5 Tips For Building Your Brand

A company’s brand can be the most important component of their business. This is more than just a logo and some brochures. Your brand encompasses everything that your company stands for.  This includes; how your patients see your practice, how your referring physicians see your staff and the impact you make on your community.  Think about some of the biggest brands in existence; the Coca Colas, Budweisers and Starbucks of the world dominate the ad space. Their brands evoke emotion and drive their consumers to remain loyal, year after year.

In what industry does it make more sense to promote brand loyalty, than in health care? There are some simple actions your practice can take to create stronger brand identity.

1.     Social Media

Whether you’re starting from scratch with social media or just revamping what you already have, your online reputation is an easy way to express your brand.  The key to maintaining your brand is consistency, so be sure to create a plan for how you’ll deliver your message. A content calendar will help you plan your posts and stay in line with your branding.

2.     Blogging

Creating a blog as a part of your website gives you the chance to provide unique content for your website. The best way to have your brand reach far and wide is to step up your SEO game. Your blog is a way to do that, adding new, original content weekly.

3.     Creative Campaign

Don’t limit yourself to a simple ad in your city’s newspaper or directory. Get out ahead of the news you’re delivering, by planning a full campaign. A series of advertisements, online marketing and social media; used in conjunction to your brand’s message can make a much bigger impact than an expensive billboard or commercial.

4.     Physician’s Event

Your referring physicians and community are the ones who will come into contact with your brand most often. The qualities that you portray to them are not just shown in words and campaigns. Rather, they are shown in the way that you treat their patients and how you network with them. Host an event such as an educational dinner or open house presentation, where you can showcase those things.

5.     Promotional Items

Of course, referring physician offices love their goodies. Think out of the box and instead of bringing around standard pens, breakfast and treats- find a unique promotional item that is in line with that previously mentioned creative campaign.

You don’t have to do all of these things at once, as they certainly take time. Remember that your brand doesn’t have to be built in a day.

Catch 22: The Impact of Obamacare on Patients

Meeting with some of the healthcare industry’s best marketers earlier today, we discussed the Affordable Care Act and how it has affected our business.  Obamacare aimed to lower healthcare costs and get more Americans covered with health insurance, but that concept has proven almost too good to be true.  It’s become quite the Catch 22 for some patients.

We have seen a number of patients whose policies were cancelled as of December 31st, leaving them uninsured for months until their new coverage kicks in, which could be as late as March.  So, why are these people getting dropped from their coverage?  It is because their previous coverage, considered catastrophic plans, are no longer recognized by the federal government as suitable insurance. A number of these individuals are simply waiting to enroll in a new plan, or are waiting for government coverage to begin; but a significant amount are opting out of coverage entirely. 

Hence, the Catch 22. While the ACA made it possible for patients with preexisting conditions to get the coverage they need, it has also lead those who had coverage previously, to now go without.

Oh, I know what you’re going to say now. “What about that stinkin’ penalty fee for those rebels who choose to remain uninsured?”  It’s been rumored that Americans might get charged up to $1200 for refusing to pay for coverage, but in reality it is much less.  The penalty is supposed to be $95 or 1% of your annual salary and no one is really sure when the fees will be implemented.  This has led many Americans to think to themselves, “Well, I could pay $3400* for this coverage I don’t need, or I could just pay $95. Yeah, I’ll go with the cheaper option.”

This means the types of patients that practices will see will be a mixed bag of sorts as far as coverage goes.  Some will continue to be self-pay, some will have high-deductible plans and many will opt into government coverage. If your practice hasn’t yet, be sure to reach out to your state, to find out how you can get set up with a network for the Affordable Care Act. That contact information should be listed on your states’ government website.

*This is an estimate based on data found on ObamacareFacts.com

Atlantic Health Solutions Partners with Universal Health Network on Radiation Oncology Billing & Marketing Management

What do you get when you combine an innovative marketing and practice management company with an expert radiation oncology billing company? A revenue cycle management and marketing dream team!

Introducing a new business partnership between United Health Network and Atlantic Health Solutions, combining forces to use powerful resources and years of experience to improve your radiation oncology practice’s business.

Our two companies now offer a full suite of management services geared towards radiation oncology practices. In the two companies’ 15 years of experience, they have overcome many pitfalls and opportunities in the radiation oncology industry.  Their knowledge has been fostered while serving as one of the world’s few billing and collections companies focusing solely on radiation oncology.

This partnership will allow AHS and UHN to focus on the following services:

1.     Contact Credentialing: Allowing clients to get on provider plans with fee schedule review, enhancing provider contracts

2.     Billing & Collecting: Ensuring that clients are paid for the work performed, maximizing revenue and cost reduction

3.     Consultations & Guidance: Helping clients maneuver in the ever-changing healthcare environment with competitive market and demographic analysis to provide increased patient volume

4.     Practice Management & Marketing: Improving practice protocols, online reputations and community/physician relations

We are pleased that UHN’s impressive list of services can be implemented alongside of our own suite of services and we believe that by working together, we will be able to make unbelievable differences in the lives of our clients. Their experiences in the world of medical billing and collections, combined with our expertise in practice management, physician relations and unique marketing will make for an unstoppable support team for radiation oncologists across the country. 

UHN is known for providing their nationwide clients with over 15 years of expert radiation oncology specific medical billing and collections services. This niche focus allows UHN to streamline processes for compliance with generally accepted accounting standards, quality assurance and risk management by their auditing specialists. With access to quality information and metrics, UHN is able to assess and improve radiation oncology billing procedures.  This allows them to be prepared for industry changes such as ICD-10, meaningful use and bundled payment options.

AHS specializes in facility management and health care marketing, focusing on physician relations, Internet marketing, social media management, public relations and patient-centered advertising efforts. 

Both AHS and UHN clients are able to benefit from improved protocols for maximum reimbursement, maintained control, full transparency and customized support of each practice’s specific needs.  Seeing the similarities in our two companies’ cultures and missions made fostering this promising partnership simple. In fact, one of our favorite things about UHN is the mantra they live by:

“You probably didn’t get into medicine to become an expert in billing and collections, but we did.”

All too often, physicians attempt to handle things like medical billing on their own, but we have always stressed the importance of physicians focusing on what really matters; practicing medicine, while we take care of the rest.   By helping physician partners delegate portions of their practices’ activities to us, we help physicians focus on more important practice matters.

We look forward to the success of our clients. Stay tuned for information and resources we will be providing for you in the future to improve your practice and be sure to stop by our booth (#735) at ASTRO from September 22^nd through the 25^th. We will be reaching out to you again before then to learn more about your questions, industry obstacles and ways we can provide improved support.

Services:

UHN

• Radiation Oncology-Specific Billing & Collections
• CPT and ICD-9/ICD-10 Coding
• Referral Tracking
• Contracting & Credentialing
• Training & Guidance
• Advanced Reporting Technology

AHS

• physician relations
• Internet marketing
• social media management
• public relations
• advertising
• marketing force training

Press Release here: http://www.prweb.com/releases/2013/9/prweb11103919.htm

Bob Dylan Sang The Times They Are A-Changin'... Who Knew He Meant In Radiology?

Lending a lesson from the dinosaurs; you must either adapt or go extinct, and with changes on the frontier of medical imaging, there is no time but now.

With the evolution of the radiology industry constantly morphing, it feels like your practice needs to be more on point than ever. Daily you must face hard questions such as:

• Should I sell to the hospital system or keep my independence?
• Do I need to outsource my billing services?
• How do I make sure I have the right people on the job in my center?
• Do I really need to learn social media?

The real question to ask yourself is…
 

What do you choose? Where do YOU start?

Read more…