HBG Health - Brand Innovations for Health

Redefining the lines of communication between physicians and patients

Let’s review the stats: 

• Facebook has 901 million monthly users¹
• Twitter claims 340,000,000 tweets are sent everyday²
• The number of daily Pinterest users has gone up 145% since the start of 2012³

Clearly, it was only a matter of time before physicians and their patients began experimenting with social media. However, finding a way to communicate with patients in a way that is valuable, while maintaining confidentiality, is proving difficult. Although some doctors are interested in pursuing social media as an avenue to consult with patients, their places of employment may end up shutting them down. According to IT Publication NetworkWorld, Matt Goldstein, a soon-to-be Stanford grad, was expressly forbidden from using social media to communicate with patients by his hiring hospital in Boston. This policy extends to denying friend requests should they come from patients.

Although online forums currently exists where doctors can confer with each other, patients are left out of the mix. Some patients are turning to sites such as PatientsLikeMe, where individuals can discuss their medical situation with others that are in a similar position. The site currently has almost 150,000 users talking about symptoms, treatment options, medications and so on. However, physicians are not currently a part of this conversation.

In the past, healthcare has been more of a private business, with communication limited to the doctor and patient, and perhaps the patient’s immediate family. In today’s world, patients can interact with someone they will never meet about their symptoms and the latest treatment options. The opportunity is there for physicians to make this conversation richer and more beneficial, it remains to be seen how this will best be accomplished. 

How do you feel about this?

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The role of brand in healthcare reform

Healthcare as we know it is changing. Patients are becoming empowered health consumers, taking more control of their health decisions. Insurers are experiencing increased pressure to lower costs. Providers, whether a system, physician-owned practice, or integrated delivery network, are consolidating, and facing significant shifts in terms of reimbursement, and new challenges in patient care to achieve outcomes aligned with new government mandates. Competition within the industry will only continue to increase as a greater emphasis is placed on quality, value and outcomes. And as a result, it will be harder for provider organizations to differentiate themselves. We believe one way is through creating and elevating a relevant brand. 

A brand is more than a logo or a sign on your door. It is the culture of your organization, the organizations you partner and affiliate with, and the products and services you offer. Your brand is the personification of your vision, and it should have a strategy that is uniquely yours. To survive, and thrive, in the new healthcare paradigm, you must have a powerful health brand that wraps around all areas of your organization.

Never before has brand played such a critical role in an organization’s ultimate success. The organizations whose brands make a promise about who they are and what they are capable of providing, and can deliver on that promise, will become the category leaders in their sector.

Have you considered how your brand can impact the future growth of your business?

 

 

 

 

 

New Year Reading: Part Two

To keep you thinking about how to reinvent and revitalize your brand, and yourself, in 2012, here are a few more great reads.

 

Willpower:  Rediscovering the Greatest Human Strength

 In Willpower, the pioneering researcher Roy F. Baumeister collaborates with renowned New York Times science writer John Tierney to transform our understanding of the most coveted human virtue: self-control.

Baumeister discovered that willpower actually operates like a muscle: it can be strengthened with practice and fatigued by overuse. Willpower looks to the lives of entrepreneurs, parents, entertainers, and artists-including David Blaine, Eric Clapton, and others-who have flourished by improving their self-control.

The lessons from their stories and psychologists' experiments can help anyone. You learn not only how to build willpower but also how to conserve it for crucial moments by setting the right goals and using the best new techniques for monitoring your progress. Once you master these techniques and establish the right habits, willpower gets easier: you'll need less conscious mental energy to avoid temptation. At the end of the book, you will have more knowledge and better tools for taking control of your life.

 

50 Self-help Classics:  50 Inspirational Books to Transform Your Life

 In 50 Self-Help Classics: 50 Inspirational Books to Transform Your Life, Tom Butler-Bowdon brings together fifty of the best works on personal development and self-motivation so you don’t have to sort through the thousands of self-help books out there. Butler-Bowden appreciates that we are all inspired by different underlying philosophies, and this is represented in the list. 50 Self-Help Classics summarizes each writer’s background, the primary concepts in the book, and who will benefit by reading it. 

 

The Hundred-Year Lie: How to Protect Yourself from the Chemicals That Are Destroying Your Health

 In The Hundred-Year Lie, investigative journalist Randall Fitzgerald tells how humans are becoming the most polluted species on the planet from the thousands of man-made chemicals in our food, water, medicine, and environment. Over a century ago, Americans were promised “better living through chemistry,” when Congress enacted the Pure Food and Drug Act.

Fitzgerald provides tremendous evidence that this, and many other claims made by the chemical, pharmaceutical and processed foods industries are in fact myths. The Hundred-Year Lie presents practical suggestions for how we can live healthier lives. 

 

ChefMD's Big Book of Culinary Medicine: A Food Lover's Road Map to Losing Weight, Preventing Disease, and Getting Really Healthy

 Learn to use culinary medicine to better your life. Dr. John La Puma researched the science of nutrition while also going to culinary school to learn to cook, and as a result, created the revolutionary new concept of “culinary medicine”–recipes, foods, and meals that prevent or control common health conditions without sacrificing restaurant-quality taste.

In ChefMD’s Big Book of Culinary Medicine, you’ll learn to stock the medicine chest in your kitchen, use the doctor inside of you, and create dishes that give you lifesaving benefits and truly dazzling flavor. Dr. La Puma serves up a step-by-step eight-week plan to motivate you and help you change your life.

 

To your health!

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Branding Inside Out For Success

I recently came across a posting in the Harvard Business Review titled, “Why Appreciation Matters So Much.” Its point was about the positive impact that recognition and the feeling of value by employees can have on productivity and performance. This idea struck me as something so simple, yet something so few companies understand. In fact, the article refers to a worldwide study by Towers Watson which shows less than 40% of workers feel engaged in their companies.

When it comes to branding, internal engagement is extremely poignant. How engaged internal stakeholders are in the company and brand can be the difference between success and failure. Who better to represent your brand than the people who work daily to bring it to life. If they don’t embrace it, neither will external stakeholders. Employees are just as much a part of the brand as any logo, tagline or communication you put to use. 

At HBG we have a saying, “great brands are developed from inside, out.” Gathering insights from employees upfront can be a great way to acknowledge their value and show appreciation for the work they do everyday. Through an employee survey, internal focus groups, one-on-one interviews, or even an internal microsite, companies can easily (and inexpensively) discover critical issues and opportunities that can help inform their decisions for the brand. By authentically integrating feedback, associates can feel validated and meaningful and in turn, are more likely to invest in their work.

To learn more about practical steps you can take to appreciate your team, read the full blog post. 

Holiday/New Year Reading

In case you missed these, here a few great reads as you revitalize and reinvent your brands, and yourself, for the New Year. 

The China Study

 Have you ever questioned the practices of current dietary programs, like the Atkins diet, that are popular in the West? If so, The China Study is a must read. Examining more than 350 variables of health and nutrition with surveys from 6,500 adults in more than 2,500 counties across China and Taiwan, this study conclusively demonstrates the link between nutrition and heart disease, diabetes, and cancer. The study reveals that proper nutrition can have a dramatic effect on reducing and reversing these ailments, as well as curbing obesity.

 

Presentation Zen: Simple Ideas on Presentation Design and Delivery

Change the way you think about making presentations with PowerPoint and Keynote. In this insightful book, Garr Reynolds, designer and internationally acclaimed communications expert, shares his perspective, drawing upon practical advice from business and communications fields, helping you to create simpler, more effective presentations.

 

The Life-Transforming Diet: Based on Health and Psychological Principles of Maimonides and other Classical Sources

Finally, not just a diet, but a lifestyle you can live with. David Zulberg will empower you to choose what to eat and when to eat it, leading you to experience an inner and outer transformation. Based on the wisdom of Maimonides (Rambam), one of the great Jewish sages, this book will give you the tools you need to achieve optimal emotional and physical health, a spiritual outlook, and sustainable weight loss. The Life-Transforming Diet helps you change your approach to eating through a step-by-step process. After reading this book you will have insights into how we form bad habits, and tips for forming new, better ones, a simple exercise program that doesn’t require a financial commitment, a do-it yourself support system, and a realistic maintenance program.

 

Redirect: The Surprising New Science of Psychological Change

Redirect is a fascinating look at the power small changes can have on how we view the world around us. This book examines the new, scientifically based approach, called story editing, that can change our thought process and help address problems. Story editing works by redirecting the stories we tell about ourselves and the world. World-renowned psychologist Timothy Wilson reveals what self-help practices really work, the ones that don’t, and how we can use story editing and other practices in everyday life.

Check back soon for more must-reads in 2012. To your health!

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What’s in a good provider advertising campaign anyway?

How about one that is still going strong three years after its launch, one that truly differentiates itself from others in an overly crowded marketplace? Well, the Cleveland Clinic has done this with its ‘unadorned facts’ ad campaign.

The campaign breaks away from traditional healthcare advertising, bringing instead a unique and distinctive approach to communicating with the consumer.

This isn’t surprising, as more hospitals and clinics are trying to break through the clutter. A recent MedCity News article about the highly successful campaign stated “in the first six months of 2011, advertising by American hospitals, clinics and medical centers rose 20 percent to $717 million.” 

MedCity News asked recognized health branding experts to give their opinions on the campaign, including HBG’s CEO and Founder, Jeffrey Nemetz. 

In the article, Nemetz raises a very important point about the holistic aspect of advertising, the foundation for a truly successful ad campaign. The ad campaign must align with all touchpoints within the hospital delivery system. Ultimately, it’s all about the patient experience.  

So before you develop your next ad campaign, think about all touchpoints in which your intended audience will experience your brand; make sure they align and tell the right story. Because if you don’t, it won’t matter how different your campaign is. 

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Your pateints' experiences. Get their opinions, you know they have one.

HBG recently came across a report explaining that “Patient experience no longer begins at the front door,” and we couldn’t agree more.  But it raised the question, where does patient experience begin?  And just who is providing the experience?

It’s hard to improve an experience when the where’s, when’s and who’s are not clear.

So where does a hospital find the answers?  The answer is easier to find than you think - in fact, it’s right in front of you.  Your patients, your staff and your communities are all the biggest advocates of your hospital’s experience and overall tone.  But as many retailers, airlines and restaurants have known for a while, they can be your most vocal detractors, as well.

Somewhere, right now, there’s a conversation going on about your hospital.  It could be someone talking to a new neighbor about the best place to find a pediatrician; it could be someone showing off their new knee replacement; or it could be someone raving about the bedside manner of your nurses.  And these days, the conversations happen in real time both online and in person.

We hear all the time, “But that’s out of my control.”

It’s not.

What people hear about their patient experience is a direct reflection of how they perceive your hospital, from either their own experience, that of friends and family, or through the media.  By focusing on the patient experience, and encouraging everyone in your organization to do the same, you might change one or two of those conversations.  Every little bit counts in today’s competitive healthcare environment.

Does your hospital have a voice online?  Does it have a way for patients and staff to review their experience?  This may be daunting as there will inevitably be negative things said.  Yet by garnering control and having the confidence to have a voice, you are putting yourself more in the driver’s seat than others.  Online reailers are quickly shifting to include online reviews by customers; those that do not utilize this can be viewed as out of touch with and by their customers.  This may quickly be the case with patient experience as well.  Get in front of the curve.

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Health literacy – why it matters.

As I look to constantly push my own brand to the next level, as well as drive our clients to where they need (and want) to go, I am struck by the concept of health literacy.  One of a business’ primary objectives is to clearly and consistently communicate who they are, what they do, and why it matters.  Health literacy is a term used in clinical and public health settings describing a patient-consumer’s ability to understand health information and translate/relate it to their own health behaviors.  In our world of brands, the use of appropriate language to communicate one’s point across so the public “gets it,” is essential.
   
And so health literary is not proprietary to the medical world, but can instead be viewed as a relevant way to approach patient-consumers through health branding and lifestyle improvement implementation.  What could be possible if we harness such a powerful (and relevant) concept in our own strategic thinking?  As I’ve said many times, when a company positions itself so consumers recognize that the brand not only has a commitment to personal health, but also the health of the world, a powerful connection is made.  Health literacy is about creating a concept that resonates with patients so it matters in their own lives to drive behavioral change…sounds pretty similar to what we talk about everyday.

Thoughts on the New Health Care Consumer... Part I

Let’s face it; we’ve reached a point of critical mass in healthcare today. It is at this tipping point that I realize the healthcare consumer of old has been replaced by a new consumer, who actively criticizes the current healthcare system we have in place. This consumer is aware of a complex system fraught with gaps and inconsistencies. They are demanding of new technology and tools to optimize their wellness. And most of all, they are looking for new models in the health care system that manage care rather than simply treating sickness. With this information in mind and spurred by the findings of the 2010 Deloitte healthcare consumer survey, I believe that it would benefit many to know who this new healthcare consumer is, what they want, why they want it and how they go about obtaining what they seek.
 
Therefore, in the next couple of weeks you’ll see me defining key characteristics of this new healthcare consumer, such as their active pursuit of information, new methods of communicating and their want to feel engaged by the healthcare system. At the end of this blog series, I’ll share my own thoughts on what this change means for healthcare providers and for new models of healthcare. But, most importantly, I’ll share my thoughts on what I believe needs to be done to market brands effectively to this strong minded, aware, and evolved health care consumer, who is likely to ignite a change that will affect health care sector for many years to come.

Challenge Accepted.

At the beginning of this year, Pepsi caught my eye with the Refresh Everything project. Aimed at giving anyone, and everyone, the chance to compete for grants to support worthwhile causes, the Refresh Everything project did the unthinkable when it comes to philanthropy: They leveled the playing field. No longer were the fancy, PR-driven causes stealing the limelight. This time, Pepsi wiped the slate clean, and let America decided what it really cared about and who it wanted to support. It was the beginning for a newly empowered individual – and the beginning of the end for a stagnant and unimaginative corporate puppet master.

Surrounded by a passionate and aware team here at HBG Health, I’m constantly learning something new. It’s how I learned about the Pepsi Refresh Everything project, and it’s how I learned about a similar endeavor happening at on a global scale – The BBC’s World Challenge. This competition seeks to award financial grants to entrepreneurs that are seeking to change the world through innovation. Of course participants aren’t super-heroes with the ability to solve the world’s problems with a single glance. Instead they are strong-minded and ambitious individuals who believe that bringing new thinking to their village, their school or even their employer is enough to beget change on a larger scale.

And large-scale change is coming… It’s coming through government reform, technology innovation, and basic social transformation. How each of us chooses to participate and support in this change will define who we are as individuals, as businesses and as communities at large. And nowhere will this change be more tangible and meaningful than in the systems, companies and products that contribute to the health of the world.