On August 14, 2024, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) introduced a rule banning fake reviews and misleading testimonials to improve marketing transparency and authenticity. As a healthcare organization, you already prioritize ethical practices and HIPAA compliance due to the nature of your business. It’s important to adapt to these new changes to maintain patient trust […]
Doctors and hospitals can educate patients on the safety and importance of COVID-19 vaccines. Learn how to craft your message.
As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to bring the world's economies, healthcare systems, and communities to their knees, the Pharma industry appears to be the shining hope to help us return to a new normal. Could the industry's response to this global public health crisis be the Rx for its tarnished reputation? The Pharma industry has […]
“Big Tech”—companies like Amazon, Google, and Apple—is taking over healthcare. At least, that’s what the news headlines would have us believe. These companies and more have made huge announcements just within the past 6 months about their plans for transforming the healthcare industry. Some announcements about Big Tech in healthcare, like Amazon’s pursuit of a […]
It’s not clear who coined the label “explainer videos.” But in healthcare marketing, there’s a three-minute visual fastball just about everywhere these days. The term might have become “A/V CliffsNotes,” or “Visual Elevator Pitch,” or “Video Demo.” Regardless of the name, this is a quick communications tool that presents a short-and-sweet informational or educational snapshot. […]
It’s no secret that the Internet has become the new front door for healthcare providers and hospitals. And Google searches are primary pathways for that lead to health-related information, medical practices and professional care. They dictate being lost or found online. Without a strong online presence, providers and practices simply disappear from view. Three-quarters (75 percent) […]
Exactly a year ago, Google used its considerable clout to “demand” that most websites become “mobile-friendly.” The world’s biggest search engine now tends to favor responsive web design as a ranking signal. What that means is: Websites (those designed for a desktop or laptop screen) that can be easily seen on users mobile device (Smartphone […]
[Leadership Podcast Series] In this conversation with Stewart Gandolf, CEO of Healthcare Success, Dr. James Merlino, president and chief medical officer of the strategic consulting division at Press Ganey provides an insightful perspective on healthcare’s evolving landscape, significant leadership issues and the state of patient experience. Prior to joining Press Ganey, Dr. James Merlino—also a practicing surgeon—was […]
Change isn’t coming; it’s an ever-present consideration. Simply keeping pace is the challenge for physicians, medical practice administrators and hospital leadership. Telehealth—and its various facets—continues to emerge as an important and strong change agent. And two recent, in-depth reports provide guidance for doctors, industry executives and forward-looking marketing professionals. As a component of health transformation, […]
It would be difficult for the general public to miss the daily torrent of news media coverage about the run-up to the next presidential election. But hospital administrators and healthcare communications professionals are focused on Health and Human Services' increasing emphasis on “quality-based payments,” “patient-centered systems” and “delivery system reforms.” There’s far less mainstream news […]
Although the Affordable Care Act (ACA), in its final, amended version, has been the law of the land for slightly more than five years, the industry-shaking consequence of “healthcare reform,” continue to emerge almost daily. There have probably been more significant changes in the nation’s healthcare delivery system—for providers, hospitals, employers and health insurance—between 2010 […]
At an altitude of 30,000 feet, the healthcare reform objectives that link financial incentives to performance shine brightly. There are no protesting voices calling for poor outcomes, more medical errors or higher costs. Taking a playbook page from the corporate world, financial incentives and penalties are intended to drive performance improvements in healthcare delivery. But […]
When it comes to healthcare reform, a big chunk of the community that you serve—and audiences you want to reach with hospital and medical marketing—simply may not know what you’re talking about (or care). Our caution here is to deliver meaningful marketing and advertising messages to the right level of consumer awareness. Ongoing polls suggest […]
Healthcare reform hit a bit of speed bump a few weeks ago when enforcement of the employer mandate requirement was delayed for a year under the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Businesses with 50 employees now have until 2015 to provide insurance coverage for workers instead of 2014. In our view, this delay in the business […]
I had to look up the provenance for: “Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans.” The attribution—so says GoodReads.com—is Allen Saunders, American writer, journalist and cartoonist…from 1957. And, while the reformation of healthcare continues at a lightening pace, it’s a timely planning reminder for medical marketing to consider how things […]
A prospective doctor’s long and arduous education has often been all about medicine, with precious little training or experience in the business of running a business. No sooner than a newly minted MD hangs out a shingle, but he or she is hit squarely in the face with the reality that “Healing is an art, […]
It’s no April Fools’ Day joke. Your Medicare revenue cut begins on the first of next month. Healthcare providers, pinched between limited resources and rising overhead, will see Medicare payments reduced by two percent. This adds up to a projected $11 billion less for doctors, hospitals and other providers in 2013. Sequestration will automatically trim […]
An unintentional byproduct of healthcare reform is the increasing number of physician practices that have the wrong branding message. Or worse, they have no branding at all. Consider this example: Mysteriously, the well-considered branding message and competitive edge of a physician practice was somehow "disconnected." In our consultations, the doctors and staff believed that the […]
Here’s a bit of a shocker. Among ordinary citizens, healthcare news doesn't have the awareness factor that you might think. Better than half of the general public is unaware of, or misinformed about, the recent decision by the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) regarding the Affordable Care Act. After weeks of intense, major-media […]
The virtual environment of social media is growing in importance as a vital connecting point. Social media is the online environment where consumers (prospective patients) evaluate healthcare providers, and make decisions about their health, medication and hospitals. A new Health Industries Group/PwC study declares “Social media is changing the nature of healthcare interaction, and health […]
The opinion/editorial page in every publication draws fewer readers than the front page. Traditionally, the Op-Ed section is less interesting and exciting than the flash of hot news. So, in case you missed Dr. Scott Gottlieb’s opinion piece for the Wall Street Journal about healthcare’s Mandate Committee, it’s well worth two minutes of your time. […]
Here’s something to add to your list of local news media. It’s called Patch.com, it’s new and it probably belongs on your hospital or medical practice advertising and public relations media list. Patch—which creates a dedicated local news presence in upscale communities—calls itself “your source for local knowledge you can’t live without.” Patch isn’t everywhere […]
The big-picture objectives of the “Bundled Payments” initiative seem worthy: “Better Health, Better Care, Lower Costs.” But we have to wonder if hospital marketing and advertising will find itself answering patient concerns about trusting their wellbeing to a “lowest bidder” system? Under a pilot program announced recently by the Department of Health and Human Services, […]
This post is mainly for fun. But there’s a practice marketing lesson in this exceptional example of wildly interesting and unique office décor--from an orthodontic practice. You’re going to have to drive to Conway, Arkansas to experience the office decor of orthodontist—and admitted car enthusiast—David J. Myers, DDS, MS. If you’ve never seen a medical […]
It’s a little frightening that in physician practice marketing we often discover more examples of “poor” patient experience than “good” ones. In fairness, the good stuff rarely gets the spotlight that it deserves, and the negative examples are often magnified. The doctor-patient relationship is often strained, and positive, personal relationships—among patient, provider and staff—is often […]
To all in the U.S. healthcare community who have been either too busy or too discouraged to really pay attention to the most fundamental implications of the new healthcare reform law (officially titled “The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act”), most of the prevailing opinion, including direct comments from White House officials and other government […]
Nobody has a clear vision about the shape of cardiology marketing in 2014 and beyond. What is already a highly dynamic competitive landscape for private practice cardiologists and cardiology groups promises more of the same as the Health Care Reform act takes effect over the next few years. With operating costs and competition increasing, and […]
