Buying a bottle of aspirin from a big box store is one thing. But swinging by for a quick diagnosis and a gallon of milk … Does that seem foreign to you?  Not to me – or over 25% of consumers for that matter.

As I mentioned in my previous blog, retail health clinics are growing in popularity. That spells OPPORTUNITY for your critical access hospital (CAH).

The fact is, healthcare is moving to a model where more care will be delivered in an outpatient setting vs. inpatient setting. That means a retail clinic can give your rural hospital the opportunity to break into the outpatient market.

I’ll summarize in two words: “Access” and “Affordability.” (And we all know where national healthcare stands on those two issues!)

Your retail health clinic can give patients another way to access you. It can let them get a feel for your services, which can ultimately influence them to choose your organization for their healthcare. Retail health also provides a way to manage healthcare costs by encouraging patients to use the most appropriate avenue of care.

Establishing a retail health clinic isn’t just blue-sky thinking for rural hospitals. It’s tried and true positioning for continued growth.

I’ve already worked with progressive-minded CAHs to help them make initial operational decisions. From there, we’ve collaborated on everything from site location and equipment purchases to financial management. Not to mention developing and implementing a targeted marketing strategy.

There’s no denying it. Retail health is here to stay.

What say you? Are you all out – or all in for the win?

Mike Milligan, President

Did you see the results of a recent poll about retail health clinics? Twenty-seven percent of adults surveyed said they used walk-in medical clinics located in pharmacies, superstores and workplaces within the past two years. That’s up from just 7 percent in 2008.

Convenience and cost are driving consumers to big box stores for everything from hairspray to healthcare. That’s not going to change.

Yet many hospitals will choose to buck the retail trend, hoping it will go away. The smart ones will choose to benefit from this “shop-‘n-go-to-the-doc” mindset by building partnerships with retail health clinics. Here’s why:

Retail clinics offer vaccinations, basic lab work and treatment for minor ailments. But many patients will need more advanced care. When they do, the docs at the clinic can point them in your direction – if you’ve established a relationship with them.

On the flip side, all hospitals, especially CAHs, are facing a shortage of primary care providers. Retail health clinics can help your healthcare organization fill a vital role in patient care. That’s going to become increasingly important as accessibility and affordability take center stage as more than 30 million Americans gain health insurance next year.

Another way to leverage the growing retail health trend is to set up your own clinic—Oh yes, you can! I’ll discuss that in my upcoming blog.

I’m currently at the NRHA conference in Louisville, so if you’re also in attendance stop by booth 203 and introduce yourself! I’d be happy to talk more about retail health for rural hospitals or any of the other topics I’ve written about recently.

Mike Milligan, President

When was the last time you bought a flat screen TV, smartphone or other big ticket item without Googling it first?

Whether your litmus test of choice is Angie’s List, Consumer Reports or consumer blogs, chances are you check out what others have to say before making a purchase. Consumers do the same when it comes to healthcare.

In this new era of transparency, “quality” has become a catch-all phrase for everything from accessibility and accountability to price, safety and survival rates. Hospitals are being graded on all of the above – and then some. And it’s no surprise that consumers want to know where their healthcare organization stands on the quality front.    

While you may not be able to improve your GPA overnight, you can take immediate steps to queue up your quality quotient in a way that highlights your hospital’s strengths. Start by taking the complexities out of the report card rating system.

In other words, sum up “quality” in a way that consumers can relate to. Make it meaningful for them by making it personal. Then promote it as only your hospital can do.

I’d be happy to share how we’re helping our clients succeed on this level. Shoot me an email, or, if you’ll be attending the NRHA Conference, stop by the Legato booth, number 203.

I was recently preparing our booth for the upcoming National Rural Health Association Conference in Louisville next month, when I was reminded of the first trade show I attended early in my career.

Once I arrived, I packed in every possible presentation, spoke to every poster presenter (albeit 15 seconds each), and picked up every piece of literature I could get my hands on. I returned to the office with a briefcase full of generic handouts and 50 to 60 business cards from…I have no idea.

Since then, I’ve done a 180, focusing not on quantity but quality—quality of information, business strategies and mutually beneficial partnerships. To do that, I follow these self-mandated tips. Thought you might be interested in them, too:

1.     Do your homework before you go. Prioritize the sessions you want to attend. Then, get to each session early. Other professionals in the room obviously share your interest in the topic. Instead of using the time to check emails, start networking.

2.     Introduce yourself to guest speakers and other presenters before or after a session. Be sure to exchange contact information with them. Remember: In addition to being experts in their field, they are well connected in the industry.

3.     You can’t do everything – so do at least one thing. Set a goal of leaving the conference each day with at least one take-away that you can implement in the short term.

4.     Ask at least one question during each session that affects your hospital. It’s a chance to get insights from the presenter – as well as your peers.

5.     Visit booths and talk with presenters during poster sessions. This is an opportune time to zero in on topics that are directly related to your hospital and to receive one-on-one feedback from industry thought leaders.   

Mike Milligan, President

I was in my front yard the other day when Autumn, our golden retriever puppy, made a mad dash to check out the pooch across the street. I’m not an expert on breeds, so let’s suffice it to say it was akin to Fluffy encounters Cujo.

I watched as Cujo galloped toward Fluffy (Autumn) with the zeal of a hostile takeover. As the mastodon-like mammal approached her, Fluffy stood her ground and was the first to speak. Granted, her bark sounded more like a deflated squeaky toy, but she responded to Cujo with such confidence and fervor that his persona immediately changed.

The “attack dog” lowered his tail and began to follow the pint-sized pooch around as she showed off her new domain. Just goes to show – it’s not how big you are, it’s how you position yourself.

Speaking of… How will your rural hospital compete against big city healthcare organizations? You ultimately have two choices: 1) Roll over and play dead or 2) Kick your business development and marketing instincts into high gear – now.  

In the world of healthcare, mergers and acquisitions are on the rise. Will you remain independent or is consolidation on the horizon? If so, should you “speak first” or wait until you’re pursued?

Before you answer those questions, take a good hard look at your business and marketing strategies. Now is the time to strengthen your position in the market so you’re at the top of your game no matter what happens in the future.

To do that, your hospital may need to explore retail health; team-based healthcare; collaborating with regional health centers; or partnerships with community, public health or government agencies. The list goes on and on, so be sure to pursue all of your options.

We all know that big changes are in store for the healthcare industry. Some rural hospitals will tuck their tails between their legs and hope for the best. If you’re reading this, I doubt that’s the strategy you’ll take.

If you’re attending this year’s NRHA conference in Louisville, please look me up or stop at the Legato booth, number 203. We can grab a cup of coffee and chat about your next move.

By: Lisa Schneider, Director of Creative Services

As a healthcare marketing professional, I’m always thinking about non-traditional ways for my clients to enhance their marketing efforts. This blog was inspired when my eight-year-old daughter said, “When I grow up I’m going to be an animal doctor or an artist.” The word “doctor” is what caught my attention.

If you ask a young child what he or she wants to be when they grow up, you’ll get some typical answers: fireman, policeman, teacher, nurse, doctor.

No doubt it’s great that young people do want to become doctors or nurses. And some do. But what the majority of young people don’t know is that there is a broad range of healthcare professions they could choose as well.

When children get to high school, guidance counselors do their best to inform students of a variety of career paths, even they probably don’t know about all of the healthcare careers out there.

But you, as a healthcare professional, do know. So share your knowledge. Offer to speak to students about the many healthcare professions that go beyond doctor or nurse—such as x-ray technician, medical technologist or technician, phlebotomist, anesthesiologist, nurse practitioner, medical transcriptionist, etc.

Also tell them about volunteer opportunities available to them now and how they can become a volunteer. Ask them how you could be more helpful to them and others in choosing a specific career path and show them where to find more information on their own.

Through your efforts, not only are you helping the students, you are showing one more way your organization is involved in the community. You’re also starting to grow a group of potential patients at a very early age.

By: Mike Milligan, President

Specialty care is highly concentrated in urban areas. So why focus on this topic in a series about rural healthcare?

Because many rural hospitals are throwing in the towel when they could be picking up additional revenue through:

• Effective, targeted marketing, and
• Refreshing old business strategies with a new way of thinking.

Target consumers

Chances are, your hospital offers some level of specialty care. But how many local residents are aware of these services? If they are, why should they consider using them?

Develop a campaign that increases awareness and builds credibility. Do it well, and the revenue will follow. I’ve worked with clients to create these types of campaigns, and I’ve seen their success.

Don’t stop there

Patients need referrals to see a specialist. What is your hospital doing to grow referrals from local physicians?

Your effort to build and retain relationships with providers needs to be ongoing. Investigate software programs that allow you to track physician contacts and referral patterns and identify high-value physicians. You can also integrate information across hospital departments and provide a measure of ROI.

Keep going …

National healthcare is changing the playing field in more ways than one. Rural hospitals need to adjust their business strategies to remain in the game.

When was the last time your facility evaluated the need for specialty services and took a deep dive into new options for delivering this type of care? For example, some rural hospitals:

• Provide specialty services through telehealth partnerships. Check out this brief video describing how Copper Queen Community Hospital in Bisbee, AZ is successfully using this approach to provide cardiology services.
• Develop partnerships with visiting specialists (from regional, tertiary care facilities or larger, multispecialty clinics). Rural hospitals offer suites to these specialists allowing them to see patients when they are there, making it easier for them to conduct pre- and post-operative patient visits. This can also help rural hospitals strengthen relationships with local residents.

By ensuring the right mix of specialists in the community and networking with larger systems, your rural hospital can improve coordination of care and enable the development of population care capabilities like chronic disease management, which I discussed in Part I of this blog series. It may also better position your hospital for value-based payment.

I’m excited about the new opportunities rural healthcare organizations have to position themselves for future success. I’ll continue this Focus on RURAL Healthcare in my next blog post.

By: John Corpus, Vice President of Strategy

Improving healthcare in rural areas is not an easy task. Many rural areas have primary care provider shortages, long distances between hospitals, and a higher percentage of the elderly, Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement.

Although the amount of healthcare services in rural areas may be lacking, quality is not. Rural hospitals and most specifically, Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs), may not offer all of the services of a larger metro hospital, but the services they do offer are typically of equal quality.

Fortunately, there is a national membership organization, the National Rural Health Association (NRHA), which brings rural health clinics, rural hospitals and critical access hospitals together to address their common issues and serve as an advocate through lobbying efforts.

Wisconsin is no slouch when it comes to participating in addressing issues and improving the quality of rural healthcare. For example, Wisconsin US Representative Ron Kind, member of the House Ways and Means Committee health subcommittee, was recently selected as Chair of the Rural Health Care Coalition in the House of Representatives. The Caucus is a bipartisan group of over 100 members who focus on improving access to care in rural communities.

Representative Kind was a featured speaker at the NRHA’s policy institute in Washington D.C. earlier this month. During the conference, he met with other Wisconsin rural health leaders: Tim Size, Executive Director of the Rural Wisconsin Health Cooperative; Jeremy Levin, Director of Advocacy of the Rural Wisconsin Health Cooperative; Bill Sexton, CEO of Prairie du Chien Memorial Hospital; Jim O’Keefe, CEO of Mile Bluff Medical Center in Mauston; David Hartberg, CEO of Boscobel Area Health Care; and John Eich, Director of the Wisconsin Office of Rural Health; among others. (Source: Representative Kind press release).

NRHA Selects Legato as Marketing Partner

One of the most overlooked, yet extremely important, aspects of rural healthcare success is rural healthcare marketing. Many rural hospitals forgo marketing, believing that they are the only entity in the region, and therefore, do not need to promote themselves. This could not be further from the truth.

Metro hospitals and health systems, especially now with healthcare reform and the move toward Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs), are looking to expand their footprint. Challenging rural hospitals for market share, or attempting to buy them outright, is an expected national trend.

Whether a rural hospital wants to remain independent or position itself in the best light possible for acquisition, it must have volume. As mentioned, marketing is integral to success, but marketing does not just mean “advertising.” It does mean assessing business development practices, planning and strategizing, developing a formal marketing & communications plan and promotion through advertising, events and PR.

To this end, we are pleased to announce that the National Rural Health Association has selected Legato as their marketing partner, citing our proven ability to market rural hospitals in Wisconsin and across the nation. So, what can we say, but “On Wisconsin.”

By: Mike Milligan, President

Residents in rural communities have distinct healthcare needs that set them apart from urban Americans. That’s a fact.

For example, a 2011 survey indicates that residents of rural communities are more greatly affected by chronic diseases – with more individuals living in households with heart conditions or diabetes – than their urban counterparts.

This should prompt an important and immediate question for all rural healthcare marketers. That is:

“Could our rural hospital or clinic benefit from targeting these consumers?”

Based on the work I’ve done with rural healthcare organizations, the answer is generally, “Yes.” That response comes with a caveat:

Strategies to promote and improve rural health need to approach wellness and chronic disease risk reduction in new ways.

To be effective, marketers need to think outside of the “advertising box.”  Possible strategies could include:

• New technology, such as “virtual visits.”
• Consumer outreach models, e.g., telephonic and web-based.
• Other venues and partnerships with local community-based organizations. For example:
  • Through a partnership with the National 4-H Council, UnitedHealthcare Community & State is sponsoring a youth engagement program to support one of 4-H’s core values: healthy living.
  • Recently, UnitedHealthcare and Florida 4-H launched an Eat4-Health partnership to help fight childhood obesity.
  • While this partnership is conducted on a national scale, programs like this could be streamlined and targeted to the communities served by your hospital or clinic.

A lot of new (albeit not easily accessible) data is available on rural healthcare and its consumers’ needs, expectations, pain points and hot buttons. It’s data that can help direct your hospital or clinic in developing effective promotional and business strategies.

I’ll continue to share it with you in my upcoming blogs.