Immediate Release

Study evaluates publicly marketed hospital rating systems

Hospital quality ratings by U.S. News and World Report and HealthGrades may identify high-quality hospitals for receiving cancer surgery, but fail to identify equally well performing hospitals of similar volume, according to a study reported this week in the Archives of Surgery. The study compared risk-adjusted 30-day mortality in the best-rated hospitals with all other hospitals for three cancer surgery procedures.

“While we found a mortality rate benefit to choosing these highly rated hospitals, patients may equally benefit from going to a similarly high-volume hospital closer to their home,” the authors conclude.

[ via AHA News Now ]

Humor's Role in Healthcare Marketing

Mixing health care messaging and humor can be risky. There are rewards for getting it right, but it takes a deft hand to negotiate the line between the type of funny that brings in business and wins awards versus the type of funny that raises eyebrows.

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Fast shift: Digital marketing will dominate healthcare in two years

Within two years, hospital marketers are predicting that digital marketing will overtake traditional marketing channels in getting their messages out, according to a survey from Acsys Interactive, an interactive marketing and digital development company based in Farmington, Conn.

This "long-awaited but fast-moving shift" is related to several factors, according to the insights gathered from hospital marketers across the country who took part last year in the Crowdsourced Survey of Hospital Marketers. One reason is the rapid proliferation of digital channels - such as social, video, and mobile - in hospital marketing. In addition, the demand is increasing for marketing to step outside of its traditional role and improve the customer experience on other platforms - including those that have languished such as the intranet and patient portals, the survey found.

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Inside Tips on Marketing Hospital Services to Boomers

There is a booming opportunity for marketers to target the aging patient population. An expert from Banner Health offers inside advice for niche marketing to this critical group.

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