Issue link: https://beckershealthcare.uberflip.com/i/731691
48 POPULATION HEALTH Not Your Usual Hospital Ad: 'If Our Beds Are Filled, It Means We've Failed' By Kelly Gooch T he transition to value-based care and subsequent focus on pre- ventive health has hospitals making new investments, particu- larly in advertising. The healthcare industry spent $14 billion on advertising in 2014, an increase of nearly 20 percent since 2011, according to The New York Times, which cites data from Kantar Media. And while spending on healthcare advertising grows, hospital ads and campaigns are taking on a different message under a population health strategy. Rather than focusing on a surgical specialty, new robotic device or national ranking, some health systems are taking out ad space to get patients and consumers in on their population health strategy. e ads carry a different tone and emphasize a lower acuity of services. Mount Sinai Health System in New York City, for instance, took out ads in national newspapers to declare, "If our beds are filled, it means we've failed." Intermountain in Salt Lake City positions itself as "Help- ing People Live the Healthiest Lives Possible," emphasizing wellness outside the facility. A commercial for Downers Grove, Ill.-based Ad- vocate Medical Group asks viewers, "How do you live your healthiest life?" In its 33-second run, it not once includes shots of a physician, medical office or hospital. And NYC Health + Hospitals recently began a preventive health campaign promoting sexual health to young adults with emojis on social media. Most people don't want to wind up at the hospital. "However, when a person does have a health-related event that requires treatment, you definitely want your hospital to be at the top of his or her mind," Pat- rick Buckley, a U.S. healthcare marketing expert, wrote in his book e Complete Guide to Hospital Marketing. "Moreover, hospitals and health systems are continually affected by external forces over which they have no control: politics; changes in government regulations; de- clines in reimbursement; the growth of alternative medicine; the rise of consumerism." And as these changes occur, marketing is one way for hospitals to exert some influence over patient flow. Mount Sinai Health System's Bold Ad Campaign Mount Sinai Health System's population health advertising campaign began two years aer the 2013 merger of Continuum Health Partners and Mount Sinai Medical Center, two of New York City's largest hospi- tal systems. e system rebranded as Mount Sinai Health System and began to cover three boroughs with seven hospitals, more than 6,000 physicians and more than 300 community locations. Leaders wanted to get that message out to the public. So the organization launched a print ad campaign designed to show- case its impact on New York City neighborhoods, contributions to re- search and education and collaborations in local and global commu- nities. Mount Sinai Health System said the campaign marked the final element of a multi-channel marketing effort, where the organization promoted its new brand across many digital and traditional channels. e first print advertisement, headlined "Most New York neighbor- hoods have a deli, a dry cleaners, a Chinese restaurant and a Mount Sinai," debuted July 19, 2015, in e New York Times. e second ad- vertisement, which debuted later in July 2015, declared "If our beds are filled, it means we've failed." "e two themes of the campaign were, 'We're a different sort of system. We're in your community. We're accessible' and 'We're focused on health and wellness,'" said Niyum Gandhi, executive vice president and chief pop- ulation health officer for Mount Sinai Health System. "We already had the brand recognition for other areas such as complex surgeries and oncology, but this was to say, 'We're focused on population health as well.'" e first phase of the ad campaign, with the two population health advertisements and several others, ran through October 2015 and appeared in e New York Times, e Wall Street Journal, and local commuter and community newspapers. Digital and social media cam- paigns also complemented the print ad campaign. e print ad campaign, which was driven by the system's CEO and ex- ecutive leadership, was a bold move for Mount Sinai Health System, as the organization was ultimately declaring, "We're not just about the hospital anymore." e message was that "the system is still going to deliver exceptional care to those who need complex care. But we're looking at it and saying if we do our job up front in preventive care, there shouldn't be that many people in the hospital," Mr. Gandhi said. He acknowledged that the efforts likely made some lower level admin- istrators, or some physicians, who didn't understand the shi uncom- fortable. He recalled a conversation with the CEO of a different health system who was shocked when he saw Mount Sinai Health System's print advertisements. "Some people might look at that and say, 'You don't care about the cutting-edge medicine. You don't care about the high-acuity care. But that's not true. We're just saying we care about something else also," Mr. Gandhi said. Additionally, Mr. Gandhi said some people may have asked, "What if this population health is a fad? What if accountable care organizations become the next HMOs and we swing back in the other direction again?" While those concerns could be legitimate, he said Mount Sinai Health System executives feel population health is the future. "If you're announcing this bold and publicly, you have to stick to it," he said. "We're committed and we're comfortable with that. ere are "Many hospitals are advertising pro- grams to promote healthier living and many health systems are working to keep people healthier and out of the hospital." — Gordon Sleeper, Devito/Verdi ad agency