How Consumers Taking Control Of Their Healthcare Impacts Your Hospital’s Strategy

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Every year, an increasing number of consumers enroll in a high-deductible health plan which shifts a larger share of out-of-pocket costs to patients. In addition, several published studies suggest that just under half of consumers will enroll in a different health plan every year usually due to cost increases by their existing health insurance provider. And when they change plans, consumers frequently need to change primary care physicians. This creates a new paradigm for hospitals and health systems as consumers take a more active role in managing their healthcare costs.

Consumers are making healthcare provider choices the same way they shop for other things.

As consumers navigate through the healthcare system, they are using the same skills they practice in the retail world to make healthcare decisions. Primary care physicians are now having somewhat less influence than in the recent past on the selection of hospitals and health systems. This means that both cost and convenience are becoming more important in deciding which healthcare provider to use for various services. Further, consumers feel they will receive quality clinical care regardless of the healthcare provider they select. As such, providing great care is no longer enough for hospitals and health systems to attract patients. It is also leading to two changes which will greatly impact hospital and health system selection.

Owning an urgent care network is becoming more important for hospitals.

One strategy appears to be the opening of walk-in or urgent care clinics to “feed” patients to the hospital or health system. With busy lives, many consumers are looking for the convenience of walk-in clinics for minor healthcare issues. They want to have their problems addressed now, not in a few days when their primary care physician can finally see them. According the Urgent Care Association of America, there are almost 7,100 urgent care centers available to U.S. consumers. And, almost 9 in 10 centers indicated patient visits increased during the past year. The association also anticipates significant growth in the number of urgent care centers which will open this year.

Hospitals also need to provide greater transparency in terms of the costs for procedures or tests.

As consumers decide who will provide their healthcare, hospitals and health systems need to be prepared to make accurate pricing information available not only for their portion of the bill, but for all the professionals who will be engaged in the process. In the very near future, value-based care may mean hospitals and health systems will receive a lump sum and then share the money with the surgeon, anesthesiologist and others who participate in delivering care. However, right now consumers are beginning to demand that they be provided with the total cost. Healthcare organizations are no longer going to be able to get away with being the only industry where consumers are expected to make a purchase decision without first knowing the price.

Continue to evolve with the changes in how consumers buy healthcare.

As insurance deductibles increase and consumers take a greater role in their healthcare provider decisions, hospitals and health systems will need to continue to evolve how they consumers. New ways to bring them into your health system and providing accurate cost estimates will be two important steps. And always keep in mind they are people not just patients.

How the Affordable Care Act Will Impact Hospitals and Health Systems in 2016

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As healthcare organizations move into 2016, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) will continue to impact the healthcare industry in a variety of ways which executives will need to be prepared to address.  Here are some of the key items for healthcare executives to-do lists in the new year.  

Be prepared for increased demand for patient services.

The ACA has increased the number of patients with health insurance coverage which will increase the demand for care in many hospitals and health systems, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation.  While these increases in patient traffic will likely boost revenues and lower uncompensated care costs for hospitals, it will also stretch the capacity of some hospitals to their limits. The impact on specific hospitals will also vary depending on whether the hospitals are in states that expanded Medicaid coverage through the ACA.

 Look for patients to do more price shopping when it comes to medical care.

According to the Wall Street Journal, there were 95 hospital mergers and acquisitions last year.  Elements of the Affordable Care Act encourage these consolidations since they can have a positive impact in terms of promoting best practices and quality initiatives when done in a competitive marketplace.  However, mergers and acquisitions also have the potential to create monopolies in some areas which often result in higher prices and fewer choices for patients.  This may also cause increases in health insurance deductibles and copays for patients and higher taxes to support Medicare and Medicaid.  With costs going up, more and more patients are likely going to be asking for prices up front and shopping for lower costs on their medical care, particularly when it comes to routine and diagnostic tests.  I’ve talked with consumers about pricing transparency and many tell me they have started to look at the costs they will incur before selecting a healthcare provider. This is a growing practice and I expect this trend to continue with more consumers “shopping” healthcare. 

Evaluate what impact specialty healthcare competition will have on your product lines.

A number of organizations are looking to expand their market share in specific product lines across the country.  For example, McKesson Corporation acquired U.S. Oncology, one of the largest oncology groups, and now has more than 1,300 oncologists in its network, as well as controlling a $2.8 billion portion of the cancer drugs they prescribe, according to an article in Forbes.  In fact, this group serves nearly 20% of all U.S. cancer patients. In addition, other specialty cancer hospitals are being opened all over the country, including top brands like MD Anderson Cancer Center which continues to open centers and increase affiliations. While these expansions may bring care standards and clinical trials to areas where they are not currently available, they will also be taking market share from hospitals which currently offer these services in particular areas.  Health systems need to continually promote and monitor consumer opinions about specific product lines or they risk not being in a consumer’s consideration set when they need specific care.

Prepare for the shift to payment for successful outcomes, not volume.

The Affordable Care Act has provisions which will require hospitals to focus efforts on successfully treating patients to get paid, not just completing procedures.  While still paid for volume today, hospitals will need to evaluate how they provide patient care as the system changes from fee-for-service to pay-for-performance.  To stay financially solvent, hospitals will need to cut waste, collaborate on new payment models such as ACOs, collaborate with physicians, patients and payers to coordinate care, invest in physician groups and primary care to keep patients healthier. They will also need to employ big data healthcare analytics to use trends from patient data to drive new strategies and decision-making, according to Becker’s Hospital Review.  Understanding what healthcare organizations struggle with can help them work to address issues which lead to better results for patients.

While these are only some of the implications of the ACA on hospitals, having the following steps on your to-do list will put you in a better position to start 2016, so consider:

  1. Evaluate your capacity by facility and product line to ensure you can handle increased volume.
  2. Determine how far you want to move toward published pricing and pricing transparency as more patients shop for healthcare.
  3. Look at the existing and potential competition for your most profitable product lines to determine where you may have to fight for market share.
  4. Review patient data and gather staff input to determine how and where efforts need to be focused to ensure positive outcomes for patients.

 

Improving your Brand Image and Competitive Position

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There are several things in today’s healthcare industry which organizations need to consider. By being forward thinking, innovative, and embracing change, healthcare companies can prosper and move ahead of the competition.

Perceptions of your healthcare brand impact your position in today’s competitive marketplace.

Many years ago, hospitals delivered healthcare to their local community and didn’t have to worry about the competition or consumer marketing. Today, regulation and oversight are intense and cost pressures can constrict margins. However, you can control and shape your brand image to impact your competitive position in the marketplace.

Many people or one of their family members have been treated at a hospital in the last three years. Yes, many of them went to the nearest emergency department to obtain care for a child who had an accident or a parent with a medical concern. However, quite a few drove past the closest facility to another hospital or healthcare system. One reason they selected another hospital or system is a strong brand image. Both name recognition and brand image are considered among the most valuable assets of a health system.

It’s important to strongly support your organization’s brand.

Having a healthcare brand image that resonates with patients and prospects is critical when fighting to sustain and gain market share. Whether a patient needs attention for a less serious medical problem or has a serious medical condition which requires highly specialized care, you want your organization to be the one they think of first. In addition, you want them to think of you for expertise in the particular product lines where you specialize. Whether it’s cardiac or cancer care or those profitable elective orthopedic procedures such as joint replacements, you want to be perceived as the best place around for patients to receive treatment.

There are a number of successful methods used on a regular basis to support the creation and maintenance of strong brand image for hospitals and health systems. Systems that do it well employ a systematic mix of brand building television advertising along with product line specific content to make them the first place patients think of and to establish expertise in their specialties. Today’s locally targeted cable advertising can make this strategy affordable even for small marketing budgets. The best hospitals and systems are also heavily involved in their local communities by supporting a variety of events and causes, as well as being engaged in community related efforts. The key to all your efforts is to be consistent and have a continuous presence since there are many competitors who are working diligently to steal your market share.

Do your homework to make sure your branding efforts don’t get torpedoed.

Several things can have a negative impact on the brand image of hospitals and health systems. In some cases, there are legacy issues which still haunt a hospital. This is where the intervention of a seasoned PR firm can really be helpful to defeat the remnants of past problems and clean up old perceptions for your brand.

Another thing to do is to be sure your facilities don’t look tired or dated. Patients equate old looking structures and dated interiors with poor quality care, while modern and up-to-date facilities promote a healing environment. In addition, it is important to have well-designed waiting areas to accommodate the needs of both patients and their family members. These updates can be a major boost to the image of your hospital and health system.

Investments in brand image and its impact on competitiveness are not that hard to define.

While the potential payoffs from investments in improved brand image can appear hard to define,
successful hospitals report substantial increases in patients as one measurable result. In addition, measuring key metrics such as top-of-mind awareness, image, and product line usage tend to correlate highly with increases in the number of patients.

And remember, if your organization is not actively and effectively working to improve your brand image, it’s likely you are losing ground and market share to your competition. That’s not a strategy for long-term success.

The Incredible Value Net Promoter Score (NPS) Can Bring to Your Company

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Wouldn’t it be nice if everyone you do business with would tell their colleagues and friends to use your company? Would you at least like that to happen more often?

For many years, companies have studied consumer behavior to understand who is in their target audience, how customers think, and what drives them to purchase one product or service over another. Researchers have employed a variety of strategies to uncover the motivations, attitudes, and issues which drive decisions, while marketers have struggled to translate this into the 4 P’s – Product, Price, Place, and Promotion. However, it was the question which was asked by C-level executives (What do consumers think of our brand?) which lead to development of the Net Promoter Score (NPS) process.

NPS is basically a simple measurement.

It is based on the premise that if enough people recommend you, you should be able to grow your business. In case you are not familiar with it, NPS in its most basic form asks the customer two questions:

  • On a scale of 0 to 10, what is your willingness to recommend our company to friend or colleague?
  • Why do you give that rating?

To get the actual score, respondents are classified into three groups based on their rating of willingness to recommend:

  • Respondents giving a rating of 9 or 10 are classified as promoters
  • Respondents giving a rating of 7 or 8 are classified as neutral
  • Respondents giving a rating from 0 to 6 are classified as detractors

The percentage of respondents that are promoters minus the percentage of respondents that are detractors gives you the NPS.

However, valuable NPS is not that simple.

To achieve value from NPS work, it is necessary to ask additional questions to really understand what each respondent would say if someone asked them about your company. These responses can be used to validate each respondent’s classification. In doing so, look for distinctions between:

  • Active promoters
  • Passive promoters
  • Those who are happy, but specify why their needs fit your offerings
  • Those that are truly on the fence, giving bad points along with good points
  • Then there are customers that might like you to some extent, but prefer a competitor
  • Those that are not satisfied, but won’t tell everyone they know
  • And finally, customers who are active detractors or trolls

This also suggest ways to address customer issues. 

More importantly, you need to know how to identify what needs to improve so you can be a better partner to your customers. By clarifying where a customer truly stands on the promoter/detractor scale, it becomes much easier to determine what needs to be done to improve your score. Look for the “low hanging fruit” and identify what needs to happen in order for passive promoters to become active promoters and fence sitters to move up to passive or active promoters.

This is the difference that makes NPS a valuable tool rather than just a number.

Health care – What do consumers think of your brand?

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For many years, I have worked with various types of health care organizations such as home health, hospital networks, rehab centers, and physician practices to help these organizations measure the awareness and image of their brands.  While knowing if more people are familiar with your name is important, it is critical to understand what customers and prospects think about your organization in this time of increased competition and expanding service areas.

Awareness is only the first step in process.

The old adage they have to know you to use you is still true. However, in today’s highly competitive market, knowing your name is only the first step.  Consumers have so many choices when it comes to health care that it is critical to ensure your brand, along with your relevant products and services, are on their radar.  In addition, you need to understand if your brand has a positive reputation in the community and that old baggage isn’t keeping consumers away from your doors.

Consumers have many resources at their fingertips to help them gauge the performance and capabilities of health care organizations they may consider selecting.  This means it is critically important to make sure every customer or patient has a positive experience and receives excellent service since they are more likely than ever to influence friends and family.

There is a need to recognize and embrace change and continuously strive to improve.

It is simply good business to continually strive to give every customer and visitor you encounter an excellent experience. This can start by training every employee and staff member to simply acknowledge customers, consumers, caregivers, and visitors using your services. While this may seem obvious, you’d be surprised how a little human contact improves perceptions and customer satisfaction.  What is most important is having ongoing efforts to improve in all areas of performance and service.

A positive experience starts at the top.

Consumers are increasingly sophisticated when it comes to understanding the dynamics of good service.  In a wide variety of industries, consumers believe top management sets the tone for service in an organization.  In addition, consumers know that happy employees provide much better customer service.  Communication is the key.  It’s important that management engages with and listens to staff so everyone is striving to provide the best possible experience.

Finally, the only way to really know if your organization is making continuous improvements in customer service is to measure it.  Syndicated services may not really tell the whole story in terms of customer satisfaction.  In fact, I recommend hybrid research including customized quantitative surveys among your customers, patients, and prospects supported by qualitative research among similar audiences. This allows you to evaluate your competitive position in order to really understand your performance. It also provides marketing and senior management with a clear picture of how the organization is viewed and what areas need work to make the organization more competitive.

Workforce Research – Issues uncovered and solutions identified

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Over the past several years, I had the opportunity to speak with employer around the country in a wide variety of industry clusters, including:

  • Aviation and aerospace
  • Broadband
  • Clean technology
  • Energy
  • Healthcare
  • Homeland security and defense
  • Information technology
  • Life sciences
  • Logistics and distribution
  • Transportation infrastructure
  • Water

From these conversations, a consistent set of issues were encountered across all industries.

While employers need workers with specific sets of skills for their individual industries, they all face several similar issues with education and training received by younger workers. Employers saw room for improvement in the educational system in terms of preparing students for careers.

They reported the skill sets missing for younger workers include:

  • Critical/analytical thinking
  • Creative problem solving
  • Communication
  • STEM skills
  • Soft skills

However, there are also generational issues which come into play.

Unlike many older workers who define themselves by their jobs, many younger employees work to live rather than live to work. Younger workers will likely change jobs and careers many times over the course of their lives and are strongly aligned with the use of technology.

Further, young workers use different methods of communication which contributes to the perception among older workers that these younger workers lack communication and soft skills. Younger workers use technology to communicate, while older workers tend to communicate verbally. These differing styles can complicate teamwork and need to evolve so the skills and talent from older and younger workers can be melded into a common success.

Today’s jobs also require employees with many talents.

Workers at all levels are not only required to possess the technical skills to do their job, but also need to possess business, interpersonal, and information technology skills. This ability to engage with others, deliver customer service and sell, along with the necessary technical abilities to do their jobs, are necessary for employers to maintain the levels of productivity they need to stay competitive.

One solution is collaboration and employers having more skin in the game regarding training.

There is an opportunity for educational systems and employers to be more collaborative. Employers suggested they can see a benefit in educational institutions working together and treating employers, rather than students, as their customer. It was suggested that educational institutions should also look for ways to work together toward a common goal of delivering talent to employers rather than being in competition with each other.

However, it was also clear that employers need to understand they cannot rely exclusively on schools to train workers, as jobs are too specific/niche oriented in many areas. They need to be willing to spend the time and money to teach workers the specific skills they need for their particular companies rather than expecting educators to hand them custom trained talent