5 things i've learned about hospitals by marketing to them

KeystoneHealthcare.com

5 Things I’ve Learned about

Hospitals by Marketing to Them

Nicole Ervast

2KeystoneHealthcare.com

If you have ever tried it, you know this.

That is why I have compiled a list of

discoveries I have made to help healthcare

marketers identify common pain points.

Without further ado…

Marketing to Hospitals Is Not Easy


1. Nurses Are the Most Knowledgeable

I can’t count how many articles I’ve

read, usually written by doctors,

about how awesome nurses are. In

many cases, they are more

knowledgeable than physicians

themselves.

Nurses are the backbone of

every hospital. They are aware of

the needs of both patients and

physicians, and they usually put

their own needs last.


2. Communication is Essential

One of the trickiest situations in the

hospital is the hand-off. This is where a

weakness in communication typically

occurs, which can result in medical

errors.

Many times, Emergency Physicians and

Hospitalists are mistrusting of each

other, which obviously creates a huge

communication barrier.

In the hospital, lives are at stake

every single day, so good

communication is a must.


3. Price Comes First

One things is true for all hospitals: they

are on a tight budget.

With Medicare/Medicaid reimbursements

falling lower and the standards required

to avoid penalties getting higher each

year, hospitals have to save money

wherever they can.

If they have a choice between a

cheaper product/service and a more

impressive one, they will often go

with the cheaper choice.


4. Not All Readmissions Are Equal

The idea behind imposing penalties is

that the readmission is caused by the

hospital and/or physician not properly

treating the patient.

However, many of these “bouncebacks”

return not because they weren’t treated

effectively, but because they did not

follow the instructions they were given

upon discharge.

This type of situation is, to some extent,

out of the hospital’s control, but the

hospital is still held financially

responsible for it.


5. They Are Always in the Numbers Game

LWOT, Turnaround Time, Time to Doctor and Time

to Discharge are just a few of the metrics that

hospitals must measure to ensure efficiency.

If these numbers aren't where they need to be,

patient satisfaction goes down and hospitals lose

money.

In order to successfully

market a product/service

to a hospital, your focus

has to be where theirs

is: the numbers.


More Engaged. Better Results.

Nicole Ervast

Business Development Associate

Nicole became a member of the business

development team in September 2014. She

manages all of Keystone’s social media and

online marketing initiatives to ensure an engaging

brand experience for prospective clients. She can

be reached on Twitter @nicoleervast.