pinterest is definitely catching the attention of marketers. However, it has yet to be a real hit in the healthcare industry.  Brands like Etsy, HGTV, Whole Foods + Nordstrom have a presence on Pinterest, but only a handful of hospitals have decided to climb onboard.  Here are a few of the early joiners: Dayton Children’s Medical Center Dayton Children’s Medical Center uses content from their website to increase traffic.  Check out how they’re using inspirational patient stories to direct users back to their own website: Baylor Health Baylor Health has boards on interactive health quizzes, healthy holidays, family health, health awareness, fitness + more. With over 200 followers already, it looks like they’re doing something right. Some additional healthcare organizations using Pinterest are Inova Health, Summit Medical Group, + MD Anderson Cancer Center. Check out their Pinterest sites for some fresh ideas + inspiration. Potential Setbacks Although Pinterest seems like a fresh approach to social media, as with anything new, there are always improvements to be made.  As mentioned earlier, privacy (or more the lack of it) has come into question for some.  Also, there has yet to be a healthcare or wellness listing within Pinterest; so in order to be noticed, you must direct people to boards/ page directly. Using social media to generate traffic to your hospital’s Pinterest page is a great way to go, but Pinterest isn’t likely to generate unsolicited traffic. Finally, it might be hard to justify the extra time + resources spent cultivating your presence on Pinterest. Not only is there no analytics component to measure brand performance within the site, but there’s also the intimidating thought of developing a whole new social media presence. Wrap-Up Pinterest is a fun, visually stimulating + inspiring approach to communicating with  hospital consumers, but whether or not it will be viable in the long-term is still too close to call.  At the very least, hospitals should keep their eyes open for any new opportunities that are bound to present themselves with Pinterest. Is Pinterest worth your hospital’s time and valuable marketing resources?  Let us know by leaving a comment below.

ACO WEBINAR - Pulling Off the Band-Aid: Easing the Pain of Healthcare Reform

Accountable care has arrived.  Some have begun to invest in a new level of performance and accountability. Others are not as far along. Where do you stand? Join us on April 17th at 3 pm eastern to learn ways your organization can smoothly transition from a volume-based to value-based ACO model of care. The concept of the ACO is beyond overwhelming when we start to think of the logistics of a transition. Learn where to start + some tips to help ease the growing pains along the way. Discover how wellness initiatives are a critical component to this transition, and learn ways to leverage your wellness initiatives as a critical element in the creation of a successful ACO. This complimentary online webinar is delivered by a panel of national experts in hospital marketing, lasts one hour and covers a variety of topics focusing on ways to smoothly transition during healthcare reform. Together, we will: Discuss the vision for the future of ACOs Explore a comparison of the volume-based healthcare model with the value-based ACO model Discuss programs that will yield the healthiest bottom line for the ACO Learn about the integrative medicine center and how it will ease the transition to an ACO Explore the importance of elevating wellness to the status of a Center of Excellence Discuss today’s reality of adverse health trends (and why wellness is more critical than ever before) Focus on the 10 keys to successful wellness initiatives Highlight ways to get your many audiences on-board with (and excited about!) wellness Review common components of corporate wellness Learn more about community health promotion Review a case study of a successful women’s wellness initiative (and plenty of anecdotes!)   FEATURED SPEAKERS: Russell Faust, PhD, MD Guest Faculty at Oakland University School of Business, Executive MBA Program in Healthcare, social media consultant and Chief Medical Officer for Anicca Media, LLC, a digital media agency helping physician practices + hospitals connect with their online patient communities + physicians. Jon Headlee: President, Ten Adams, applies his 20 years of healthcare industry knowledge developing + nurturing the strategic vision for hospital clients. Working closely with hospital executives, he helps 'connect the dots' between increasing revenue + developing brand leadership. As a speaker + author, Jon simplifies the complex and focuses on delivering quantifiable results for clients. Space is limited; so be sure to register at http://bit.ly/GSjmNg.

Physician Marketing – A Question of Balance

by Scott Mosley, Vice President of Strategy

Over the course of my career, few things have consistently presented more significant challenges than development of physician relationships.  Search the published literature and you’ll find very little of a comprehensive roadmap for building physician referral volume.  There is really no set formula to guide a process which is, by necessity, tailored to individual physicians guided by their particular practice dynamics. Dr. Stephen C. Beason, author of Engaging Physicians: A Manual to Physician Partnership, points out that “physician support of a particular health system is based on factors that many healthcare leaders don’t recognize, leaving well-intentioned leaders to wonder in frustration why physicians maintain a distance in their hospital relationship.”  I’d suggest this common dilemma is rooted in failure to understand the nature of the hospital-physician value proposition. The Value Proposition In the end, physicians do for a healthcare organization what the organization has done for them.  They will partner with healthcare leaders when trust and confidence are earned, clinical efficiency is consistently demonstrated and they are provided meaningful input in guiding the priorities of the organization.  They must have faith in a true “balance” between the needs of the hospital and needs of the physician in setting the organization’s agenda.  This faith in a “balanced” approach to guiding the hospital’s development is the essence of effective physician marketing. Physicians and health system leaders want the same things.  They depend on each other to achieve their respective goals.  Good outcomes are assured in the presence of trust and collaboration – the foundation for an engaged relationship.  This is the primary source of mutual value to the healthcare organization and its medical partners; an engaged, mutually-beneficial working relationship.  It’s hard to achieve and even harder to maintain. Communications Synergy The importance of synergy across the full scope of communications can’t be overstated.  The organization's messages targeting physicians and consumers must reinforce each other.  The goal is a sense of confidence, shared by the medical community and the patients they treat at or refer to your organization. Achieving this shared sense of confidence is a function of three things.  First, the way that people who provide service and support to physicians and patients conduct themselves.  Hiring the right people, training them well and providing them with the right incentives are all of vital importance.  Secondly, being crystal clear in how the organization frames its messaging and the image it promotes.  Finally, views on the quality of the organization’s clinical products and processes are a vital factor in building confidence with physicians as well as the general public. Strategic Framework Ten Adams believes that there are five strategic focuses at the core of effective physician marketing. Administrative Leadership Engagement Outreach Program/Coordinators Education/Medical Orientation Print/Electronic Communications Data on Utilization/Referral Patterns I’ll address each of these focuses in subsequent blog posts, but let me offer a closing thought for this post: The era of integration has arrived.  It’s time to re-evaluate all our customer relationships – and include the physician in this process.  Physicians are a healthcare organization’s best customers, affording the greatest marketing opportunity, when we create relationships that work.  We are destined to negotiate a dramatic shift in how healthcare is delivered, together.