by Mark S. Gothberg The Illinois Neurological Institute (INI) represents a key service line for OSF HealthCare, an integrated health network based in Peoria, IL. With a clinical staff of 60, it sees more than 95,000 patients a year and generates some $100 million in direct contribution margin. While OSF HealthCare employs a substantial number Read More
by Mark S. Gothberg In 2009, just 6 percent of consumers were aware of the name Texas Health Resources, even though the organization treated one in four patients in the Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area and the corporate entity had existed for 15 years. Consumers were much more aware of its three main entities – Presbyterian, Read More
// By Lyle Green and Dan Dunlop // In May 2013, a group of physician relations professionals and thought leaders gathered in Houston to develop a vision for the future of physician relations. Recognizing the growing adoption of digital media by medical professionals, the assembled experts sought to define the future role of the physician Read More
Track Your Fitness Regimen Fitbit, which tracks your steps, calories burned, and other metrics, has been on the market for a number of years. This great little device is now available in different colors and designs and can send information to smartphones as well as computers. The latest versions, the Zip and the Flex, are Read More
WEBSITES/MOBILE APPLICATIONS Capital BlueCross Challenges Students to Develop Innovative Web-Based Tools or Mobile Apps to Improve Healthcare. Available to students age 18 and older, the challenge supports innovative ideas in one of three categories: financial, telemedical, and experiential. Top prize is $15,000. Work must be original and submitted by November 22. Details at www.blueinnovates.com. RESOURCES Read More
by Mark S. Gothberg “Humans are fundamentally emotional – rather than analytical – in how they process information and make decisions, and there is no better way to connect with someone’s emotions than through stories,” says Betsy Chapin Taylor, principal consultant for Third Sector Strategy, a healthcare philanthropy consulting firm. Compelling communication weaves together emotion, Read More
Hartford Hospital www.harthosp.org It has been a dozen years since this site was reviewed. The site for this Connecticut institution was outstanding back then, and with changes over the years, it is outstanding today. Most hospital sites fail to identify the organization’s key service lines. Yes, many sites will highlight a few services in their Read More
by Mark S. Gothberg Patient billing has become an even bigger issue for healthcare providers. Patients used to be responsible for about 10 percent of hospital and physician bills. But high-deductible health plans have driven up patient responsibility, which now averages 26 percent and will soon reach 30 percent, according to John Talaga, vice president Read More
Ask The Expert, with Mike Reinhardt Arguments are made regularly that a brand is an organization’s most valuable asset. A chief marketing officer of Coca-Cola once said that if the company lost all of its facilities and people, he could rebuild the company – provided he retained the rights to the brand. He said he Read More
by Mark S. Gothberg Healthcare organizations are infatuated with Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube. They are the “hot” social media networks. While these vehicles can draw large audiences, they often do not provide the same “marketing pull” opportunities and the level of interaction that can take place with a strong and effective blog. “In healthcare, it’s Read More
RESOURCES Unique Online Patient-Physician Consultation launched in March at www.MeVisit.com. To preserve the patient-physician relationship, the patient’s health history is collected using an intuitive questionnaire, which is then transmitted to the patient’s personal physician. Software allows the physician to interpret the patient’s symptoms and return a customized care plan, including a prescription order sent to Read More
by Mark S. Gothberg There is probably nothing more dynamic and educational than viewing medical animations of the human anatomy, disease conditions, and medical procedures. But developing lifelike animations in multiple formats is not easy or inexpensive. And while having a robust website is an absolute requirement for any hospital (or hospital system) to attract Read More
An App to Relax By Is there anyone out there who isn’t stressed or anxious over work, family, or just life in general? There are a number of smartphone apps designed to reduce all your anxieties, as detailed by Judith Newman in the April 5 issue of The New York Times. Most of the apps Read More
by Mark S. Gothberg Four years ago, Meridian Health decided it had all the care components and expertise to seamlessly coordinate a full range of children’s healthcare needs. It could provide a pediatric continuum, from prevention and wellness to illness diagnosis to treatment to recovery to research and education. But exactly how should it communicate Read More
Ask The Expert, with Scott McRae Calculating return on investment for a service-line marketing campaign can be elusive and is not for the faint of heart. However, demonstrating that your marketing efforts contribute to your organization’s bottom line communicates the value of your function and benefits your career. Where to begin To demonstrate the calculation Read More
Alamance Regional Medical Center www.armc.com This unusually designed site for a Burlington, NC, hospital is a real pleasure to visit. Except for a dark green background at the top of pages, the background is gray. Layered on top of the gray are multicolored navigational links on the left. Colorful blocks that promote key features seemingly Read More
by Mark S. Gothberg Hospitals have developed all kinds of mobile applications, from those featuring a medical encyclopedia to ER wait times to health tracking. But a unique application has been launched by the marketing team at UAB Medicine, also known as the University of Alabama at Birmingham Health System. The application supports workers’ compensation Read More
by Peter Hochstein This story contains implicit lessons not only for hospital marketers, but also for public health specialists, companies seeking to be good corporate citizens, politicians, and anybody who wants to do something positive about behavior-related health issues. Moreover, it demonstrates how an interactive advertising campaign that asks participants to meet specific goals can Read More
Holy Family Memorial www.hfmhealth.org As the largest provider of healthcare services in Manitowoc County, Wisconsin, Holy Family Memorial has a lot to offer area residents, and that is clearly reflected by its website. Areas of the site that are particularly noteworthy are: Outstanding quality section. The information offered is not as comprehensive as found on Read More
by Cheryl Haas For many people in recovery from substance abuse or a mental health disorder, their families are an integral part of their journey back to health. But often, families are unable to be present for a significant part of the healing process simply because they live too far away from the residential program Read More
WEBSITES/MOBILE APPLICATIONS New Kaiser Family Foundation Site Launched at www.kff.org. Five websites and gateways have been consolidated into one site centered on 10 health policy issues. All content on a topic – whether a fact sheet, poll, data table, video, or news report – is integrated for one-stop viewing. Assistance for Young People Whose Lives Read More
Ask The Expert, with Jeremy Dietz For many years, print publications have served as one of a hospital marketer’s best communications tools. Despite the rise of digital media, that hasn’t changed. Print publications are still a highly effective way to deliver information to your entire community on your schedule. But your print efforts shouldn’t stand Read More
by Mark S. Gothberg “People love scheduling things online. They are scheduling flights, hotels, and even hair appointments. And it’s not just young people that like online booking, older people do as well. So why not healthcare? One day online scheduling will be mandatory in healthcare because people will demand it,” says Bob La Loggia, Read More
When You Prefer Pen and Paper If you like to take notes for future reference and prefer to write rather than type into a digital device, then get the Targus iNotebook. The Targus tool and an iPad work hand-in-hand. With an iPad close at hand, you write with a special pen on one of the Read More
by Mary Zatina Communications industry estimates indicate that sometime this year we will pass a tipping point from which there is no going back. That is, more people will access the Internet with mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets than with desktop computers. And many of them will be searching for healthcare information and Read More