Sixty nurses in 60 days. Ambitious? Yes. Doable? For Midland (TX) Memorial, absolutely. "In 2007 we hired a recruiting firm," says Robert Dent, vice president of nursing and chief nursing officer for Midland. "We spent $100,000 and recruited just five nurses. After about a year only three of them actually started working here." When the contract renewal time with the firm came around, Dent did some research and decided that Midland could find a way to do better.
The facility needed 60 nurses and based on the research of the market area, Dent believed they could do it in 60 days.
"It was quite ambitious," says Marcy Madrid, manager of public and media relations. "When we were first presented with this we were spending that much money and we were happy if we got five recruitments out of it. His plan included a lot more nurses in a lot shorter time. And, we'd never done it before, but Bob's department was confident that there were great people in the community and surrounding communities. It was all just a matter of getting the word out there."
The initiative included TV, radio, print, and outdoor, with a focus on newspapers. "Because we were dealing with recruiting, the newspaper was an important medium to hit since it's where people go to look for jobs," says Madrid.
The campaign's main message was "Midland Memorial, your home for healthcare" and the spots featured Midland employees. "We used our own people," says Madrid. "We usually don't based on turnover, but because this was a specialized campaign that was really about the people we chose to use our people in it. Midland has a great family atmosphere the best way to convey that was featuring the people who believe in that and work in that and think that everyday."
At the end of the 60 days, Midland had recruited more than 60 nurses. Of course, once they got them there they knew they needed to keep them happy as well. "We have a lot of systems in place to help with retention. New employees aren't just thrown into the fire. They know what they're getting in to," says Madrid.
Not only did this campaign help meet the organization's nursing needs but, according to Madrid, featuring current employees also helped to reinstate a sense of internal pride. As for embarking on this sort of a campaign again, she said, "This really was meant to be a one time rally thing. We're fully staffed and we believe we were able to recruit people who believe in our mission."
Kandace McLaughlin is an editor with HealthLeaders magazine. Send her Campaign Spotlight ideas at kmclaughlin@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.
When I last interviewed Bridget Duffy, MD, she was just getting settled into her new job as Cleveland Clinic's chief experience officer. She's been busy since then, expanding the clinic's focus on the patient experience and customer satisfaction by launching new programs, creating new positions, and making sure patients' and families' voices are heard.
The role of chief experience officer wasn't just a new position for Duffy—it was a new position for the healthcare industry. By all accounts, Cleveland Clinic was the first hospital to hire a "second CEO."
There were a few bumps along the road in those early days. "I was met with some cynicism and skepticism at this organization," she told me back then [Cleveland Clinic's 'Other CEO', September 26, 2007]. "I think if all this role does is put apples in a basket in the emergency department or wireless remotes in waiting rooms, then people should be skeptical."
Top down support helped in those early days, especially from Toby M. Cosgrove, MD, the clinic's CEO and president, who championed the idea. "That has helped pave the way quite a bit for me," she said at the time.
Since then, Duffy has led the charge to implement several new patient experience initiatives at the clinic's institutes and hospitals.
The more people involved, it turns out, the merrier the patient. So she's appointed institute-level experience officers, organized patient and family advisory councils at hospitals and within departments, and has started to change the culture at the clinic to ensure that all employees are empowered to give patients the best possible experience.
"Every single employee owns the patient experience," Duffy says.
Duffy has some tips for anyone who's thinking about adding a new seat at the C-suite table. Among them—make sure that seat's a sturdy one. You must lay a solid infrastructure to sustain any initiatives you implement, she says—a quick fix won't work.
Based on the number of calls and e-mails I've received since that first column ran, more than one organization is investigating ways to differentiate on patient satisfaction. Duffy, too, says she's been "inundated" with requests for information from leaders at hospitals and health systems across the country.
"It's fascinating, the level of interest" in the patient experience and the chief experience officer position, Duffy says. "I think you are going to see a trend across this country of organizations appointing leadership teams . . . to make this a high priority."
Is your hospital or health system trying to get out ahead of this trend to differentiate on service? If you wait until your competitors make a move, it might be too late.
Gienna Shaw is an editor with HealthLeaders magazine. She can be reached at gshaw@healthleadersmedia.com.
Note: You can sign up to receive HealthLeaders Media Marketing, a free weekly e-newsletter that will guide you through the complex and constantly-changing field of healthcare marketing.
Pharmaceutical companies in India offering any financial incentive to doctors to prescribe particular drugs may become a thing of the past if the drug manufacturers decide to follow the strict code of conduct being implemented by The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America.
Conducting secondary market research is a lot easier than it was 15 years ago, thanks to the Internet. But is it necessarily better? The seemingly bottomless pit of content that makes up today's Web poses some distinct challenges to marketers looking for precise, credible facts on which to build a strategy.
When it came time to buy a house, my husband and I were lured to the outskirts of town where houses offer bigger yards at more affordable prices than in the city. The 30- to 40-minute commute to work, while not ideal, seemed tolerable. But now, with gas prices hovering around $4 a gallon, our pocketbook is taking a hit. Fortunately, I can occasionally work from home, if needed—but the same cannot be said for hospital physicians, nurses, technicians, and housekeeping staff. They can't perform surgery, clean hospital rooms, or take patient x-rays from home.
It used to be that clinicians didn't mind traveling to work at their hospital of choice. Last year, I heard a community hospital CEO talk about their strategy to engage staff and eliminate low performers. They revamped their hiring practices and developed employee retention initiatives, and were so successful that 40% of their employees actually lived closer to another hospital but chose to work at their facility. Sounds great, but I wonder how long that will last if gas prices continue to rise.
There's no question that higher fuel costs are negatively impacting the home health industry. Patients who live in remote areas may soon be hard-pressed to find a healthcare provider willing to travel to them, and some home healthcare workers are considering leaving the industry altogether. Similarly, hospitals are facing higher medical supply costs. A box of 100 latex gloves cost about $2.70 a couple of years ago. Today, the cost is $3.50 to $3.80 (oil is used to manufacture the gloves).
So where's the silver lining? Your employees and suppliers are not the only ones struggling to cope with higher gas prices. Members of the community are struggling, as well. And many, like me, are opting to shop at stores closer to home. This goes for healthcare services, as well. Community hospitals may start seeing an influx of patients who used to travel to larger hospitals farther away now choosing to stay closer to home for routine procedures. This is a great opportunity for community hospitals to demonstrate the personalized service and high-quality care that they can offer.
But to keep these patients (many of whom may have private health insurance) coming back, your facility needs to make a good first impression. Healthcare is one of those services that people will pay more for or travel a few extra miles to, if they believe that they are getting higher quality service. So what kind of first impression will your hospital make?
While new technology is great, you don't necessarily need a 64-slice CT scanner or a computerized physician order entry system to leave a good first impression. Nor do you need the waterfall wall or healing garden. Yes, these amenities are nice, and patients will probably come away thinking that facility was "really cutting edge and beautiful." But there are some more affordable options to ensure that patients leave feeling like they had a high-quality encounter.
Make sure your hospital staff and clinicians treat patients with genuine compassion, not a fake sense of concern. Ensure that employees' appearance is professional and clean—that goes for the physical plant, as well. I know not every hospital has the budget to upgrade waiting rooms or the emergency room with a new interior, but some inexpensive fixes can have a big impact. Try rearranging the furniture in the waiting room, adding new artwork to the walls, or establishing an area for children. And above all, make sure it is clean. Remember, patients spend a lot of time in these areas and can often zero in on all of the flaws. Dirty walls or dusty window sills will speak volumes about your hospital and its commitment to safe, quality care.
Carrie Vaughan is editor of HealthLeaders Media Community and Rural Hospital Weekly. She can be reached at cvaughan@healthleadersmedia.com.
Many health plans protect against HIPAA violations by training their staffs, but with employee turnover and human error in play, how can a health plan defend itself and keep its members' information private?
Here are two ways: develop technology-driven processes and emulate Microsoft and Google.
Many health plans are surely reviewing their processes in the wake of the news that Seattle-based Providence Health & Services agreed to pay $100,000 and implement a detailed corrective action plan after losing electronic backup media and laptop computers containing identifiable health information for more than 386,000 patients in 2005 and 2006. The U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) received more than 30 complaints about the security breach of the nonprofit health system that includes a health plans, hospitals, and clinics.
The theft potentially violated the law's Privacy and Security Rules, which require covered entities—such as health plans, healthcare clearinghouses, and most healthcare providers—to safeguard health information.
The case shows the difficult nature of protecting member health information. In order to protect your company against HIPAA violations, HHS offers these suggested actions. There is also a compliance checklist.
As the Providence case shows, however, training staff on policies and procedures is sometimes not enough. Michael Dermer, president and CEO of Lyndhurst, NJ-based IncentOne, a healthcare technology company that specializes in incentive platforms, says HIPAA protections need to go beyond training. He says health plans should set up technology-driven checks and balances so employees are constantly reminded of HIPAA regulations. Dermer says health plans are already using technology-driven processes in the areas of e-prescribing and nurse call centers.
Dermer says health plans have been proactive in adhering to HIPAA privacy rules, but could go a step further by challenging third parties and vendors to assist plans with technology compliance. He points to the fact that financial institutions spend a higher percentage of their revenue on technology than health plans.
One of the leading issues in the healthcare technology realm is the entrance of Microsoft and Google into the personal health record market this year.
David C. Kibbe, MD, MBA, principal of The Kibbe Group, LLC, in Pittsboro, N.C., and senior advisor for the Center for Health Information Technology at American Academy of Family Physicians, says the technological giants aren't covered under HIPAA law, but have created protections that go beyond the regulations.
"We have Microsoft and Google publishing privacy practices and privacy policies that are as strong or stronger than what HIPAA requires. And at the same time, they are letting people know that they take this seriously because they have so many financial stakes at risk," says Kibbe.
Kibbe would like to see health plans and providers change from offering patients Notice of Privacy Practices, and instead follow the lead of the business world in allowing patients to consent to information exchanges between specific entities.
"I think that the non-HIPAA world, Google and Microsoft and those folks, have already accepted a higher level of consent obligation than what is currently the case under HIPAA," says Kibbe, adding he thinks the HIPAA law will move toward that model ultimately.
As healthcare looks to technology as a way to improve care and lower costs, Dermer says, the industry needs to protect against breaches that could harm the cause of greater technology integration.
"As healthcare delivery systems get even more complex and the sharing of information gets so important, we don't want disclosure issues to prevent the delivery of great care and the reduction of costs. I think that is what all of our mission has to strive toward," says Dermer.
Les Masterson is senior editor of Health Plan Insider. He can be reached at lmasterson@healthleadersmedia.com .
Note: You can sign up to receive Health Plan Insider, a free weekly e-newsletter designed to bring breaking news and analysis of important developments at health plans and other managed care organizations to your inbox.