Healthcare Success

When was the last time you walked into your office through the front door? Take a stroll. Does it look like Marcia Brady is about to walk through at any moment? Most doctors/physicians want to be perceived as progressive and leading edge. They express this in the way they practice medicine and in their doctor/physician […]

by Steve Smith, Healthcare Success Senior Consultant My 18-year-old son is a freshman in college. For the past four years he has held a part-time job at a local hardware store. Some days he is a cashier, but most days he helps customers on the sales floor. And in the past he has been mystery […]

A physician’s reading list is more likely to include JAMA than Wired magazine. Although the tech-centric journal seems an unlikely source, this month’s edition (Dec 2010) provides a vividly illustrated case example for marketing communications. Doctors, hospitals and clinical labs in particular will find a brief but dramatic lesson in how good graphic design can […]

by Steve Smith, Healthcare Success Senior Consultant True story: The patient has a terminal illness. She arrived at the metropolitan hospital on time for an appointment with her radiation oncologist and was sitting in the waiting room when the doctor emerged with another patient, walking him to the door to say goodbye.

In hospital and medical marketing, your brand is part of everything you do. It’s not only your brochures and business cards...it's everything. From the individual or group provider to the multi-location health system, your brand is the recognition connecting point for patients and the public. It communicates your professional reputation. And done right, your branding […]

The personal touches that define individual ‘patient satisfaction’ often include comfort and convenience. And in that respect, the new personal access, multi-media terminals at St. Joseph’s General Hospital on Vancouver Island are on par with many fine hotels. Plus it’s a great opportunity for hospital public relations. Picture this. You’re a patient or family member […]

A virtual office visit. Consult with the doctor online. Send a brief note. Request or cancel medical appointments, medication refills, or a referral. Physicians and patients in the upstate, Albany NY area are connecting in new ways with the introduction myCareDOT patient portal. Community Care Physicians (CCP) – a multispecialty medical group of 200 providers […]

The right choice of words helps patients say "yes"to the elective care they want It's a challenge that cuts across so many professions–dental/orthodontics, cosmetic surgery, vision correction–anywhere the price of elective care seems just out of reach for the patient who needs and wants your services.

What does a typical visit to your medical practice have to say about your practice reputation? Here are five ways to exceed expectations and create a memorable service experience - a cornerstone of superior healthcare branding.

Overcoming negative, old-school ideas with genuine benefits in patient health. Nobody likes to be "sold." But there's no "selling" in communicating how products and services deliver needed healthcare benefits to patients. After almost twenty-five years consulting and helping physicians, dentists and many other healthcare professionals attract more of the patients and cases they want, I'm […]

Neil H. Baum, MD Today the patient is far different than the patient of a few decades ago. Patients can find healthcare information just as easily as a physician and many are taking a greater role in their healthcare and want to be involved in the decision making and work with the doctor as a […]

Listening to the voice of the customer - what patients say they want from your practice A doctor's office told us recently: "We don't have email or Internet connection in the office." It was a bit of a surprise to us-most of the practices we consult with routinely do have Internet and email, many with their […]

For your internal marketing audience, it's all about caring. The established patient base for any healthcare organization, practice or group is never permanent...and may not be as firmly established as you might think. The process of improving retention is grounded in the internal communications skills of doctor, staff and everyone who works there. Surprisingly, the […]

You can't sell enough $100 products in a year to replace one patient lost in a day Here's a brief, but absolutely real-life, patient-experience story. The venue is the office of a general dentist, but the "how-not-to-do-something" message applies to many other provider settings. Picture yourself as the patient and you'll have no trouble reading […]