Hospitals are expanding their markets by selling services directly to the public
Picture this: a photograph of adorable eight-year-old girls at the local YMCA, attired in bright red swimsuits, and holding trophies from their recent swim meet. Only there's a pause in the lineup, which is broken by the photo of a little girl in a hospital johnny clutching her stuffed Teddy bear. The caption says it all: "Where to turn when a childhood is interrupted."
The magazine advertisement, sponsored by Children's Hospital Boston, ran recently in Time and Newsweek. TV ads with a similar tag line have run on local television stations in Buffalo and Rochester, New York. The goal: to market the services of a leading Boston hospital to consumers outside of New England.
Traditionally, hospital marketing has been a regional effort, directed at local doctors and patients. But a new trend is emerging among high-profile hospitals that are looking for more patients to fill their beds.
Looking for more patients
"Hospitals that provide more sophisticated procedures are reaching out farther and farther to attract patients," says Larry Margolis, partner in the Chicago-based healthcare marketing firm Storandt Pann Margolis.Typically, he says, these are academic medical centers that provide cutting edge services that would not be available at smaller, community hospitals in cities like Buffalo. There are reasons for this increase in marketing. One is the power of the informed consumer. Rather than wait for advice from their doctors, many patients now turn to the internet to research their medical problems. These are the same individuals who might read an ad for Children's Hospital and decide, "This is where I want my child treated." Another reason is that health insurance plans have relaxed their restrictions on coverage, making it easier for consumers to go wherever they want for care. Many want to come to Boston, long known as a center of medical research and treatment.
Going national
In order to attract them, Dana-Farber/Partners Cancer Care purchased its first national advertising in U.S. News & World Report's Best Hospitals issue this past July. "We wanted to promote the fact that three of the world's leading hospitals work together to fight cancer," says Donna Walthall, director of marketing for Dana-Farber/Partners Cancer Care, explaining that DFPCC is a collaboration among Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), Dana-Farber, and Brigham and Women's Hospital. "The ad was aimed at telling consumers that these hospitals share the goal of accelerating the transfer of research from the research bench to the patient's bedside," Walthall says.
This new thrust is just a small part of any major hospital's marketing effort. Dana-Farber/Partner's primary marketing focus remains the physician. "Doctors still drive the referral process for oncology," says Walthall. She notes that DFPCC physicians are active in high-profile conferences, such as the American Society of Clinical Oncology-a gathering of more than 24,000 physicians from around the world-where they provide information on Dana-Farber's clinical trials.
"We also use it as a chance to promote our online consultation program," says Walthall. That is a service through which doctors around the globe can seek second opinions on treatment plans from Dana-Farber physicians. Partners HealthCare has begun to dip a toe into promoting its services to consumers throughout the New England market. According to Jenny Watson, spokeswoman for Partners, the healthcare group has bought television commercials promoting its cardiac services on the New England Cable News Network. Partners also purchased a print advertisement featuring its cardiac services in the New England edition of the U.S. News & World Report Best Hospitals issue.
Creating a brand
All of these efforts are part of many hospitals' growing commitment to creating a "brand" for themselves, says Margolis, the healthcare marketing consultant. He sees this among academic hospitals, in particular, as they try to establish that there is an "academic difference" created with their teaching and research. Once that academic brand is established, it's easier to reach out to a wider audience.
Making its audience as wide as possible is the aim of Partners HealthCare's International Program. Partners International works collaboratively with patients, physicians, insurers, governments, and corporations to extend the benefits of medical innovation to a worldwide audience. In addition to MGH, Brigham and Women's and Dana-Farber, Partners International includes McLean Hospital, the psychiatric hospital and research institute in Belmont, and Spaulding Hospital, a leading rehabilitation hospital in Boston. Founded in 1994, the program serves more than 5,000 patients from more than 100 countries each year.
"Beyond patient care, Partners plays a key role in disseminating medical knowledge and expertise around the globe," Dr. George E. Thibault, a Partners vice president of clinical affairs, explains on a video describing Partners International. The largest not-for profit biomedical research institution in the United States, Partners conducts almost $1 billion in research annually in the fields of molecular biology and genetics, clinical trials, epidemiology, and medical-device research. In addition, 14 Nobel laureates have studied or worked at Partners affiliated institutions.
"By training foreign physicians and by publishing our work in scholarly journals, we disseminate knowledge across disciplines and across national boundaries," says Thibault. "Through the Partners International Program, we are building relationships with physicians, hospitals, businesses, and governments that share our belief in the importance of international collaboration. These collaborations are a way to exchange knowledge and expertise that go beyond traditional residency and fellowship training programs."
Among the services Partners International provides is telemedicine, which allows Partners physicians to relay timely advice and consultation on difficult cases to physicians abroad. In addition, Partners physicians travel to international hospitals and foreign doctors come to Boston for short-term programs. And Partners establishes longterm consultative partnerships to develop hospitals and integrated healthcare networks overseas.
In addition to Partners International Program, some other nationally recognized hospitals maintain international partnerships. Among them, Margolis includes the Cleveland Clinic, the Mayo Clinic in Rochester,MN, and the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston.
Source : http://www.boston.com
The magazine advertisement, sponsored by Children's Hospital Boston, ran recently in Time and Newsweek. TV ads with a similar tag line have run on local television stations in Buffalo and Rochester, New York. The goal: to market the services of a leading Boston hospital to consumers outside of New England.
Traditionally, hospital marketing has been a regional effort, directed at local doctors and patients. But a new trend is emerging among high-profile hospitals that are looking for more patients to fill their beds.
Looking for more patients
"Hospitals that provide more sophisticated procedures are reaching out farther and farther to attract patients," says Larry Margolis, partner in the Chicago-based healthcare marketing firm Storandt Pann Margolis.Typically, he says, these are academic medical centers that provide cutting edge services that would not be available at smaller, community hospitals in cities like Buffalo. There are reasons for this increase in marketing. One is the power of the informed consumer. Rather than wait for advice from their doctors, many patients now turn to the internet to research their medical problems. These are the same individuals who might read an ad for Children's Hospital and decide, "This is where I want my child treated." Another reason is that health insurance plans have relaxed their restrictions on coverage, making it easier for consumers to go wherever they want for care. Many want to come to Boston, long known as a center of medical research and treatment.
Going national
In order to attract them, Dana-Farber/Partners Cancer Care purchased its first national advertising in U.S. News & World Report's Best Hospitals issue this past July. "We wanted to promote the fact that three of the world's leading hospitals work together to fight cancer," says Donna Walthall, director of marketing for Dana-Farber/Partners Cancer Care, explaining that DFPCC is a collaboration among Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), Dana-Farber, and Brigham and Women's Hospital. "The ad was aimed at telling consumers that these hospitals share the goal of accelerating the transfer of research from the research bench to the patient's bedside," Walthall says.
This new thrust is just a small part of any major hospital's marketing effort. Dana-Farber/Partner's primary marketing focus remains the physician. "Doctors still drive the referral process for oncology," says Walthall. She notes that DFPCC physicians are active in high-profile conferences, such as the American Society of Clinical Oncology-a gathering of more than 24,000 physicians from around the world-where they provide information on Dana-Farber's clinical trials.
"We also use it as a chance to promote our online consultation program," says Walthall. That is a service through which doctors around the globe can seek second opinions on treatment plans from Dana-Farber physicians. Partners HealthCare has begun to dip a toe into promoting its services to consumers throughout the New England market. According to Jenny Watson, spokeswoman for Partners, the healthcare group has bought television commercials promoting its cardiac services on the New England Cable News Network. Partners also purchased a print advertisement featuring its cardiac services in the New England edition of the U.S. News & World Report Best Hospitals issue.
Creating a brand
All of these efforts are part of many hospitals' growing commitment to creating a "brand" for themselves, says Margolis, the healthcare marketing consultant. He sees this among academic hospitals, in particular, as they try to establish that there is an "academic difference" created with their teaching and research. Once that academic brand is established, it's easier to reach out to a wider audience.
Making its audience as wide as possible is the aim of Partners HealthCare's International Program. Partners International works collaboratively with patients, physicians, insurers, governments, and corporations to extend the benefits of medical innovation to a worldwide audience. In addition to MGH, Brigham and Women's and Dana-Farber, Partners International includes McLean Hospital, the psychiatric hospital and research institute in Belmont, and Spaulding Hospital, a leading rehabilitation hospital in Boston. Founded in 1994, the program serves more than 5,000 patients from more than 100 countries each year.
"Beyond patient care, Partners plays a key role in disseminating medical knowledge and expertise around the globe," Dr. George E. Thibault, a Partners vice president of clinical affairs, explains on a video describing Partners International. The largest not-for profit biomedical research institution in the United States, Partners conducts almost $1 billion in research annually in the fields of molecular biology and genetics, clinical trials, epidemiology, and medical-device research. In addition, 14 Nobel laureates have studied or worked at Partners affiliated institutions.
"By training foreign physicians and by publishing our work in scholarly journals, we disseminate knowledge across disciplines and across national boundaries," says Thibault. "Through the Partners International Program, we are building relationships with physicians, hospitals, businesses, and governments that share our belief in the importance of international collaboration. These collaborations are a way to exchange knowledge and expertise that go beyond traditional residency and fellowship training programs."
Among the services Partners International provides is telemedicine, which allows Partners physicians to relay timely advice and consultation on difficult cases to physicians abroad. In addition, Partners physicians travel to international hospitals and foreign doctors come to Boston for short-term programs. And Partners establishes longterm consultative partnerships to develop hospitals and integrated healthcare networks overseas.
In addition to Partners International Program, some other nationally recognized hospitals maintain international partnerships. Among them, Margolis includes the Cleveland Clinic, the Mayo Clinic in Rochester,MN, and the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston.
Source : http://www.boston.com
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