Hospital Marketing Journal

Branding Webinar - Branding in a New Era of Healthcare: Not Your Father's Hospital

Does your brand connect consumers to the comprehensive healthcare support they seek? Healthcare today is far more encompassing than it's ever been before, touching virtually every aspect of how we equip ourselves to live our lives - physically, mentally and spiritually. Healthcare is no longer confined within the walls of your hospital, your ambulatory care centers or the offices of the physicians you employ. It’s more a product of the thousands of choices we, as individuals, make every day. As a result, how consumers view healthcare and their expectations of providers is changing significantly. Your organization - and your brand - are judged on the basis of your value to consumers in very broad terms - the extent to which you integrate with their lives, anticipating and proactively addressing needs based on information they have provided. Join Ten Adams on May 17th at 3 PM Eastern to discover how to deal with these changing expectations and their impact on your hospital's success. In this 30 minute webinar we will discuss: • Today's New Proposition in Healthcare and How it Touches Every Aspect of Our Lives • The Emerging Challenge of Brand Leadership • The Five D's of Brand Strategy Creation and Execution • The Value of Customer Relationships and Emotional Connectivity as Demonstrated by Harley Davidson and Apple Don't miss this opportunity to take a deeper look at how hospital brands must change to meet consumers' expectations in the new era of healthcare. Space is limited. Register here to hold your spot.

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.

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.

Hospital Innovation!

It matters and it’s happening now.

By Jon Headlee, President Ten Adams Today’s hospital CEOs are suffering from a number of significant challenges. Healthcare is stuck in the middle of a revolution that seemingly has no end. According to a recent American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE) survey, the top 4 challenges for hospitals in 2011 are: 77% - Financial challenges 53% - Healthcare reform implementation 32% - Governmental mandates 31% - Patient quality & safety What to do? What to do? According to ACHE (and Ten Adams by the way) the answer is to INNOVATE! According to the report, developing a culture of innovation will help hospitals cultivate the visionary leaders and implement the management systems they need to improve the healthcare they provide, and do it more efficiently.   Hospitals need to: Initiate the quest for innovative solutions by establishing empowered R&D teams led by passionate, C-Suite team members. Encourage the adoption of original ideas and insights by fostering an information exchange among all hospital staff, and business experts outside the organization. Establish and encourage new thinking and decision-making processes that enable management to overcome seemingly intractable operational and ethical issues, with the goal of improving quality and cultivating promising healthcare leaders. In other words, hospitals need to foster innovation inside their own 4 walls, amongst their doctors, nurses, administrators and all other personnel.   A culture of innovation will not only help the employees become engaged and more effective in their jobs, but it will also encourage them to be more motivated, efficient, perform at a higher level, and provide patients with better quality of care.  A patient who believes they are receiving the best quality of care and the best value will be a repeat patient for life and a powerful advocate for the organization. In all business, innovation is the catalyst to growth.  Every business needs an innovation engine to generate great ideas that will move the business forward.   Significant innovation creates competitive advantage and it goes without saying that competitive advantage is the life-saver for hospitals in this highly competitive healthcare environment. What is innovation and how can a culture of innovation help hospitals in these tough economic times?  Innovation is the commercial application and successful exploitation of an idea.  In business, this could be: improving or replacing business processes to increase efficiency and productivity developing entirely new and improved products and services to meet rapidly changing consumer demands or needs adding value to existing products, services or markets to differentiate the business from its competitors and increase the perceived value Innovation will help you: improve productivity reduce costs be more competitive build the value of your brand establish new partnerships and relationships increase turnover and improve profitability Want an example of innovation in practice? Take a look at The Innovation Center at Columbus Regional Hospital. For the past several years, Columbus Regional Hospital (CRH) has used innovation as its central growth strategy.  They innovate in everything they do, from delivering medication to patients, to serving drinks in the cafeteria.  Innovation allows them to deliver the best patient care and helps distinguish them from their competition. "When we talk about innovation we mean the process of using new ideas to make something better and solve problems," said Lynne Maguire, Vice President of Planning & Marketing and Chief Strategy Officer. "Sometimes it is to make something new, and sometimes it is to improve an existing process." Maguire is chief strategy officer at the 225-bed Columbus Regional Hospital 50 miles south of Indianapolis, which recently opened an 18,000-square-foot Innovation Center. The goals of the center are considerable: differentiate the organization in the marketplace, enhance staff recruitment and retention, provide better patient outcomes — and serve as a model for other hospitals looking to build their own innovation programs. "Organizations that can rapidly improve, rapidly adopt best practices and rapidly innovate are going to have strategic advantages," Maguire says. The time is NOW to introduce a culture of innovation.  The organizations that embrace this concept will be the hospitals + healthcare systems that guide the healthcare industry into a new dawn of health delivery in the 21st century.