We use our cellphones to deposit money, send email, and track our daily step count. We also use them to constantly communicate, whether it’s through social media, texting, and (rarely, it seems) phone calls. With countless apps and new technology increasing our communication channels, shouldn’t it be easier to communicate with healthcare providers? Unfortunately, that Read More
“In the big picture of digital marketing, SEO is truly the most misunderstood portion,” says Kyle Mills, manager of online marketing at Practis, a North Carolina-based healthcare digital marketing agency. One of the biggest myths around SEO is that websites can be optimized once and have long-term success. The fact is that SEO is not Read More
“When Lisa Stockmon arrived at City of Hope National Medical Center in 2014 as chief marketing and communications officer, she was on a mission to transform the venerable comprehensive cancer center into a national brand and an international digital marketing powerhouse,” says Robin Snow, founder and principal of Aefinity Interactive, LLC. “She had the experience Read More
“How do your customers identify providers in your network? Your answer could be very important to your organization’s success,” posits Noel Coleman, president of Doctor.com Enterprise (formerly Connect Healthcare). Here’s why: “Today, Find-a-Doctor tools (such as a physician directory on your website that is optimized to meet your patients’ needs and search habits) are an important part Read More
There’s no denying the popularity of Facebook’s live video feature. Within a year of its site-wide launch in April 2016, broadcasts quadrupled, and one in five videos on the platform was live. For marketers, Facebook Live is a new and exciting way to engage with audiences. But live video can come with some hesitation and Read More
As the number of users accessing the internet from mobile devices continues to climb, an optimized mobile experience is becoming a must-have for healthcare and other industries. How long does it take your hospital website to load on a mobile device? According to a study by Google, 22 seconds is the average time to fully load Read More
Winners of the 2017 eHealthcare Leadership Awards were announced today at a special keynote presentation at the Healthcare Internet Conference in Austin, Texas. Over 200 organizations, representing a broad industry spectrum, received recognition for their outstanding websites and digital communications. A total of 116 individuals familiar with healthcare and the internet judged the entries. See Read More
For Jonno Boyer-Dry, creating a chatbot for cancer patients wasn’t a project based on financial goals or institutional efficiency. It was something that emerged out of personal experience. “Part of what is maddening about being a cancer patient is that resources and information are incredibly disaggregated,” says Boyer-Dry, who was diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma three Read More
Last year, in an article on Lehigh Valley Health Network’s integrated CRM/PRM strategy, we got right up to the starting line with the health system’s CRM selection and implementation, and learned about its ambitious plans for the future. It’s been 18 months, and we wanted to find out how it’s going. The short answer is, it’s Read More
Community benefit reports have been an important component of hospital communication strategies for many years. For nonprofit healthcare systems, this reporting mechanism is required to demonstrate the positive impact they have had on community health to retain tax exemptions and other benefits. But as consumers’ information consumption habits have changed, the format and role of Read More
Any marketer will tell you that Facebook is one of the most powerful tools your brand can harness. It continues to show its strength as the most popular social media app, growing its active user base to more than 2 million and posting one successful quarter after another. But with more competition, new users, and Read More
Hospitals and health systems think of their websites as the digital “front door” to their organizations, but before consumers get there, search engine results could steer them away to competitors with higher star ratings and more positive reviews. Reputation is everything. The sheer number of places consumers post information makes it challenging for healthcare organizations Read More
As questions and confusion surrounding the need for childhood vaccines persist, healthcare organizations are creating easy-to-use digital resources to convey reliable vaccine information to parents. Mobile apps are a popular way to reinforce recommendations, dispel misconceptions, and build trust. The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia’s Vaccine Education Center (VEC) added an app called “Vaccines on the Read More
It’s no secret that Twitter is a mainstay of the healthcare marketing tool kit. But as the social media landscape evolves, Twitter’s role as a content marketing channel is evolving as well. Although it comes as no real surprise to marketers, Facebook continues to keep its place at the top of the social media food Read More
We recently asked Kathy Divis, president and co-founder of Greystone.Net, to weigh in on the top concerns of marketing executives in healthcare organizations. While acknowledging that there are many and diverse challenges in today’s complex environment, Divis is optimistic about the opportunities to choose and use technology to build meaningful relationships with patients. “I think Read More
Your brand is the sum of the experiences a customer has with you, says Matt Gove, chief consumer officer at Piedmont Healthcare in Georgia. This definition goes beyond the conventional scope of patient experience, or as Gove consistently refers to it: customer experience. While patient experience historically has been a clinical initiative, with the bulk of Read More
“The robotic yet charming voice of Alexa can help you find a good movie, make a payment on your credit card, get airline fares for a trip to Dublin, or see how many calories are in the banana you’re eating,” notes Shawn Gross, Chief Digital Strategist at White Rhino. “With an estimated 11 million devices Read More
Imagine that you’re lounging on the beach of a tropical island, listening to the waves lapping at the shore, feeling the breeze wafting over your skin, and hearing the seagulls squawk. With the latest virtual-reality tools that exist today, you—and your patients—can have this type of relaxing experience even if you’re in New York City Read More
Printing patient education pamphlets, brochures, and information kits isn’t cheap. It’s one thing if patients actually use them. But do they? Two hospitals thought mobile apps might be a better solution. Luke Poppish is executive director of the OB/GYN service line at South Shore Hospital near Boston, Massachusetts. “Anecdotally, we were hearing that moms would get their Read More
Imagine if all of your older and chronically ill patients had personal assistants to help them monitor their vital signs, answer pressing health questions, and remind them to take their medicines. While this scenario may sound ideal, it’s also quite an unrealistic goal to expect to accomplish for an entire population. But the newest generation Read More
South Nassau Communities Hospital (SNCH) in Oceanside, New York, knew it needed to elevate brand awareness in a market dominated by better-known hospitals on Long Island, and world-famous hospitals in nearby Manhattan. “They are the David in the sea of Goliaths in New York and Long Island,” says Bill Wax, president and founder of healthcare Read More
Advances in technology in recent years have made it possible for health systems to streamline their efforts on many levels, from evaluating and monitoring patients remotely to sharing medical information among multiple sites in real time. Some medical centers are also creating audio podcasts to educate patients, the general public, and even clinical staff, according Read More
Mayo Clinic and Cleveland Clinic are ranked #1 and #2 in the country respectively by U.S. News & World Report. But that doesn’t automatically mean that their websites will live up to their stellar clinical reputations. But they did, according to the 2016 eHealthcare Leadership Awards judges. These institutions were the only two to garner Read More
At Mount Sinai’s Institute for Next Generation Healthcare in New York City, artificial intelligence or AI (also referred to as machine learning) is helping researchers to gain new insight into genetic predispositions for cancer and other diseases. Close to 2,000 miles across the country, Intermountain Healthcare in Salt Lake City, Utah, is using AI to Read More
“Reputation management has never been more important for healthcare providers and organizations that are actively seeking new patients. Why? The increase in high-deductible health plans has created a new breed of healthcare shopper,” says Becky Barney-Villano, healthcare writer and marketing specialist. “The rise of insurance exchanges where consumers pick their plans has resulted in more Read More