Health Care
Trends & Tactics: Health Care
At AXIA, our fingers are on the pulse of the health care industry's toughest critics and latest trends. Read, watch or listen to any news source and you'll find that health care is the hot topic. From national health care reform to personal stories about loss of coverage, there is no doubt that the industry is experiencing its most challenging time in history.
Health Care Industry Profile
With our country's health care costs rapidly approaching $2.4 trillion annually - nearly $8,000 a year for every man, woman and child in America - the U.S. spends more on health care than any other nation. According to the American Hospital Association, total consumer spending for hospital services is more than $5.95 billion annually. Today, more than 250 million Americans have health care coverage through their employers and government-sponsored programs or by purchasing private health insurance. However, more than 45 million Americans do not have health insurance.
Where is Health Care Headed?
AXIA closely follows the health care industry for its clients and devises tactics based on up-to-the minute trends, which include:
- Widespread use of Internet and intranet technologies is revolutionizing the health care industry by fulfilling dual roles as a means of communication and a source of information. Telemedicine and electronic health records are byproducts of this revolution. Nearly 25 percent of consumers say they would like to consult their doctor or nurse via e-mail. In response to this trend, some health insurance companies have established patient charges and provider reimbursements for telemedicine exchanges, i.e., receiving health care services via e-mail versus in-person.
- Increasingly, consumers are seeking information on health care costs, quality and treatment, and participating in wellness programs at higher rates: 86 percent of consumers cite their physician as the primary source of health-related information, and 74 percent of consumers cite the Internet and health/wellness Web sites as a significant source of information.
- The Internet also continues to transform how prescriptions are filled. The number of online prescriptions now exceeds 35 million, a huge increase from just 700,000 five years ago.
- Alternative provider settings, such as convenient retail and on-site clinics, and the use of online interfaces are creating more options for providers to deliver services and for consumers to obtain health care. Retail clinics are becoming more widely available. Plus, employers are making on-site clinics available to employees to increase productivity and control costs.
- The number of hospitals belonging to health systems continues to increase. Mergers keep facilities afloat as they consolidate to gain market share, increase leverage with insurers and maximize efficiencies.
AXIA Delivers Results
Understanding your health care business, researching the industry and its trends, and guiding you in your communication efforts are what we do best at AXIA.
Our team of PR professionals recently assisted a rehabilitation facility that specializes in physical, occupational and speech therapies, on-field athletic training and sports medicine. The business needed to unify its brand identity across the 20 markets it served. To meet this challenge, AXIA developed a comprehensive Web site and a brand identity system, including highly effective collateral materials.
While serving a Florida-based nonprofit foundation, the AXIA team garnered the foundation the recognition it deserved for its major gifts to worthy causes. AXIA provided stakeholder research and analysis, as well as a custom presentation for the foundation's board of directors. AXIA also initiated a statewide media relations campaign covering community, health care and health business reporters in each market. In addition, AXIA provided event management services, created backdrops and arranged news interviews. Every event produced excellent news coverage - including print, radio, Web and television - and favorably positioned the foundation in the hearts and minds of Floridians.
Does your health care business need a transfusion of effective public relations results? Contact AXIA today, and we promise you will feel better tomorrow.