How to Turn Unknown Consumers Into Known Patients
[SHSMD16 Speaker Podcast Series] Stewart Gandolf, CEO of Healthcare Success, talks with Scott Linabarger, Vice President of Strategic Accounts and Josh Fieldman, Vice President of Sales for Medicom Health Interactive, about how their software program can turn unknown consumers into known patients.
As healthcare marketers, it’s common to hear doctors and hospital executives to ask, “How do we get more patients?” In today’s podcast, that’s the question Stewart Gandolf and guests Scott Linabarger and Josh Fieldman discuss in length using Medicom Health Interactive’s unique software programs.
“Some hospitals are focused on acquiring new patients as a broader revenue market share growth strategy,” explains Josh. “While others are making the transition to value and looking to identify the most ‘at risk’ consumers in the area as part of a broader population health strategy.” 
As Josh further explains, hospitals and health systems use Medicom’s tools to identify consumers in their communities that are at risk for specific chronic conditions, so they can reach out to potential patients and refer them to the appropriate care provider.
What Does “Unknown Consumer” Mean?
According to Scott and Josh, there are three types of consumers:
- Consumers who are completely known to the healthcare provider. These consumers are patients. They’re in the provider’s EMR. They have a phone number, address, demographics and health history.
- Consumers who are partly known. They may have been a consumer several years ago, but there is little to no health history.
- Unknown consumers. This is the largest group. These aren’t patients and the healthcare provider doesn’t know anything about them.
“Medicom tools enable hospitals to engage consumers; get them to identify themselves by filling out information about their health,” Scott explains. “This gives you the ability as a healthcare provider to reach out to them and speak to them in a very unique, customized way.”
How Do You Get the Assessment Data?
Medicom acquires data in a variety of ways, on which Scott further elaborates in the podcast:
- PPC: Pay-Per-Click and digital promotion are the primary methods. You aim to get people to a landing page where they take a risk assessment;
- Community events where you can engage consumers;
- Doctor events where you can assess the crowd;
- On the website and service line pages;
- And Facebook, which drives a large amount of completed risk profilers.
What Do You Do With the Data?
It’s no secret that follow-through can be a problem, which is why Medicom factored in a marketing automation-type program.
“We help them connect all of the dots,” explains Josh. “For example, we can help do PPC, we can help do Facebook, and direct mail so we can help with the promotion of the tools and we can help with the follow up.”
As Scott further elaborates, “these engagement tools are in the middle of a process. The start of that process is modeling and targeting whom you’re speaking to. Are you speaking to the right people? Then there’s the creative work and the promotion –– getting that message in front of people. And on the back end is what to do with the leads. How do you follow up and nurture them and turn them into patients?”
That’s all part of the process to turning an unknown consumer into a known patient.
Medicom Health Interactive develops evidence-based health and wellness software applications that stratify at-risk populations, and empower consumers to make and provide health care systems and hospitals with the consumer information needed to promote their service lines through targeted messaging.
