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QUESTION:

How can your organization interpret/engage/leverage/ the impact of burgeoning healthcare spending in the United States?

ANSWER:

You've got to talk the talk.  And to do that, you've got to understand the trends. They are structural and massive, destined to reshape the dynamics of the American economy.

By 2021, Uncle Sam estimates healthcare spending will account for almost 20 percent of the U.S. gross domestic product.  An aging population, Obamacare, and even modest economic growth will all fuel this unheard of consumption of medical services. Even for ailments like liver cancer.

No matter your enterprise, this tectonic shift in resource allocation matters.  To take advantage of it through effective marketing communications, understand:

1. Corporate branding has never been more critical. The fever around mergers and acquisitions in the healthcare industry burns unabated.  In this M&A-obsessed environment, brand trust is pure gold.  M&A activity brings brand suspicion, even uncertainty.  The healthcare brands that can define a niche of credibility, valtrex price transparency, and accountability will be uniquely positioned to capitalize on opportunity.

2. The patient wields the power.  New technology and social platforms give each of us new ways to both own our healthcare and interact with our healthcare professionals. The healthcare industry is stretching to accommodate this new dynamic that has flipped the traditional patient services model on its head.  Communications that amplify and rationalize patient choice, connection, and empowerment will win the day.

3. The healthcare industry, particularly pharmaceutical companies, must tell its story better.  Look no further than Turing Pharmaceuticals' Martin Shkreli for a taste of the public's white-hot zeal to stamp out greed, real or perceived.  Never forget 2016 is an election year.  Drug costs are in the crosshairs of an anxious electorate demanding price relief–and politicians eager to please them.