Rajiv Chopra, principal and CFO for The C/N Group, offers the following five best practices for ASCs to improve their marketing efforts.
1. Target the right customer. Look at the factors that drive volume in your center, Mr. Chopra says. While the patient is the ultimate consumer of surgical services, remember that the physicians are your customer because by and large they control where patients go for their care.
"I think you've got to step up you efforts to market your center to physicians," he says. "That's the basic blocking and tackling. Explore the factors that influence a physician to come to your site of service as opposed to another one: Efficiency is critical, quality, staff, equipment, access to the schedule — highlight those areas and that's how you establish a good dialogue with a physician and their office."
2. Market to the patient (where it makes the most sense). For many surgery centers, taking the retail marketing route of putting up billboards or running television, radio and newspaper ads are avenues best left for facilities offering procedures such as cosmetics and LASIK. But this doesn't mean there aren't marketing mechanisms worth exploring. Consider ways you can connect directly with your prospective patient base, Mr. Chopra says. For example, see if you can put documentation in your physicians' offices about your ASC and explain why it's a good option as an alternative from the hospital, which may be the other facility some patients have ever received surgical care.
You can take a similar approach with businesses with which your ASC directly contracts. In areas of the business where there is information about insurance and benefits, see if you can provide documentation about your ASC there.
"Pull-oriented marketing for ASC's may take on greater importance over the long term. With more of the payment being shifted to the patient, if you're on a high deductible plan, you'll start seeing some patients question why they have to get [their procedure] done at the hospital if there is a less expensive alternative," says Mr. Chopra. "It's getting the patient to ask their doctor about having their procedure done at the ASC."
3. Educate physicians. If any of your physicians are still performing procedures at the hospital that can come to your ASC (and make sense financially), remind these physicians about how the benefits of the ASC that extend beyond great quality care. "Tell the physicians, if you want to do right by your patient financially, I know you're doing 30 percent of your patients at the hospital, you really should be doing them all at the ASC because it's less of a financial detriment for your patient," says Mr. Chopra.
4. Explore co-marketing opportunities with practices. Take advantage of opportunities to bring your ASC some good publicity by working with your physicians and their practices. For example, one mechanism Mr. Chopra has seen work well at an ASC with GI is to work with local newspapers during colon cancer month.
"We're getting articles in the paper about colon cancer screening and colonoscopies and then have one of our doctors featured in the article and then also get the ASC featured," he says. "That's more PR marketing than purchase advertising."
These efforts can help drive patient volume.
"It's reactionary — the patient thinks, I need to get a colonoscopy done, I don't want to go to the hospital, the surgery center seems less threatening than going to the hospital," Mr. Chopra says.
5. Create virtual centers of excellence. If your ASC isn't in a position to create a center of excellence with all services under a single roof, there are ways to provide the veneer of integration that will be appealing to both specialists and patients, Mr. Chopra says.
Go to the primary care physicians or other specialists in your community and let them know about the services you can offer for their patients. "If you're a PCP, once you refer a patient out, you want to make sure that person is taken care of," Mr. Chopra says. "Tell the PCPs that if they have patients with a GI issue, your surgery center, which includes physicians and physicians' offices, are part of a network that's representative of a true delivery of excellence concept."
PCPs may then be more likely to send patients to a physician using your ASC because they have greater confidence in an integrated network of care and they can tell their patients about the value and benefits of receiving treatment through a center of excellence.
Learn more about The C/N Group.
Read more insight from Rajiv Chopra
- Growth of the 'One-Stop Shop' Model for Patient Care
- Access to Physicians: 3 Major Challenges Facing ASCs
1. Target the right customer. Look at the factors that drive volume in your center, Mr. Chopra says. While the patient is the ultimate consumer of surgical services, remember that the physicians are your customer because by and large they control where patients go for their care.
"I think you've got to step up you efforts to market your center to physicians," he says. "That's the basic blocking and tackling. Explore the factors that influence a physician to come to your site of service as opposed to another one: Efficiency is critical, quality, staff, equipment, access to the schedule — highlight those areas and that's how you establish a good dialogue with a physician and their office."
2. Market to the patient (where it makes the most sense). For many surgery centers, taking the retail marketing route of putting up billboards or running television, radio and newspaper ads are avenues best left for facilities offering procedures such as cosmetics and LASIK. But this doesn't mean there aren't marketing mechanisms worth exploring. Consider ways you can connect directly with your prospective patient base, Mr. Chopra says. For example, see if you can put documentation in your physicians' offices about your ASC and explain why it's a good option as an alternative from the hospital, which may be the other facility some patients have ever received surgical care.
You can take a similar approach with businesses with which your ASC directly contracts. In areas of the business where there is information about insurance and benefits, see if you can provide documentation about your ASC there.
"Pull-oriented marketing for ASC's may take on greater importance over the long term. With more of the payment being shifted to the patient, if you're on a high deductible plan, you'll start seeing some patients question why they have to get [their procedure] done at the hospital if there is a less expensive alternative," says Mr. Chopra. "It's getting the patient to ask their doctor about having their procedure done at the ASC."
3. Educate physicians. If any of your physicians are still performing procedures at the hospital that can come to your ASC (and make sense financially), remind these physicians about how the benefits of the ASC that extend beyond great quality care. "Tell the physicians, if you want to do right by your patient financially, I know you're doing 30 percent of your patients at the hospital, you really should be doing them all at the ASC because it's less of a financial detriment for your patient," says Mr. Chopra.
4. Explore co-marketing opportunities with practices. Take advantage of opportunities to bring your ASC some good publicity by working with your physicians and their practices. For example, one mechanism Mr. Chopra has seen work well at an ASC with GI is to work with local newspapers during colon cancer month.
"We're getting articles in the paper about colon cancer screening and colonoscopies and then have one of our doctors featured in the article and then also get the ASC featured," he says. "That's more PR marketing than purchase advertising."
These efforts can help drive patient volume.
"It's reactionary — the patient thinks, I need to get a colonoscopy done, I don't want to go to the hospital, the surgery center seems less threatening than going to the hospital," Mr. Chopra says.
5. Create virtual centers of excellence. If your ASC isn't in a position to create a center of excellence with all services under a single roof, there are ways to provide the veneer of integration that will be appealing to both specialists and patients, Mr. Chopra says.
Go to the primary care physicians or other specialists in your community and let them know about the services you can offer for their patients. "If you're a PCP, once you refer a patient out, you want to make sure that person is taken care of," Mr. Chopra says. "Tell the PCPs that if they have patients with a GI issue, your surgery center, which includes physicians and physicians' offices, are part of a network that's representative of a true delivery of excellence concept."
PCPs may then be more likely to send patients to a physician using your ASC because they have greater confidence in an integrated network of care and they can tell their patients about the value and benefits of receiving treatment through a center of excellence.
Learn more about The C/N Group.
Read more insight from Rajiv Chopra
- Growth of the 'One-Stop Shop' Model for Patient Care
- Access to Physicians: 3 Major Challenges Facing ASCs