With today’s budget cuts and declining reimbursements, can a
hospital afford to “niche” market its specialty services? Can a
hospital or health system afford not to? A large number of
institutions, mainly community based, have not had a history of
allocating resources for program-specific marketing activity.
The changes in clinical practice, payor requirements and market
demands that have occurred over the past five years are causing
many health care providers to “re-think” their approach to
marketing in high volume areas such as cardiovascular services.
According to a report by the Agency for Health Care Policy and
Research (AHCPR), the most common reasons for a hospital
admission in the United States are:
1.infant birth (3.8 million/year) 2.coronary atherosclerosis
(1.4 million/year) 3.pneumonia (1.2 million/year) 4.heart
failure (990,000/year) 5.myocardial infarction (774,000/year)
Of significance, cardiac-related conditions account for three of
the five top reasons for hospital admission. Of greater
importance, cardiovascular admissions generally account for 20%
to 40% of total hospital revenue. This snapshot of today’s
health care service needs is expected to continue to change with
the aging of the population and the increasing demand for
cardiovascular services.
Offering new services and programs such as coronary angioplasty
and open heart surgery provide an ideal venue to market to
potential patients, but exploring the consumer rationale behind
this reveals market drivers beyond “getting the word out”. The
need for information on the scope of cardiovascular services
available, knowledge of the types of services that the hospital
provides very well, patient and physician endorsements, and
community outreach all forward an organization’s mission in
cardiovascular care.
One of the first questions to be answered when a decision is
made to specifically market and brand cardiovascular services:
Can the traditional method for identifying the general hospital
market be applied to determining the cardiovascular patient
market? Hospitals traditionally have looked at service areas and
differentiated them into primary, secondary and tertiary based
on geography and known referral patterns. A niche strategy
requires a different approach.
Identifying a service specific market can be best accomplished
using a “market-responsive” methodology. Starting with a map of
the region, an area should be outlined based on the knowledge
available on the community,
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direct patient care representatives in cardiovascular care.
Following this exercise, survey cardiologists, key medical staff
and the Emergency Department to determine where or will patients
originate to access cardiac care. Once the boundary has been
defined with a cardiac perspective, detailed information on
hospital discharges in the Cardiovascular Major Diagnostic Codes
(MDC-5) can be retrieved and analyzed to identify the Total
Cardiac Target Market (TCTM).
The TCTM is the population from which a cardiovascular program
could reasonably expect to draw patient referrals. The TCTM
geographic area usually reflects the distance that individuals
will travel for sophisticated heart care. The TCTM methodology
is supported with a consideration for geographic and social
barriers, physician referral patterns, outreach efforts, and
planned growth and practice expansion opportunities.
Once the TCTM is determined,
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well-executed marketing effort can be undertaken. The tried and
true marketing processes that are associated with successful
organizations are recommended with a distinct focus on cardiac
clinical services. The elements identified most often as
essential to positive results are:
1.Develop a plan. It is estimated that only approximately 60
percent of all businesses work from a plan with predetermined,
measurable goals. 2.Evaluate the efforts and the results.
Business and industry report very few marketing projects are
measured for outcomes and community responsiveness. 3.Spend time
and energy in defining the measurement standards. Many
organizations can’t define “good” marketing and document a
Return on Investment (ROI). 4.Research the market. Who better to
ask how you could better serve than those who access care as
well as those who are in the TCTM but travel to another facility
for cardiac services that are already available at your hospital.
The best way to master the changing market forces that
healthcare providers are experiencing is to focus on core
competencies and strive to be the “best” both clinically and
financially. The key to success is identifying exactly what
clinical services will be provided and benchmarking to measure
results. This encompasses integrating marketing and many facets
of hospital operations. Once accomplished, communicating
(marketing) to your community (TCTM) through a service-specific
marketing effort can reap new patient volume and achieve
financial goals in cardiovascular services.
About the author:
Barbara Sallo, RN, MBA is the President of Health Care Visions,
Nike shox deliver,
Ltd. a cardiovascular consulting firm based in Pittsburgh,
Pennsylvania. The firm brings extensive knowledge and expertise
in this area of clinical care. Health Care Visions, Ltd. has
assisted a multitude of hospitals in all phases of
cardiovascular programs from market assessments, program
assessments and feasibility studies to business planning and
implementation.
oz nike shox saleAbout the author
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