I recently sat down with White Rhino’s healthcare practice leads, chief digital strategist Shawn Gross and VP of client services Tara Becker. With more than 15 years experience leading marketing for Boston’s top hospitals, I wanted their perspective on what 2017 holds. Shawn made a chilling comparison:
I recently facilitated a discussion with a boardroom full of hospital executives about how to improve patient experience by making hospital quality data (mortality rates, average length of stay, and the like) more transparent.
The healthcare industry is up in arms over the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS) new hospital quality rating measure – 22% of which will be dictated by patient experience. According to Bloomberg BNA, when the new rating system goes into place, “many prominent hospitals that are in the top echelon of other quality rating reports…may receive one or two stars out of a possible five, indicating that they have the poorest quality in comparison with all other hospitals.”
While hospital executives are putting pressure on the CMS to ensure the ratings methodology is accurate and fair, smart marketers aren’t even breaking a sweat. Instead, they’re creating a brand experience that results in happier patients – and quality ratings.
I recently moved to a new town and began the search for a pediatrician for my 19-month old son. I quickly became frustrated with the lack of information. And I’m not alone, 38% of patients wished that they had more information before choosing a doctor.
If I asked you how a hospital develops trustful relationships with patients, you might tell me it’s through patients’ interactions with doctors. Or their experience with the nursing staff. You might be surprised to hear me also say: your website.
Imagine going home from the hospital just 3 days early after having major, open-heart surgery. That's becoming a reality, aided by new digital health apps that are connecting doctors and patients like never before and redefining what it means to deliver a superior Patient Experience.
"The Pepsi Challenge is back, with a twist" reports the New York Times. But I think it's more of a much-needed update than a "twist."
At shopping malls across america, the company ran blind taste tests against Coke. Pepsi won, of course, and used it as marketing leverage for the next decade. Despite results, Coke continued to dominate the market. But how could that be? Pepsi had scientifically proven it was a better product.
