St. Louis-based SSM Health Care recently removed the last word off its name, a formal change intended to “demonstrate [its] commitment to general health and wellness, rather than treating illness.”
The removal of words that conjure visions of old-school healthcare isn’t a new trend. It happened a few years ago with “system.” Consumer research suggested system wasn’t a positive word, according to Kim Fox, vice president at healthcare strategic communications firm Jarrard Phillips Cate & Hancock in Nashville, Tenn. “It made healthcare sound so business-oriented,” she says. Armed with this research, many systems decided to present themselves as something else.
But when did “care” become a dirty word? What do health systems want us to think they are providing these days — services and procedures? And why are health systems entertaining this either/or game of demonstrating a commitment to wellness or treating illness? What happened to both?
Thinking about these questions is part of my job. Patients have other things on their mind, like their test results, the hospital bill they must negotiate or how they will get off work early to make their cardiologist appointment next Tuesday.
So much of healthcare is inherently tough. Patients deserve some ease and certainty, at least about the name of the place where they must go.
“We’ve done a pretty good job of confusing our consumers,” says Ms. Fox. And this confusion comes at an awful time. “There is more buying power, if that’s the right phrase, with the exchanges and increasing out-of-pocket expenses. I am not sure consumers have really bought healthcare before. The last thing you want to do is confuse your consumers about who you are. If you have a disjointed brand out there, you want to fix it now. It’s important for consumers to know who you are, what you stand for, all the things under your umbrella. Once consumers decide on a brand, they want to stick with it.”
