In a follow-up to last year’s groundbreaking study that uncovered the stunning truth that hospitals are actually businesses, WiseBucks magazine issued a follow-up report showing that to remain open, hospitals have to attract patients to receive care. The follow-up report is timely, given new legislation announced in Vermont that seeks to ban hospitals from spending money on marketing and advertising.
“Like the legislator in Vermont, we were flabbergasted that hospitals actually have to attract patients with marketing and advertising,” said WiseBucks editor Joe Duhh. “That’s how regular businesses operate, sure. But hospitals? That would be like saying politicians have to spend money to get elected – doesn’t it just happen?”
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The Orlando Chamber of Commerce reported a spike in liquor sales this week, with an overall increase of 30% over the previous week. Officials aren’t sure of the reason behind the increase, but do note that the presence of a national healthcare marketing conference in town may be playing a factor.
“The last time they had their conference here, sales were off the charts,” said Anton Chigurh, the chamber’s spokesperson. “The ran out of cranberry juice for all the crantinis.” Read the full story »
Following the implementation of a new Facebook strategy, Pantaloon Hospital’s CEO Terry Becker held a press conference Thursday to announce the hospital has determined that it, according to a popular online quiz, is the color beige.
“We’ve jumped head first into social media, and what we’ve learned through Facebook is truly eye opening,” said Becker. “Following the completion of the ‘What color are you?’ quiz, the result of ‘beige’ gives us tremendous insight into how to engage our community, and we’re acting immediately on that information.” Read the full story »
A routine business meeting at Evergreen Hospital ended with the vice president of marketing agreeing to perform heart surgery. The move followed a heated discussion on the merits of a marketing tactic suggested by a heart surgeon.
Janet Nolan, MD, a cardiovascular surgeon, was advocating for printing advertising on java jackets (coffee cup wraps) to help address a persistent lag in cardiology consults.
“Everyone drinks coffee, and many will eventually require cardiovascular intervention,” said Dr. Nolan. “And think of all the caffeine-induced arrhythmias we’d be in front of. The strategy is so obvious it makes you question the intelligence of our marketing staff.” Read the full story »
The Senate Finance Committee will continue its investigation into abuses in community benefit reporting after a hospital in California accounted for $347 in topless car washes. The 2008 Community Benefit Report for SunSpot Hospital in Fresno, CA lists the benefit under its “Self-help program” category, along with its smoking cessation classes and anger management programs.
In a tweet this weekend, Senator Charles Grassley of Iowa, the top-ranking Republican on the committee, commented: “Hosps having topless car wshs I get, but $347? That seems like a stretch #welovechuck.” Read the full story »
The marketing department at General Hospital has developed a new approach they call “Billboards 2.0.” They developed the strategy after reviewing search terms people used to find the General Hospital website. When they discovered that visitors were using very specific terms, they realized it could help them target their billboard messages. Read the full story »
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