Hospitals that meet the needs of their communities’ health are essential to keep the public fit and well. However, with 6146 hospitals in the US, it’s a competitive sector to be part of, and the struggle to attract patients, alongside excellent medical practitioners can be challenging.

• For advice on some of the areas you could improve, through this post, we look at;
• Reviewing and replacing hospital technology
• Expanding your hospital to meet customer needs and demand Outsourcing marketing to an agency or employing a marketeer
• And the importance of cherry-picking a medical team, while simultaneously preventing employee turnover

Hospital Equipment

Ongoing routine assessments of hospital devices will allow you to see whether there is any technology that needs repairing, servicing, or replacing. Equally, whether your hospital is missing any valuable devices such as ultrasound equipment, X-Ray machines, eeg monitoring, and medical lasers.

Technology is forever changing, and where hospitals are concerned, they must keep up to date with new advancements, for four reasons;

• Older equipment will cost the hospital more in time and maintenance.
• Plus, the life of new equipment is longer
• And the expected outcome from advanced technology, whether used for diagnosis or treatment, shall provide better results to assist doctors in their diagnosis and treatment plan of a customer.
• And better diagnosis and treatment will translate to happier customers who are more likely to return.

Departments and Facilities

The demographics and needs of your existing patients and the local area will help you identify any gaps in the market your hospital could fill. An example being COVID-19 causing hospitals to adapt their facilities and cater to those who need testing, treatment, and life-support.

Other examples include, there could be a lot of health-conscious locals, who could benefit from a doctor who specializes in dietetics and nutrition. Or, you’ve noticed there’s a lot of families with children in the local area visiting your practice, so you could hire a pediatrician to take care of the children’s health. Here are some examples of other departments to consider adding to your hospital.

• Emergency room
• Cardiology
• Ultrasounds
• Neurology
• Oncology
• Gynecology
• Pain management
• Hematology
• Intensive Care Unit

Marketing Expert

Managing a hospital is all-consuming, leaving little to no time to maintain the marketing aspect. This is why it’s in your interest to source a marketing agency or employ a marketeer to work on your business’s behalf to continuously enhance your hospital’s image.

A marketing team or expert will evaluate what needs to be changed, and highlight the best of your business to your target audience, in a bid to improve your reputation and profitability. Areas of which might include;

• Hospital website
• Social media channels
• Managing the hospital reviews
• Paid advertising plans and budgets
• Organizing fundraising and networking events, and so forth.
• While also committing time to research areas of the hospital that need updating and changing to attract new customers.

In relation to the last point, here is an interesting fact about a study that examined whether they should include clowns as imagery in a children’s hospital. Researchers recorded the responses of 250 children regarding their opinions on clowns, and each said they either disliked or feared them. This significant slice of information prevents hospitals from making the terrible mistake of including clown images in their decor, which could panic and scare new young customers from returning.

The marketing professionals’ primary focus will be to upgrade your hospital’s image and present the best of what your medical establishment has to offer customers. Including, but not limited to, medical triumphs, new medical staff, modern facilities, VIP visits, donations, the use of advanced technology to improve diagnosis and treatment, and examples of excellent customer care.

Medical Team

An under-qualified, inexperienced team could result in an incorrect diagnosis, treatment plan, a breach of confidentiality, misuse of medical facilities, an unclean workplace resulting in a slip or fall, all of which spell horror for your hospital’s reputation. Hence, searching and inviting only qualified, experienced, personable staff to work at your hospital with references in tow and proof of experience is paramount to your company’s success.

Your medical team is usually the second point of contact for your customers, following on from the receptionist. So the impression they make on new customers needs to be an excellent one to help the hospital reputation excel, and to keep customers coming back.  To maintain your medical dream team, ensure they have a comfortable staff room to relax in, competitive pay, perks, and acknowledgment for their brilliant work.

 It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. If you think about that, you’ll do things differently – Warren Buffett, American businessman