Hospitals and Consumer-Driven Healthcare
by Anthony Cirillo, FACHE, ABC

Consumer-driven healthcare continues to be a hot topic, with employers reducing their investment and employees shouldering more of the burden. Employees are seeing incentives (and sometimes disincentives) for avoiding unnecessary care and staying healthy (or not). Consumers are beginning to participate in disease management programs and shop based on price, as well as quality and service.

Insurers are now becoming more of a partner in the health of employees, knowing the healthier their members, the less they will have to pay for care. Insurers are taking action by encouraging service representatives to take the time with callers to impart information and help them ask the right questions. Changing patient behavior is the path to managing costs, and insurers are helping consumers make cost effective, quality healthcare decisions. More and more hospital web sites are promoting their quality indicators and encouraging consumers to review how they compare with other hospitals.

How can hospitals better position themselves?

1. Prepare for the consumer-driven trend to continue.
Innovations in healthcare will revolve around anything that moves services closer to consumers to enable them tomanage their own health. Technological advances are fueling this change. Hospitals will compete more than ever in terms of quality, service, and price. Be sensitive to how you communicate quality and focus on building long-term relationships with patients so that when they need healthcare, they will look to you. Offer quality service to patients and make sure your employees know all your service offerings to help spread the word about your customer service. Ironically, it is price that may be the most tangible item you'll want to market in the future.

Pricing transparency is all around us. Consumers dipping into their own pockets are going to demand to know what they are paying for and how you arrived at those costs. Retail cost structures are looming on the horizon and marketing directors must demonstrate the value of transparency. Healthcare is an emotional decision influenced just as much by friends and families as it is by physicians. It is a delayed purchase, and not something people want to have to buy. And if you ever needed a reminder that price is important, look at the medical tourism industry. Insurers in the U.S. are signing providers internationally to be part of their network and therefore an option for U.S. citizens. And cost is the main factor.

2. Reach out to your patient-base.
The real money is in the high-end services, but real relationship-building is driven by your wellness offerings. You can choose to stand by while insurers and others become health partners with your potential patients, or you can develop services to assist them in leading healthier lives. Helping patients stay well leads to stronger relationships in time. Increase marketing for your wellness initiatives so that when patients need acute care they will already have enough trust in your hospital to use your services.

3. Realize healthcare is transcending local boundaries.
Have you evaluated the scope and reach of your marketing efforts? Hospitals typically can't afford mass media in multiple markets, but expanding your internet strategies can increase your exposure and most likely also reduce your costs. The internet is also ideal for engaging consumers to improve their health, an opportunity to connect your hospital to consumers seeking a trusted healthcare resource.

4. Be prepared to compete on price.
Do you know how your competition sets their prices? What is your price position? It is important for you to clearly state a value proposition for what you will be charging. Some providers are deciding to cater to the high-end concierge audience, while others will position themselves as the healthcare version of Wal-Mart. The assumption is still that all things are equal in terms of quality and service, so plan your price story and philosophy carefully.

5. Develop customer service enhancements in billing and collections.
Consumer out-of-pocket spending will put more demands on the hospital in these areas. Employees will have to be retrained to handle collections in a professional and sensitive manner, as the number of patient interactions increase. Customers want online services in order to view their bills and make payments. Service representatives will become an important PR vehicle, and marketers should be able to deliver messages through these representatives.

Consumer-driven healthcare continues to take shape. It is always helpful to think like the healthcare consumer we all are, and not just a marketer or healthcare professional. What is most important to you as a consumer and what information do you want your hospital to be able to give you? By empowering ourselves, we will be in a better position to enlighten others.