Posted by Daniel Fell

If you’ve spent any time listening to NPR (National Public Radio) lately, then you’ve probably heard the recent underwriting messages from Angie’s List touting the web site’s wide range of professional reviews from contractors to healthcare providers. It’s just one more example of how popular healthcare ratings have become and how quickly the industry is changing.

Two other recent events include the introduction of Nursing Home Compare, a new five-star rating system for nursing homes by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid, and the release of the first-ever list of “Highest Value” Hospitals prepared by The LeapFrog Group.

And, in an ongoing effort to keep up with the public’s insatiable appetite for all things healthcare quality, the American Hospital Association has joined with The HealthCare Leadership Council to help launch Healthcare in Focus, a web site highlighting what the healthcare field is doing to improve care.

If all this makes your head spin, you can take solace in knowing you aren’t alone. Healthcare executives across the country are feeling overwhelmed with the sheer number of third-party rating agencies, clinical and operational reporting responsibilities, and newly formed lists to be on (and those not to be).

One thing is clear however – providers will increasingly feel the pressure to compete on quality. Whether you take a proactive approach in building and promoting your quality messages or a reactive stance in positioning against competitors who tout theirs, the race to convince potential employees, health plans, and patients that you deliver high-quality care at a reasonable price is just getting started.

Oh, and did I mention that foreign hospitals can now apply for accreditation through the new Joint Commission International program? Guess Tom Friedman was right about that flat world thing after all.

Daniel Fell is Executive Vice President with Neathawk Dubuque & Packett. He will be presenting “Healthcare Quality: Meeting the Marketing Challenge” at the Fourteenth National Forum on Customer Based Marketing Strategies on Thursday, February 5, at 9:45am. 

As always, this year’s Customer Based Marketing Forum features a broad array of proven case studies from leading health care organizations.  Here are just a few of the exceptional organizations you’ll be hearing from:

Baylor Health System (Dallas, TX)

BJC-Progress West HealthCare Center (O’Fallon, MO)

Carolinas HealthCare System (Charlotte, NC)

Cleveland Clinic Canada

Dartmouth-Hitchcock (Bedford, NH)

Henry Ford Health System (Detroit, MI)

Mayo Clinic (Rochester, MN)

Medical University of South Carolina (Charleston, SC)

MedStar Health (Lutherville, MD)

Memorial Herrmann HealthCare System (Houston, TX)

NorthShore University Health System (Evanston, IL)

Saint Francis Medical Center (Cape Girardeau, MO)

San Juan Regional Medical Center (Farmington, NM)

University of Michigan Health System (Ann Arbor, MI)

View details on the Schedule pages at the right.