There was an article in the New York Times earlier this week about hospitals "using unconventional, even audacious, ways of connecting directly with the public." It highlights an initiative from Methodist University Hospital in Memphis, which recently produced a live, video webcast of a patient's brain surgery in hopes of furthering the hospital's reputation as well as educating the community. It also includes a quote from PARTNERS+simons President, Tony Cotrupi, who attributed these outreach techniques to the rise in healthcare consumerism.
You see, Methodist is not alone: beyond webcasts, hospitals are increasingly turning to Twitter, YouTube, and various blogging platforms in an effort to connect with patients, donors, and perspective employees.
And why not? Besides offering more real-time and engaging formats for communication than traditional methods, this is where the people are.
PARTNERS+simons hosted a webcast about a week ago, called Power to the People: Healthcare Goes Consumer. In it, we discussed how (and why) leading health brands are turning to new media to educate and inform. We also cited numerous examples of health marketers that have adopted new methods of engagement with consumer audiences, including PARTNERS+simons clients Tufts Medical Center and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts, both of whom have seen success with video marketing. We've also seen increased demand for video-based health condition information, which led to the launch of DrZ.tv, an online, consumer-focused healthcare program hosted by Dr. Stephen Zinner, Chair of the Department of Medicine at Mount Auburn Hospital.
The Times article raises issues around transparency and privacy, citing Methodist's decision to use a professional model in their brain surgery promotional pieces, rather than the actual patient. It goes on to quote a bioethicist who claims such medical marketing “creates an aura of sophistication and high-tech ability that may not represent quality of care at a hospital,” and asks, “Do we really want to treat health care like other consumer goods?”
All interesting questions, but let's remember this:
Healthcare marketing is subject to rather stringent regulatory & legal review before it goes live, thereby avoiding misleading/erroneous claims. Hospitals generally take pride in their quality of care, but are not allowed to float unsubstantiated claims in the public domain. Good hospital/healthcare marketing is designed to educate its audience, as well as foster trust and familiarity between patients and its staff/services. With patients actively seeking out this information, it's more important than ever to provide them with accurate, trusted information so that they may make more informed decisions.
Consumers want to research, evaluate, compare and contrast all aspects of health plans, products, and providers. They have grown accustomed to 24/7 availability, immediate access to information, comparison shopping, user reviews/peer recommendations, and multi-channel service & convenience.
Health brands must follow suit if they wish to remain relevant.We believe that new media channels can absolutely make sense for hospitals and other health brands, provided that creative executions are done in a tasteful manner, are
HIPAA compliant, and educational in nature. As with any other communication plan, it is important to keep the target audience in mind: if your audience is actively seeking out your category information in these channels, then perhaps you should join them there.
ooper. While I consider myself a fairly avid reader, I couldn’t get through 10 pages of this "American classic." Why? Because it’s written in another language: early 1800s English.
