Being in the healthcare communications and marketing industry means constantly staying current with trends, legal changes and best practices. The irony is that communicators are often too busy doing the work to read up and get ahead of the curve.

Hence this post.

Here are a few of our favorite conferences, publications, and blogs to stay current on where healthcare communications, branding and marketing is heading.

National Conferences

• SHSMD (Society for Healthcare Strategy and Market Development)
• Forum for Healthcare Strategists (Healthcare Strategy Institute)

SHSMD and the Forum are two of the biggest national conferences for healthcare marketers, planners and communicators. No matter your level of experience, organizational situation or job description, you’ll find colleagues and education tracks to meet your needs.

State Conferences

State healthcare marketing conferences offer a great opportunity to connect with peers and experts in a more intimate setting. You’re not limited to attending only your state’s society. In our experience, the conferences welcome attendees from other states.

• Florida: FSHPRM
• Georgia GSHMPR (Georgia Hospital Association)
• Illinois: ISHMPR
• Tennessee: TSHMPR
• Wisconsin: WHPRMS
• Virginia: VSHMPR

The New England Society for Healthcare Communications (NESHCo) brings multiple states together for its annual conference, which makes it a larger conference with more speakers and peers to meet and network.

The Carolinas Healthcare Public Relations and Marketing Society (CHPRMS) brings both North and South Carolina states together for its conferences, which means more peers and multiple speaker tracts. As an added bonus, the society alternates conference locations between Charleston and Asheville, two of our favorite cities.

Healthcare Communications Publications

Here is a sample of our go-tos for healthcare communications trends and best practices.

• eHealthcare Strategy & Trends
• HealthLeaders
• Healthcare Marketing Advisor
• Healthcare Marketing Report
• Hospitals and Health Networks
• Strategic Health Care Marketing

Blogs and Websites

We love the immediacy of digital media.

For what’s happening right now in healthcare:

• Ragan’s Healthcare Communications
• American Medical News
• NPR Health
• Fierce Healthcare

For intelligent conversations about the role of communications and social channels:

• Chris Boyer
• 33 Charts
• Nick Dawson
• Reed Smith

Twitter

A few of our favorite follows:

• Judy Neiman
• Mark Ryan (RichmondDoc)
• Bunny Ellerin
• Dave E. Albert, MD
• Dean Berg
• Daniel Palestrant, MD

This list is by no means complete, but whether you’re a seasoned healthcare communications veteran or new to the industry, we hope these resources help you. We’re always interested in learning new things at Franklin Street — drop us a line with your favorite pubs, blog and Twitter followers. 

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