Yesterday, the TODAY Show aired a segment on MediBid, an auction site where doctors bid on procedures brought into the online marketplace by patients. And while the MediBid website indicates the service “allows you to pay less, like the insurance companies,” it also downplays the low-bid element: “Remember,” it insists, “MediBid isn’t about finding the most affordable medical professional or facility; it is about having a choice.”
Either way, it is about discussing costs openly. Consider, for example, these scrolling teasers from the MediBid homepage: “Tired and afraid of asking, ‘How much will it cost?’” and “Ask one time at MediBid.com and get what you want when you want at a price you and your doctor agree to.”
At first sight, this bidding model may seem absurd and slightly disconcerting, but one thing’s for sure – it brings a level of transparency to healthcare that’s never existed before.
Beyond services like MediBid, there are, of course, the new healthcare exchanges (part of the Affordable Care Act) where it is now much easier for consumers to compare plans and costs. In addition, Healthgrades helps consumers “shop” for and compare physicians, and data collection sites, like the New York State Hospital Profile, aggregate statistics to help consumers compare hospitals.
As more and more individuals pay larger portions of healthcare costs out of their own pockets, they’re going to do their homework, relying on tools like those mentioned, as well as their own research at places like hospital and provider websites… and yes: social media.
When you combine these developments, they have tremendous implication for the industry: transparency is no longer optional. How hospitals, health systems and insurance companies respond – in areas like mergers, policies, customer experience and marketing strategy – will play a role in how successful they are moving forward.
What do we mean by transparency? The willingness of an organization to be open and sincere. This includes being accountable by providing information about options, costs, quality and outcomes. It requires establishment of internal practices and policies that support transparency along with advancement of public awareness of an organization’s openness.
Here are some ways to show that your organization values transparency:
- According to recent data, nearly 60 percent of people use social networks. If you apply that statistic to your customer or patient population, it’s a good bet you have hundreds – and likely thousands – of social media users coming in contact with your hospital, health system or insurance company. Are you participating in (even utilizing) those healthcare-related social media conversations? (See also: Why hospitals should care about the social media soapbox by Nancy Cawley Jean at Hospital Impact.)
- Do you have a content marketing strategy that includes a blog or other story-telling platform? For example, do you feature stories and other information or testimonial-rich articles on your website? Do you have content streams for offering commentary on industry developments, like ACA, or trends, like accountable care and evolving payment models? Have you considered unique ways to share amazing outcomes or highlight common procedures? For example, UCLA live-tweeted brain surgery while the patient played guitar, and surgeons have been live-tweeting open heart surgeries since May 2012.
- One of the legacies of social media is the online review. Do you read them? Can you boost sentiment by responding to online reviews? (See also: Reputation Equals Revenue: What’s Your Review Site Strategy? By Kathy Roy Gaughran at Healthcare Success Strategies.)
The opportunities aren’t limited to these, but we wanted to offer some areas for you to examine as you get started. Is it a challenge for your organization to keep up with new realities in healthcare, like transparency? Give us a call – we’d love to help you problem-solve!