Why do we say Right Patient, Right Payer, Right Service Line?

A health system CEO once told instructed me “Bring the right patient with the right payer to the right service line!“.  That CEO was a genius for bringing focus to a task.

Let’s break it down:

Right Patient: 1) Pre-Episode- 2) with Loose Medical Relationships; 0r 3) the patient that just received a catastrophic diagnosis.

1. Generally hospital marketing and advertising must be focused on Pre-Episode patients. Why, because after a patient gets into the system they don’t make any more provider choices. For Example: When you have a heart attack you don’t go to the hospital that has the best branding- you go to the fastest place the ambulance can get you. BUT if you find out though a risk assessment and wellness training that you have a serious CV problem, then you can make choices.
2. Loose medical relationships: Almost everyone says they have a doctor, but almost no on has seen the doctor in years.  If a problem is detected in a risk assessment event, the patient that hasn’t seen their doctor recently is 90%+ likely to go see the available doctor you recommend.
3. Catastrophic diagnosis patient: someone that just got a complicated diagnosis, like a tumor for instance, has to make choices about their treatment. This is where you need a great digital strategy because they search for answers online.

Right Payer: Whatever DRG’s you are bringing into the system have to contribute to the bottom line. Mostly, but not always, that generally means a patient with great private payer.

Right Service Line: This is at the intersection of Capacity, Profitability, and Expertise. You only use precious marketing resources to drive business at this intersection. Seems obvious but this is a very common mistake.

So look at one of your current ads: does it comply with all three prerequisites? This is a great way to quickly check the effectiveness of your communications.