I know it's only September, but I'm going to call it now: Advertising emergency room wait times via billboard, website, smartphone application, or text is the healthcare marketing trend that will define 2010. The trend began years ago, but has recently increased momentum with the availability of customizable smartphone apps. Chances are if you aren't marketing your ED wait times already, you're planning to or at least thinking about it. But is it a worthwhile marketing tactic? Yes. Here are three reasons why.
Short wait times are a competitive differentiator
The average ED wait time in the U.S. is four hours and seven minutes and is expected to increase as health coverage expands, according to Press Ganey's 2010 Emergency Department Pulse Report: Patient Perspectives on American Health Care. This means that patients who plan on going to an emergency room to be treated for a less-urgent condition will be more likely to shop around to see which organization will get them out the door fastest.
When MetroWest Medical Center in Framinghma, MA, launched an ad campaign promoting 30-minute "door-to-doc" ED service, patient volume rose 6%, hospital CEO Andrei Soran told the MetroWest Daily News.
"We know our customers are interested in how long their encounter in the emergency room is going to be," he said. The 360-bed hospital recently launched a text message alert to notify cell phone users of current wait times. Soran said he expects ambulance crews to take notice of this new feature as well, driving more patients to EDs that promote short wait times.
Hospitals must improve throughput
Making wait times easily accessible via the Internet, by text, or on billboards sends a clear message to all employees that an efficient ER is a key strategic goal.
The admission process is one reason the ED gets backed up, Angela Gardner, MD, president of the American College of Emergency Physicians told HealthLeaders Media in July.
"Hospitals need to stop boarding admitted patients in the emergency department and get them to the appropriate inpatient floor quickly," she said. "That is what's best for the admitted patients but it's also what's best for the patients suffering in the waiting room."
The tactic is low-cost and high-buzz
Advertising ED wait times on your hospital website and social media accounts cost nothing. Creating a smartphone app through a third-party is also a nominal investment. And you don't have to launch an expensive dedicated marketing campaign to promote your short wait times.
And once you do start making ED wait times available, the local media will take notice. Hardly a day goes by when my Google Alerts doesn't contain at least one article from a small newspaper extolling the community hospital for communicating its ED wait times.
It's getting coverage in larger media outlets, too; MSNBC, The Boston Globe, and The Salt Lake Tribune have each written about the trend this month.
It's a hot topic. By marketing your organization's ER wait times, you can increase patient volume, improve staff efficiency, and garner some free publicity and positive word-of-mouth.
Marianne Aiello is a contributing writer at HealthLeaders Media.