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Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay.  Change can be good in the leadership of healthcare providers and vendors. Conversely, change, if not managed correctly organizationally, can be debilitating. And the professional sports world is full of examples of good and bad change, from leadership to players. The point is that major professional sports teams in leagues worldwide live in a continuous cycle of evaluation and change regardless of the sport. In the professional sports world, the common saying from GMs and coaches to owners, players, staff, and fans when explaining change is “if you’re not changing, you’re falling behind.” Thinking image by Pexels from Pixabay. When you think about that statement, there is a pearl of intuitive wisdom for healthcare providers and vendors, working in a sea of change coming from all directions. This was never truer as we continue to experience upheaval driven by seismic shifts in technology, diagnosis, treatment, care delivery, and innovative new e...

Clarity image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay Suppose there are some intuitive insights that have occurred during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic for hospitals. In that case, it may very well be that to gain organizational efficiencies, increase cash flow, and provide a higher quality of patient care, experience, and engagement, that outsourcing will be required.    It is understood that one does not outsource every department in the hospital as some functions still need direct organizational control, such as nursing.  However, it has become increasingly apparent as healthcare 3.0 is further defined with digital healthcare, the decentralization of care to community-based sites, innovations in treatment, technology, and pharmaceuticals, the hospital or health system faces formidable challenges. Changes and reductions in reimbursement also have significant impacts are that can negatively impact cash flow and the ability to meet internal or external demands. While leadership understa...

UGC image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay. User Generated Content (UGC) is the holy grail for healthcare vendors when all is said and done.  It doesn’t matter what vendor segment you’re in; the content and potential thought leadership from clients and prospects turned into customers are worth its weight in gold. Why? Having worked both sides of healthcare in providers and vendors, UGC has far more value and meaning. Providers expect vendors to produce the usual case studies, white papers, research briefs, blog posts, webinars, speaking opportunities,  press releases, media position statements, or any other brand tactical content forms used in a well-designed and executed thought leadership program. That does not mean you throw away case studies et al.,  but what it does mean is that if the vendor is unsuccessful at obtaining UGC, those other activities do not carry the same weight in supporting the vendor’s position. Platform image by Andrew Martin from Pixabay Providers ...

Idea image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay. The title, in a nutshell, explains why so much hospital marketing is features based, not a value proposition, brand promise, experience or benefits to the patients based. Ponder that statement for a minute. Now review some of your advertising and messaging- all about your beautiful facilities and locations, your technology for diagnosing and treating disease, third-party awards, how much you care about the patient, even specialized medical services that few people need. Hospital marketing, in that case, is focused on the Board, senior management, and medical staff with all the points they hold near and dear to their hearts.  Cold and soulless, these messages are devoid of meaning for the patient yet allow senior management to pat themselves on the back for a great job of building facilities. Other hospitals and health systems in the market take the same approach with a slightly different spin. And then you hear from the medical staff with...

The last 20 or so months have seen an unprecedented wave of change in healthcare. The way patients search for information, access care, and its delivery due to the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. Direction image by Kalhh from Pixabay The patient is more in charge with the adaption of telehealth, new entrants stepping into areas that were previously the domain of the hospital, and other care delivered in more convenient, affordable, and accessible locations. Add on top of all of this access to pricing information, and you can see why I call it Healthcare 3.0 Healthcare 3.0 Healthcare 3.0 is an entirely different market animal from anything hospital leadership has ever had to contend with.  The competitive animal has teeth with little regard for whether a hospital or health system survives. Highly competitive, innovative, and retail, the sole focus is on understanding and meeting patients' needs.  Most hospital marketing by focusing on features of the hospital- facilities, technology, s...

Champagne Bottle Popping photo by Myriamas Fotos from Pixabay Over the life of my two blogs, a milestone of 1,000,320 visitors (and counting) from 52 countries occurred on August 1, 2021. I am humbled and so very thankful that over the years, so many have taken precious time from their day to read one or both of my blogs, Healthcare Business and  Marketing Insights (2007)    http://bit.ly/fG60zh , & Perceptions, Observations, & Musings of an Old Man (2019) http://bit.ly/2O514S1 .     Again, thank you for reading what I have been writing.