Aegis Health Group, a hospital strategy consultancy firm, has identified five hospital business development trends to watch in 2012.
"Hospital executives face ever-increasing challenges to deliver exceptional care and the right kind of care efficiently and in the proper setting," Pearson Talbert, president of Aegis Health Group, said in a report by the group. "I believe that those hospitals that focus their business development efforts in these five areas will experience the highest levels of profitability as they set themselves apart from the competition and establish a healthier population overall."
The five areas, as cited in the report, include:
1. Investments in technology. While the healthcare reform regulation aimed at reducing paperwork and lowering administrative costs doesn't become fully effective until Oct. 1, 2012, much work has been done in this area. This directive, along with the need for hospitals to adopt a data-driven approach for tracking preventable chronic diseases among consumers, will continue to contribute to an information technology boom in the coming year. Electronic health records allow hospitals and providers to gather, monitor and track patient health and utilization over time. Done right, hospitals can both aggregate and segment this data — as well as health risk information about the general population — to market appropriate programs to specific consumers, identify community needs based on health risks, and determine trends within the population health over time.
2. Greater focus on social and mobile marketing opportunities. While hospitals have been slow adopters of social and mobile technologies as a way to reach and engage consumers, the coming year will bring an increase in the number of hospitals integrating these technologies into their overall outreach strategies. Already healthcare organizations have found success through online micro-communities that unite groups of people around a common cause or theme, mobile applications that allow consumers to connect with physicians or monitor emergency department wait times, and Quick Response codes so consumers can quickly access specific online content from a mobile phone. These are just a few of the ways hospitals will expand their use of social and mobile technologies to reach consumers where they are: on their mobile devices and online.
3. Employer-hospital partnerships. The majority of insured consumers continue to get health insurance through their employers. At the same time employers are growing increasingly interested in programs that improve the health of their workforce as a way to reduce costs. Hospitals are logical partners to help businesses create a healthier workforce. Through such relationships hospitals can collect actionable data about employees, which can be used to market specific programs, service lines and physicians to appropriate consumers. In the coming year hospital marketers will face greater pressure to provide measurable return on investment for their marketing efforts. Employer-hospital partnerships typically deliver upward of 3:1 ROI.
4. Stronger physician relationships. Strong physician relationships are at the core of all hospital initiatives. The increased focus on collaborative care environments driven by healthcare reform will require that hospitals and physicians establish greater loyalty as well as alignment of goals and care strategies. To this end more hospitals will establish formal, measurable and data-driven physician relationship management programs that are led by a dedicated professional liaison who can manage physician issues in a timely manner, help guide physician leadership opportunities, and ensure synergy between the hospital and its medical staff.
5. Formal population health management programs. As 36 million consumers who are currently uninsured gain access to coverage under the implementation of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, hospitals must take proactive steps to begin identifying and mitigating health risks of the broader population. Population health management programs must include a mechanism to collect and act on data provided by consumers; formal prevention, intervention and health management components; the ability to measure proper utilization of hospital programs and service lines; and a way to monitor improved health trends of the population.
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"Hospital executives face ever-increasing challenges to deliver exceptional care and the right kind of care efficiently and in the proper setting," Pearson Talbert, president of Aegis Health Group, said in a report by the group. "I believe that those hospitals that focus their business development efforts in these five areas will experience the highest levels of profitability as they set themselves apart from the competition and establish a healthier population overall."
The five areas, as cited in the report, include:
1. Investments in technology. While the healthcare reform regulation aimed at reducing paperwork and lowering administrative costs doesn't become fully effective until Oct. 1, 2012, much work has been done in this area. This directive, along with the need for hospitals to adopt a data-driven approach for tracking preventable chronic diseases among consumers, will continue to contribute to an information technology boom in the coming year. Electronic health records allow hospitals and providers to gather, monitor and track patient health and utilization over time. Done right, hospitals can both aggregate and segment this data — as well as health risk information about the general population — to market appropriate programs to specific consumers, identify community needs based on health risks, and determine trends within the population health over time.
2. Greater focus on social and mobile marketing opportunities. While hospitals have been slow adopters of social and mobile technologies as a way to reach and engage consumers, the coming year will bring an increase in the number of hospitals integrating these technologies into their overall outreach strategies. Already healthcare organizations have found success through online micro-communities that unite groups of people around a common cause or theme, mobile applications that allow consumers to connect with physicians or monitor emergency department wait times, and Quick Response codes so consumers can quickly access specific online content from a mobile phone. These are just a few of the ways hospitals will expand their use of social and mobile technologies to reach consumers where they are: on their mobile devices and online.
3. Employer-hospital partnerships. The majority of insured consumers continue to get health insurance through their employers. At the same time employers are growing increasingly interested in programs that improve the health of their workforce as a way to reduce costs. Hospitals are logical partners to help businesses create a healthier workforce. Through such relationships hospitals can collect actionable data about employees, which can be used to market specific programs, service lines and physicians to appropriate consumers. In the coming year hospital marketers will face greater pressure to provide measurable return on investment for their marketing efforts. Employer-hospital partnerships typically deliver upward of 3:1 ROI.
4. Stronger physician relationships. Strong physician relationships are at the core of all hospital initiatives. The increased focus on collaborative care environments driven by healthcare reform will require that hospitals and physicians establish greater loyalty as well as alignment of goals and care strategies. To this end more hospitals will establish formal, measurable and data-driven physician relationship management programs that are led by a dedicated professional liaison who can manage physician issues in a timely manner, help guide physician leadership opportunities, and ensure synergy between the hospital and its medical staff.
5. Formal population health management programs. As 36 million consumers who are currently uninsured gain access to coverage under the implementation of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, hospitals must take proactive steps to begin identifying and mitigating health risks of the broader population. Population health management programs must include a mechanism to collect and act on data provided by consumers; formal prevention, intervention and health management components; the ability to measure proper utilization of hospital programs and service lines; and a way to monitor improved health trends of the population.
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