Trends and Issues in Healthcare Public Relations

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Trends and Issues in Healthcare Public Relations

• Roy W. Reid, Jr. APR
• Consensus Communications
• www.onmessage.com
• Florida Public Relations Association
• State Conference 2004

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Session Overview

• Nothing is new or earth shattering
• Hopefully, you will find something of interest, a
  new way to look at things, or find a new
  opportunity to grow
• Review trends and issues
• Statistics, research and observations
• Current initiatives
• Associations, government and others
• Opportunities for the public relations
  professional
• Roles, strategies and tactics

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Acknowledgements

• American Hospital Association
• Florida Hospital Association
• PRSA Health Academy
• State of Florida
• An extensive reading list
• Many mentors
• A great staff and wonderful clients

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Background

• Primarily in Hospital public relations
• Seven years with Florida Hospital / Orlando
  Regional Healthcare
• Four years as a consultant
• Current clients include healthcare systems

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Health Care

• It affects everyone
• It is a Right?!
• It is part of our entire lives
• It is one of the most personal experiences
• It is expensive
• It is a significant part of the economy
• It is the first or second issue on political
  agendas
• It is very technical and overwhelming
• It is at a crossroad of crisis

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Crisis

• The Chinese Symbol for CRISIS is comprised of two
  symbols
• One for Opportunity
• One for Danger

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Healthcare Statistics
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Statistics / FHA

• Health Care Expenditures-2004  
• National Health Expenditures 1.8 trillion
• Percent of Gross Domestic Product 15.5
• Expenditures per Capita 6,167
• Florida Facts  
• Number of Hospital Employees 257,000
• Economic Impact of Hospitals  
• Additional Jobs 102,000
• Additional Wages 2.6 billion
• Impact of Goods Services 6.9 billion
• Federal Agencies Regulating Hospitals 26
• State Agencies Regulating Hospitals 11

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Statistics / FHA

• Medicaid in Florida  
• Medicaid Recipients  1.8 million
• Percent of Population 10.4
• Percent / National Rank (2001) 3
• Uninsured in Florida - 2002 
• Total Uninsured, (non-elderly) 2.8 million
• Percent of Population w/o Health Insurance 20.6
• Percent of Uninsured Children  8.5 Million
• Percent of Children without Health Insurance 11.6

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Trends and Issues
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Trends and Issues

• Erosion of the Public Trust
• Research shows that people have become more
  skeptical
• Scandals
• Pricing
• Information or the lack of
• Less personal relationship
• We can see it Wye River Group on Healthcare
• Lack of information available quality / price
• Interpretation of quality / pricing
• Difficult to make decisions
• Discerning best interests

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Trends and Issues

• Erosion of the Public Trust
• Harvard Conference on Strategic Issues in
  American Health Care, 2003
• Marc J. Roberts, Ph.D.
• Healthcares golden age1960-1980
• The gathering storm1980-2000
• A matured crisisNOW
• Trust is the universal driver of satisfaction
  and its a drier of business. Its trust, not
  the euro or dollar, thats the currency of all
  commerce. Its a value proposition in which you
  can differentiate yourself in meaningful ways.
• David Shore, Ph.D.

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Trends and Issues

• Increasing Financial Pressures
• Aging population the baby boomers
• Poverty, the working poor and indigent
• Costs increaseand reimbursements decrease each
  year
• Managed care competition
• Continued decreases in Medicare and Medicaid
  funding
• State budget crises

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Trends and Issues

• Social / Public Policy Impact
• Uninsured and indigent care
• KB Forbes and company
• Healthcare is driving people to the polls
• 2004 Presidential Election
• Local initiatives
• Local, state and federal activists

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Trends and Issues

• Long term care
• The sandwich generation
• The aging population
• Concerns over conditions
• The condition of the American Family

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Trends and Issues

• Trauma and Emergency care
• The top admission source for hospitals is
  emergency care
• In Florida, hospitals were near shutting down
  trauma units
• 2003 saw a failed attempt to get additional
  funding sources
• Legislative funding continues to drop

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Trends and Issues

• Regulatory Issues
• CON 2004 changes
• How to manage community growth and increasing
  demand
• Regulatory assurance of compliance and community
  responsibility
• The cost of regulation

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Trends and Issues

• Medical Malpractice
• Perhaps the most contentious issue in healthcare
• Impact on malpractice insurance
• Physician shortages and relocation
• Federal and state legislation has been attempted
• Accountability and rights

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Trends and Issues

• Workforce
• The nursing shortage
• Educational opportunities
• The Pendulum of resource availability
• Community initiatives

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Trends and Issues

• Technology
• Improvements to care
• Costs associated with technology create a
  disparity of care
• Access to services

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Trends and Issues

• Pharmaceuticals
• Costs to consumers
• Canadian vs domestic pricing
• Medicare reform
• Clinical trials
• Consumer advertising and physician relationships

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Trends and Issues

• Disease and health conditions
• Cancer
• Heart disease
• Obesity
• AIDS
• Blood supply

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Current Efforts

• The Good, The Bad andthe Others

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Current Efforts

• Political and Regulatory Efforts
• Appeal to the voters needs
• Adapt to budget restrictions
• Ensure community safety and access
• More government involvement in finding solutions
  at the local, state and federal levels
• JAHCO

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Current Efforts

• Business Efforts
• Cost savings and affordability
• Providing benefits or avoiding benefits
• Special interest groups and associations
• Competitive issues
• Free market challenges

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Current Efforts

• Activist and Special Interest Efforts
• A new, more aggressive and educated marketplace
• There is a special interest group for everything
• A 24/7 media cycle and the internet provide a
  stage for special interests
• The media has become an advocate for issues more
  than ever before
• Controversy sells
• Hospitals have become Goliath

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Current Efforts

• Healthcare Special Interests
• American Hospital Association
• Seven steps to improve the healthcare system
• Healthy Community initiatives
• Local partnerships
• American Medical Association
• Florida Hospital Association

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The Public Relations Opportunity
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The Public Relations Opportunity

• Communicate from an Issues Management perspective
• The physics of decisions
• Every action we take causes a reaction in the
  marketplace
• Every decision has the potential for creating an
  issue or crisis
• Planning from an issues management perspective
  provides a full spectrum review of the
  organizations potential challenges
• Connect all operations with internal and external
  communications
• Educate the leadership and create a participatory
  system through an Issues Summit
• Connect Community Relations, Stakeholder
  Relations, Media Relations, Government Relations
  and Crisis Communications

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The Public Relations Opportunity

• Issues Management Model
• Research
• Special groups
• Earned Media
• Paid Media
• Grassroots
• Schedule
• Budget

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The Public Relations Opportunity

• Work from the inside / out
• Begin with the internal audiences
• Employees are the most visible and influential
  voice
• Nurses continue to be the key relationship with
  external audiences High Trust
• Cultural changes are important to manage change
• Creating a learning environment
• Loyalty
• Cost savings
• Branding and positioning 2000 Florida Hospital
• Good decisions and bad ones Premier Care

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The Public Relations Opportunity

• Simplify the language
• Healthcare is overwhelming to the community
• We must find ways to interpret the code
• Empathetic listening and careful communications
• Create an environment that rewards the simplicity
• Find ways to better communicate quality
  indicators
• Be sure that communication is consistent
• Transparency is in demand
• Public Relations may not be understood internally
• The Triage brochure

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The Public Relations Opportunity

• Understand the influencers
• It is said that 10 percent of the population
  influences the remaining 90 percent
• Build the database
• Spheres of Influence
• What is important to the key decision-makers
• Key stakeholders
• Create face-to-face communication opportunities
• The insider factor ownership
• Understand and create specific media strategies
  around its influence

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Community Relations
Spheres of Influence
Education
Local / State Government
Local Hospitals
Employees
The Hospital
Managed Care
Neighborhoods
Physicians
Faith Service
Business Associations
Major Community Partnerships
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The Public Relations Opportunity

• Share and celebrate success
• Good news never happened is it is not shared
• Find strong surrogate messengers
• Create a brand that is personal and local

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The Public Relations Opportunity
All levels of our career
X Factor
Trusted Advisor
Senior Team
Strategist
Generalist
Manager
Competent Specialist
Tactician
Entry Level
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The Trusted Advisor

• The expert for hire moves to a steady
  supplier of service and then becomes a trusted
  advisor.
• Andrew Sobel, Clients for Life
• Trusted advisors do not chose the role, they are
  chosen.
• Irving H. Buchen, The Power of Influence

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Non-Financial IndicatorsPat Jackson

• Enhance Brand Awareness
• Foster Employee Engagement
• Enhance Management Connection
• Build Customer Loyalty
• Build Community Loyalty

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Good Books

• Clients for Life
• Andrew Sobel
• What Clients Love
• Henry Beckwith
• How to Become the CEO
• Jeffrey Fox
• Good to Great
• Jim Collins
• The Tipping Point
• Malcolm Gladwell
• The Influencers