How Are You Reengaging Patients Post COVID-19?

The purpose of the headline is to have hospitals think through more fully how they are engaging patients to return to the hospital. The driver was that I have been on several webinars recently and when the question of re-engagement was posed the standard answer was:

Emails. Marketing. Phone calls.

Okay, it is a start, but not enough. I was hopeful that due to the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, hospitals would have taken a more significant step forward in understanding the role of marketing and the patient engagement process. Now in fairness, there may be a more detailed strategy and tactical execution plan with measurable outcomes, but the presenters were unaware. It would appear that there continues to be a significant misunderstanding of the role of marketing and the use of the resource.

Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay

Let us take a step back because the patient is never going back to the old ways and responses.

If marketing is not at the forefront of the hospital leading the re-engagement effort, you're losing. With all due respect to the clinicians, operations, and financial leaders, your knowledge and skill base, even with taking a couple of marketing classes in college or postgraduate school does not mean that you know or understand marketing. Marketing needs to be part of the senior management team and not an afterthought.

Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay

The patient re-engagement process is now heavily influenced by the experience with the hospital during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. The patient has now experienced telemedicine and alternative ambulatory diagnostic and treatment providers finding accessibility, convenience, affordability, and high-quality.

The hospital task is now more difficult than attempting to convince patients that it is safe to come back. Anecdotally speaking, patients are not even returning to their primary care physicians first for treatment. Patient volumes may never return to pre-pandemic levels or get close to previous volumes until mid-2021 at best.

It's a problematic conundrum the hospital faces. Patients have delayed care and continue to do so, or they found ways to meet their healthcare needs without the hospital. But the bottom line is emails, marketing, and outbound calls are just not going to get it done. Internally the focus needs to be a highly coordinated effort and messaging across operations, nursing, finance, and marketing that carries out externally.

Image by John Hein from Pixabay

The hospital must reengage the patient on a level not seen before, to redevelop the trust and belief in the safety of the hospital necessary for the patient to return. Add in the patient's need for convenience, affordability, and nearly seamless patient experience, the hospital faces some significant challenges and hurdles. It means changing how you treat patients and changing the culture to be in practice and deeds, not just words, patient-focused.

Emails, marketing, and outbound calls are not going to get it done. It doesn't take a village, but it does take the entire hospital focused on the effort to reengage.

Michael is a healthcare business, marketing, communications strategist, and thought leader. As an internationally followed healthcare strategy blogger, his blog, Healthcare Marketing Matters, is read in 52 countries and is listed on the 100 Top Healthcare Marketing Blogs & Websites ranked at No. 3 on the list by Feedspot.com. Michael is a Life Fellow, American College of Healthcare Executives. An expert in healthcare marketing strategy, digital marketing, and social media, Michael is in the top 10 percent of social media experts nationwide and is considered an established influencer. For inquiries regarding strategic consulting engagements, you can email me at michael@themichaeljgroup.com. Connect with me on Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook. Opinions expressed are my own.

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