Capturing your Cardiac Market Opportunity by Barbara Sallo, RN, MBA

With today’s budget cuts and declining reimbursements, can a hospital afford to “niche” market its specialty services? Can a hospital or health system afford not to? A large number of institutions, mainly community based, have not had a history of allocating resources for program-specific marketing activity. The changes in clinical practice, payor requirements and market demands that have occurred over the past five years are causing many health care providers to “re-think” their approach to marketing in high volume areas such as cardiovascular services.

According to a report by the Agency for Health Care Policy and Research (AHCPR), the most common reasons for a hospital admission in the United States are:

1.infant birth (3.8 million/year)

2.coronary atherosclerosis (1.4 million/year)

3.pneumonia (1.2 million/year)

4.heart failure (990,000/year)

5.myocardial infarction (774,000/year)

Of significance, cardiac-related conditions account for three of the five top reasons for hospital admission. Of greater importance, cardiovascular admissions generally account for 20% to 40% of total hospital revenue. This snapshot of today’s health care service needs is expected to continue to change with the aging of the population and the increasing demand for cardiovascular services.

Offering new services and programs such as coronary angioplasty and open heart surgery provide an ideal venue to market to potential patients, but exploring the consumer rationale behind this reveals market drivers beyond “getting the word out”. The need for information on the scope of cardiovascular services available, knowledge of the types of services that the hospital provides very well, patient and physician endorsements, and community outreach all forward an organization’s mission in cardiovascular care.

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BIO:

Barbara Sallo, RN, MBA is the President of Health Care Visions, Ltd. a cardiovascular consulting firm based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The firm brings extensive knowledge and expertise in this area of clinical care. Health Care Visions, Ltd. has assisted a multitude of hospitals in all phases of cardiovascular programs from market assessments, program assessments and feasibility studies to business planning and implementation.

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