Kenya Gibson, hosted a panel discussion today at the Healthcare Marketing Strategies Summit on marketing Accountable Care Organizations and Medical Homes. With Population Health on the horizon, and an increasing number of providers developing ACOs and Clinically Integrated Networks, the discussion was part best practices and part therapy session. Read more »

For many hospitals, branding has lost its top spot on the priority list. For some, it’s the lack of long term funding. For others, it’s internal pressure to promote only service lines. Still others lack the marketing culture required to really implement such large-scale change. Regardless of the reason, it has resulted in many great hospitals not being known as great hospitals. Read more »

Adapted from Franklin Street's Healthcare Marketing Trends Report Where's your smart phone right now? Chances are good that it's within arm's reach. According to a Morgan Stanley study, 91% of smartphone owners keep their phones beside them 24 hours a day. (An interesting office poll: ask your colleagues how many sleep with their phones. The number who do will surprise you.) Read more »

Adapted from Franklin Street's Healthcare Marketing Trends Report. A new form of self-help in healthcare and health and wellness is emerging. Brands like Nike are embedding "feedback loops" into their products, allowing people to get real-time reactions on their activities – while reaping brand loyalty and profits in the process. Call it Do It Yourself (DIY) Healthcare or "Help Me Help Myself." Read more »

One of our clients reminded us recently that healthcare is a two-sided coin of Life and Death. Unlike any other business category, healthcare marketing and branding requires engaging prospective patients who would rather avoid the conversation altogether. We are starting to see the trend of audiences becoming increasingly engaged in proactive healthcare lifestyles. Read more »

Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs) are a hot topic these days. But chances are, you're quite busy and not in the mood to research them yourself. Well, you're in luck. We've put together a few answers to frequently asked questions about the newest healthcare model:Q: When I market an ACO, what am I marketing? A: An Accountable Care Organization (ACO) is a coordinated care program aimed at creating intangible and tangible benefits for participating Read more »

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 ConferencesSHSMD (Society Read more »

We're officially more than half-way through 2012. It's a good time to pause and look at what we've experienced in healthcare marketing in the first half of the year and what we may expect as we round the bases to December.WHAT WE EXPERIENCED THIS YEAR (SO FAR)Now that the Supreme Court has upheld the most controversial elements of the law, systems are continuing their sprint to develop wellness-based models of healthcare delivery. On tap Read more »

We're not talking gift shops or Starbucks. Lake Health's West Medical Center in Ohio recently became the first in the country to feature an entire wellness-focused retail store inside the hospital.We spoke with Gary Robinson, Vice President for Government and Community Affairs, on the venture that could influence how organizations nationwide work to keep patients healthy and out of the hospital.But healthcare reform didn't drive Read more »

The Virginia Society for Healthcare Marketing and PR (VSHMPR) held its spring conference in Richmond at the gorgeous Jefferson Hotel. Great sessions and people!

Some of our top takeaways:

Healthcare Reform

• Bob Holsworth kicked off with a talk on the politics behind healthcare reform and ACOs (Another great synopsis here.)
• Bob noted healthcare reform has been so politicized, the more often than not, party lines determine your opinions about whether it will be beneficial or not.
• His healthcare bill is about same as his mortgage. (Whoa!) but he's not alarmed. Bob believes in the costs associated with having access the highest quality care.

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