As Senators Barack Obama and John McCain battle over how best to control spending and cover the uninsured, they are both filling their speeches, advertisements, and debating points with statistics about the money they would save and the millions of Americans they would cover. But the figures they cite are invariably the roughest of estimates. Over time, these forecasts have become so disparate and contradictory as to be almost meaningless, according to this article in the New York Times.
An internist at Minneapolis-based Abbott Northwestern Hospital is using a $6 million grant to find out whether a strategy that combines electronic medical records, contracts between patients and doctors, and the skills of care guides can improve health and reduce costs for poor, chronically ill patients. The program aims to prove that coordinating care and preventing problems from developing will save money—as well as convince health insurers that it's worth the cost.
Despite months of controversy and finger-pointing between the St. Bernard Parish Council and a public board created to oversee construction of a hospital, the council has kept the panel in place amid lingering questions about who will manage the hospital and how to pay for it. The feud revolved around a lack of progress on hospital construction and allegations of a conflict of interest involving two doctors on the board. St. Bernard has been without a hospital since Hurricane Katrina destroyed Chalmette Medical Center, and parish officials have cited the lack of a hospital as a key roadblock to recovery.
A lack of regulation surrounding fertility services in India and the lucrative returns to those that provide them has turned the country into a popular hub of "IVF tourism." Childless couples from overseas are attracted by the relatively low-cost treatment, as well as "friendly rules" when it comes to egg donors and surrogate motherhood. According to the private Indian Society for Assisted Reproduction, there are some 400 IVF clinics in the country providing an estimated 30,000 assisted reproductive treatments a year. There are no precise estimates for what percentage are taken up by foreigners, but doctors say overseas demand is fuelling a boom.
What's your opinion of the difference between sales and marketing? Everyone seems to have a different explanation. Read more than 50 responses to this question on blogger and marketing consultant Chris Brown's LinkedIn page.
Hennepin County Medical Center (HCMC) recently took on the challenge of battling the perception of invincibility among youths with some guerilla marketing and a simple message: Save Your Brain.
The 'Save Your Brain' campaign came about as a result of recent clinical research that indicated more than 1.4 million Americans suffer from traumatic brain injuries (TBI) each year—100,000 of whom are from Minnesota, and most of whom are young adults. So, Minneapolis' HCMC took on the challenge of targeting that hard-to-reach market.
"When [we] first pitched our ideas to Hennepin County Medical Center it was evident that they understood that the manner we delivered the message was just as important as the message itself," said Brent Doering, VP of Client Services at HCMC's agency Russell Herder.
The team chose to deliver the message using a multi-phase campaign which gave the facility a chance to get out into the community. Hoping to engage, the campaign was brought to youth friendly areas and sporting events. Playing off of people's curiosity, guerilla marketing in the form of temporary tattoos, coasters, a rolling community awareness bathtub (see click-through video), and a Brain Bar were used to try to deliver the message in a non-obtrusive way.
"The Brain Bar is an interactive kiosk, staffed with specialists where people can get literature, interact, and communicate about TBI," says Doering. "There are also computers set up at the brain bar which allowed participants to explore the campaign's site for a more educational approach." The information on the site, according to Doering, was specifically written with a more relaxed and youth-friendly tone. While on the site, visitors can also try their hand at building their own brain while learning the different areas and how a TBI could affect each area.
The somewhat unconventional tactics proved effective. Within the first 24 hours of the campaign, HCMC received over 50 calls to schedule an examination for a potentially undiagnosed brain injury. To date, the campaign has generated more than 1.1 million impressions in broadcast, print, and online media coverage. The site has tracked over 3,000 unique visitors, and more than 1,000 people built their brain on the site from the interactive Brain Bar.
"Overall, this campaign increased awareness, curbed perceptions, and helped generate service line revenue for HCMC while simultaneously continuing our momentum in repositioning the organization," Doering says. "One thing that was really incredible to me was that the campaign has also made an impact on me, personally," says Doering. "I always wore a helmet when I biked, not so much when I would roller blade. Now, I do."
Kandace McLaughlin Doyle is an editor with HealthLeaders magazine. Send her Campaign Spotlight ideas at kdoyle@healthleadersmedia.com If you are a marketer submitting a campaign on behalf of your facility or client, please ensure you have permission before doing so.