The Pink Coats of Health Care Marketing, the new paradigm of Health Care Marketing for small practices.
The HealthCare marketing landscape has changed dramatically over the past decade Each market will differ, but overall change has happened and will continue to happen The difference is how sharply the competitive forces in HealthCare marketing and advertising have shifted and intensified . Change In todays rough economic times, a Health Care provider will either stand out from the competition or will be invisible to the decision makers. The Competition Has Shifted Recently Physicians Have: Gone from private practice to being employed by a Hospital Retired or scaled back Joined or formed a medical group practice Taken on an aggressive marketing position in the market place Done nothing and have lost market share. The Competition Has Shifted Health Care Providers (Home Health, Hospice, Rehab, etc.) Have: Seen their reimbursement decrease Been saddled with increase in regulations, requirements and paperwork Been bought by Payers (Hospital, Managed Care, Insurance Companies) Seen decrease in self pay patients 6. The Competition Has Shifted In the past a solo or small group practice competed mainly against other solo or small group practices Now they compete against major health systems, large group practices, and specialty providers Hospital employed physicians might find themselves competing for a slice of the hospital advertising budget 7. The Competition Has Intensified What was once a stable marketplace is changing almost daily Those healthcare providers and medical facilities that remain are more aggressive in their efforts to capture and retain new patients and market share 8. The Competition Has Intensified Reimbursements are down Patients are more selective or scarce Even the terms and definitions have changed Accountable Care Organization Bundled Payment Initiative Health Care Reform. Pink Coats In these tough economic times, only a few HealthCare providers, Hospitals and other Medical entities will make positive headway The successful ones are the Pink Coats They distinguish themselves from all the White Coats
