Everything about the American health system changed 15 years ago when the Acting Acting Act (ACA) was promulgated. Perhaps the most important health policy of our time, it has revolutionized coverage and access, as well as the way in which health companies have communicated.
With his uncertain future, it is now time to come back to how he has shaped a new era of health care and messaging marketing strategy.
Marketing for health care in the wake of the reform
Marketing for health care organizations is difficult and change is the only constant. It is a complex environment with countless stakeholders to consider, complex sales cycles (in particular in B2B), fierce competition and intense regulatory monitoring.
Criticized criticized as slow, when the ACA entered into force, the industry quickly moved to align around the three main objectives of the legislation: access, quality and costs.
At the same time, marketing specialists have hurried to reach everyone, patients following C with new messages, with almost all types of innovative health care companies around four important dynamics.
- Consumerization of health care
The accent put by the ACA on access and quality has favored experience initiatives, which makes health care more and more focused on consumers. The level of industry began to consider health care users such as those of the bank, retail and hospitality, who expect transparent information to make informed decisions.
Percées such as price transparency initiatives and the health insurance market are emerged. For the first time, consumers could easily browse insurance options, compare features such as monthly premiums and supplier networks, and even buy online surgeries.
Today, consumers have more power about their health care decisions than ever before, which has encouraged competition on the market. Consequently, companies have started to focus more on the differentiation of their offers and the demonstration of value thanks to a better consumer experience, including the improvement of health.
- Health technology
Yet another turning point for industry, long resistant to change, was a push in the digital age. From the general adoption of electronic health files to new mandates concerning data sharing and interoperability, the ACA has created an environment where health technology had to evolve quickly to follow.
He forced marketing professionals – many of whom have been integrated into hospital systems or traditional paid organizations – to adapt. Even those who never considered themselves warned had to inform the IT terminology of health. Marketing specialists needed to understand things like HIES, HIPAA compliance in digital campaigns and the implications of the Hainech law.
They have become translators between complex technological initiatives and messages oriented with patients and providers. And most did it in an increasingly congested health technology market, with solutions suppliers claiming to repair each Problem in the continuum of health care. The reduction in size with significant affirmations has been crucial (and difficult).
- Value -based care
The three main objectives of the ACA put the quality and the results at the center while judging the traditional model with an act with unsustainable reference. Enter value -based care – not just a fashionable word, but a fundamental change in the way care has been provided.
This new model required in -depth education for each stakeholder. And a large part of this responsibility landed on the shoulders of marketing and communications professionals who had to position health care offers through the objective of value: the provision of the right care at the right time to improve results, improve patient satisfaction and reduce costs.
Therefore, the field has evolved. It was not enough to simply promote services or products – large companies had to prove an impact. Companies have relied on data to communicate the effectiveness of value -based care in a way that reflects the way suppliers report patient results. In practice, this meant presenting stories of success to patients, the implementation of personalized engagement strategies and the use of tools such as return on investment in B2B contexts to demonstrate a measurable impact.
- Industry consolidation
While the consolidation of health care is prior to ACA, the emphasis put by the integrated and coordinated care law accelerated the trend. The merger and acquisition activity (M&A) has become a strategic lever for driving efficiency and access, by controlling costs and improving the results. This was particularly true among service providers in search of scale savings and more power of negotiations on the market.
But the wave did not stop with suppliers. Technology and support services have also experienced major changes, with non -traditional players in space – Amazon’s acquisition of a medical is an example. Meanwhile, health giants continued the adjacent services (such as buying Oak Street Health CVS). In the same way, joint ventures and strategic partnerships appeared as alternatives to traditional mergers and acquisitions. These arrangements have aligned incentives between improbable allies – such as hospitals and insurers – to unlock new sources of income and widen the capacities, neither could be carried out alone.
As the entities merged, the marketing departments were responsible for redefining market positioning, educating stakeholders through new segments (B2B, B2P and B2C) and to unify messaging to maintain the integrity of the brand. In today’s environment which is largely dominated by the company’s giants, small players must work harder to differentiate themselves. But even large organizations are faced with brand challenges as they evolve. Whatever size, clear positioning remains vital in industry.
Summary 15 years of a training effect
ACA has shaped our industry in what we know today. He has pushed health care to consumer -oriented experiences, digital ecosystems, results -based models and consolidation of recordings. The essential objectives of legislation to improve access to care, quality and costs continue to stimulate macro-industrial strategies and microts.
Marketing, public relations and communications professionals are the key to translating its evolution for each stakeholder along the way.
Whatever the future of the ACA, it has fundamentally redefined these roles. In an industry where the change – at what speed – is constant, individuals who can clearly tell the story of their transformation will continue to help organizations towards success.
Photo: Zimmytws, Getty Images
Sarah McLeod is CEO of Activate Health, a strategic marketing and public relations company exclusively focused on the health care industry. It provides 20 years of experience in marketing, communication and media relations to its role at the head of the agency in its full marketing support delivery to customers of the health ecosystem, specialized pharmacy to paid organizations, health technology companies and hospitals. Previously, she held various marketing leadership positions for fortune companies 500 and as an entrepreneurial organizations, including Univita Health, Cigna Voluntary and University of Wisconsin Health – Hospitals and Clinics.
Sarah is an active member of the health affairs community and participates in national non -profit organizations dedicated to the connection of women senior executives for the progress of career and the improvement of the industry. It was recognized for its sense of organizational meaning and its marketing expertise through various leadership and industry prizes, including American Marketing Association and the IABC Phoenix section.
This message appears through the Medcity influencers program. Anyone can publish their point of view on business and innovation in health care on Medcity News through Medcity influencers. Click here to find out how.
