Obstetrician Jodie Rai has partnered with researcher Robert Kokenyesi to form Cervimark LLC, based at the Nidus Center for Scientific Enterprise incubator in Creve Coeura, MO. Cervimark aims to develop a test that will predict which women are likely to deliver at less than 37 weeks of pregnancy, the definition of a pre-term birth. If Cervimark succeeds, its test would allow doctors to intervene in the limited ways available to them--by moving rural patients closer to hospitals with neonatal intensive care units, for example--and would identify a group of patients who could be tapped as volunteers for clinical trials in the development of new and better treatments.
Presbyterian Hospital in Charlotte, NC has established second-opinion clinics to allow cancer patients to speak with doctors, nurses, social workers and nutritionists in a single day, at the same place, instead of making individual appointments that could take weeks or months to arrange. Several times a month, doctors from various cancer specialties--medical oncology, surgical oncology, radiation oncology and pathology--meet at to review cases of patients who want second opinions or advice about diagnoses and treatment. For now, the service is free regardless of income, but later in 2008, Presbyterian may begin charging for the clinics.
Cleveland Clinic's recent declarations that it wants to benefit the community have been called by detractors a savvy business strategy and by advocates, altruistic. The health system has put into place new initiatives--from helping residents cope with a statewide ban on smoking in workplaces, bars, and restaurants to taking out a full-page advertisement about community benefits--at a time when questions have been raised about whether it provides enough charity care to earn its tax-exempt status.
One of Indianapolis' oldest heart surgery practices is considering closing its doors to avoid paying off in full a large court judgment from losing a breach-of-contract lawsuit brought by a former partner. Cardiac & Vascular Surgery Associates is already in a Chapter 11 reorganization bankruptcy. The court awarded the former partner $480,853 in damages after a two-and-a-half-day trial. With interest the claim could top $1 million.
There's a shift under way in how healthcare leaders view marketing in tough financial times. Rather than cut marketing when money is tight, as has been standard in the past, the 2007 HealthLeaders Media Annual Marketing Professionals survey suggests hospitals are starting to view marketing as a way to expand market share or at least hold on to what they've already got.
In my last column, I wrote that 2007 was the year of the consumer, as hospital and health system marketers increasingly referred to patients as customers and focused much of their attention on improving service, engendering patient loyalty, and creating a positive brand experience. So, what will 2008 bring for healthcare marketing? I have a few ideas (and some of them might even come true). Also, make sure to keep reading for a link to the 2007 HealthLeaders Media Annual Marketing Professionals Survey--I think you'll find the results quite helpful in formulating your own predictions.
1. A growing emphasis on internal communications: As the trend toward consumerism grows, healthcare organizations will expand their definition of "customer" to include internal stakeholders--from employees and staff physicians and board members to referring physicians. Why? Because patient satisfaction cannot improve without strong employee satisfaction. Is there any industry where every single employee--volunteers, admissions staff, cafeteria workers, nurses, hospitalists, anesthesiologists, physicians, surgeons, and anyone else you can think of--has such a profound impact on the patient experience?
2. The death of customer-written review Websites: Sites where patients rank physicians, nurses, or hospitals in general? They just don't work. They hold absolutely no value other than for the person who wants to let off a little steam about a bad experience. The reviewer is extraordinarily biased and the reader knows that. Sure, word of mouth referrals are key to hospitals' survival. But potential patients want that word to come from a mouth they know and trust.
3. The rise of hospital-specific bash fests: On the other hand, blogs and other sites that are created to target a specific hospital are on the rise. And because they tend to be created by a small community of people with first-hand knowledge of the organization, they carry much more weight than one of those large, impersonal rankings sites. Current and past hospital employees often contribute to these sites (see prediction #1), lending them even more credence. You should regularly use search engines to find out what folks are saying about your organization and crafting an appropriate response to any sites that are dedicated to bashing it. In particular, look for sites with your hospital's name and the word "sucks" in the URL. You'd be surprised how many exist.
4. More innovative use of new media: OK, I'm still not willing to say that in the future all marketing will be done via cell phone. But considering how quickly technology advances, it is entirely possible that in 12 months I'll be writing about a new media that isn't even on the radar yet. It's more likely I'll be writing that hospital marketers are using "old" new media in new ways, however. Either that or there will be a backlash against all forms of new media, everyone will abandon their cell phones and trash their PDAs, and marketers will go back to putting ads in the yellow pages again.
5. Nuevo-niche marketing: Hospitals do know how to reach out to audiences with targeted messages. They send direct mail pieces to new movers introducing their docs and their services. They don't send OB/GYN marketing to single men and they don't remind women to get a prostate cancer screening when they turn 50. But when it comes time to really drill down, they don't do as well. If you have a large Spanish-speaking population in your community, is it enough to publish your patient newsletter in two languages or add subtitles to an existing TV ad for a run on the local Spanish cable station? Or do you need to go further with a campaign that's designed to speak exclusively to a specific community and its unique culture? To stay competitive, it's the latter that makes the difference.
You'll note that I left out a lot of looming trends, but these are my fave five and I'm sticking to them.
Of course, I'd also like to hear your predictions. Is this the year that transparency truly rears its ugly head? Will retail clinics and medical tourism force a change in your market strategy? Will every hospital hire a chief experience officer in the next 12 months? Will marketing managers completely re-jigger their budgets so that 98 percent of their ad buys are online? Let me know what you think. You can e-mail me or click the link below to leave a comment right on this page.
The results of the 2007 HealthLeaders Media Marketing Professionals Survey are in and available to view or download in PDF format on our Web site. The marketing survey offers a snapshot of where hospital and health system marketers stand when it comes to trends, from the increase in consumerism to the rise of new media.
Gienna Shaw is an editor with HealthLeaders magazine. She can be reached at gshaw@healthleadersmedia.com.