instantly health

Image by Pattie O'Loughlin from Pixabay. My primary care physician ordered a couple of tests and left me the option to choose the location. Near me was a free-standing hospital system-based ambulatory care center.   When I called the central scheduling department of the health system in question, I asked if the center near me did those tests. I scheduled one of the tests because of some pretest requirements and the other test nearly immediately as diagnostic radiology was available on a walk-in basis. Now, understand that I drive by this ambulatory medical center regularly and never had a clue that all this and more was available. In all honesty, I didn’t pay that much attention to the marketing either, as it focused on providing senior physician services that I did not need or have any interest in. Why did the system place ‘senior” in the name? When you put “senior” in the name, which is biased age-based segmentation and marketing, you automatically define the center’s per...

Permission check image by Tumisu from Pixabay. Provider marketing is challenging, and it doesn’t matter if it’s a medical practice, home health agency, Ambulatory Surgical Center, hospital, or health system. With the HIPAA Privacy Rule and General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) compliance in Europe (read up if you’re not familiar), things are only going to be more challenging. Apple made user privacy and data control changes with the IOS 14 update , allowing individuals to stop Apps from tracking activity. Add in that browser cookies are a thing of the past; 2022 is shaping up as the year patients take control of their privacy and data. Your ability to digitally market to patients has changed. But that does not mean you can’t be effective. Job number one is now ensuring that patient privacy is protected. And from my point of view, there is a way around these patient control challenges. It’s about doing what you are allowed to in the spirit of the regulations and becoming the...

I mage by StartUpStockPhotos from Pixabay Well, I am trying something new. Beginning with the end of the month in October 2021, I recapped the posts published in the month, with a post summary and clickable links for each in one place. This way, if you missed a post or wanted to reread one, the months’ published content is in one easy-to-find place. During October, we looked at why providers need to market core values, moving to one view of the patient to the hospital system and vis versa and finished with removing ageism from healthcare marketing. I’ll be honest, and I am not sure if it will be of benefit for you, but I’m giving it a try anyway. As the saying goes, “nothing ventured, nothing gained.” Image by Peter Linforth from Pixabay. October 5 - Why Healthcare Providers & Vendors Need to Market Core Values https://bit.ly/3DdD6Mz In the latest Healthcare Business & Marketing Insights blog post, I explore why healthcare providers and vendors consider marketing organizati...

Image by Rudy Anderson from Pixabay, A funny thing happens when you get older.  Brands, especially those in healthcare, suddenly decide that based solely on age, one is now in need of senior services, specialized care, and other age-based items. Ageism and inaccurate stereotypes occur not only in healthcare but in many consumer brands. Based on legend, past practice, misguided beliefs, and stereotypes, ageism is harmful. Ageism harms society, the individual, and employment opportunities.   It’s nonsense how Boomers, Gen-X, Gen-Z, Millennials, and other age groups are perceived by marketing harmful and inaccurate stereotypes. It is ageism and it is wrong. Image by Brandon Roberts from Pixabay Age-based stereotyping is wrong on many levels. Age assumption-based marketing does not reflect the new market realities of how someone of any age uses technology, their experiences or expectations as individuals, and how they relate to the world, beliefs, self-perceptions, attitudes, an...

Health systems, and hospitals, for that matter, have an experience problem. The problem, while complicated, can be summed up as the inability to present an experience to the patient that is consistent across the entire health system. Connection image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay Hence one patient to the health system, one health system to the patient. Here is an example from an actual patient. A patient is seen at one hospital of a multihospital system for several years - inpatient, outpatient, and rehab.  That person is medically complex with multiple comorbidities.  With numerous chronic conditions, no matter how well it’s managed, an acute episode will require a short-term hospitalization. An ambulance is called, and due to the disease, the patient needs to be transported to the closest system hospital, not the one where they regularly receive care. Hospital image by Paul Brennan from Pixabay This is where the fun begins for the family. Immediately new specialists unfamil...