Last week my co-worker participated in a Tweet chat for work. Afterwards, she sent all us Jennings employees a link to a health system’s website that typifies what we at Jennings think is the way of the future for healthcare: online communities. Children's National Medical Center of Washington, D.C. hosts an online community for parents of sick children. On this…
My drive from Wake Forest, NC to work at Jennings in Chapel Hill takes anywhere between 45 minutes and an hour and fifteen minutes, depending on traffic and weather. So, I get to listen to a lot of radio. Sirius XM as well as terrestrial. Last week I was flipping around the dial and came to WUNC – our NPR…
Last week, the account team visited our client Dartmouth-Hitchcock in Lebanon, New Hampshire. Part of our visit included a tour of the hospital. Building cold sterile hospitals is a thing of the past. Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center is a fine example of a hospital following the trend to offer patients and their families a healing environment. The first thing I…
It's been said that practicing medicine is both an art and a science. Columbia University now offers a master's degree program in Narrative Medicine. The program teaches doctors the art of how to be better listeners and then how to apply what they hear from their patients to medical care. Columbia University's School of Continuing Education website states: "Narrative medicine…
With the rise of the “social physician,” a successful physician relations program should integrate a number of disciplines, including marketing and digital services – a perspective that many healthcare organizations have yet to recognize or embrace. The fact is, physicians AND patients use and consume communication differently than they did just a few years ago. Many, if not most, have…
The day of “one size fits all” marketing solutions is over. Today, many healthcare organizations are realizing that a new set of customized tools such as social media platforms (Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, and more) are perfect vehicles for effective segmentation or “niche” marketing. These platforms give you the ability to speak directly to niche audiences (communities of shared interest such…
In healthcare marketing, credible content is paramount, but it's equally important for marketers to identify and create opportunities to increase engagement. And that happens when hospitals and other providers deliver relevant, accessible content that connects with the audience. At Lexington Medical Center in Columbia, SC, their Pink Glove Dance promotion not only provided compelling content, it successfully engaged the entire…
As I mentioned in a prior post, one highlight of the Mayo Ragan Health Care Social Media Summit was definitely the patient panel. The panel was titled "The power of the e-patient." Katherine Leon and Laura Haywood-Cory spoke powerfully about their experiences as survivors of spontaneous coronary artery dissections (SCAD), and their efforts to network with and organize other women…
Real women, writing about real life as moms. The mommy blog has become one of the most influential social media phenomenons in recent memory. And it can be a powerful weapon in your healthcare marketing toolkit. How do you get it started – and leverage it to build brand affinity and increase followers? Read a case history and learn how…
How can a hospital deliver more than just healthcare service information to moms? What can be done to create an online resource and engage moms on a regular basis? If you’re Lowell General Hospital, you create a mommy blog. Find out how they got it off the ground by downloading the article below.