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4 Articles to Read This Summer

Jun 17, 2020 | Hospital Solutions


With so much change across the country, it can be hard to keep up. We pulled together the top articles we think healthcare marketers should be reading this summer.

 

1. Why racism is a health care issue—and how to address it [Advisory Board]

Racism is a public health issue that impacts hospital marketers and physicians every day. On the Radio Advisory podcast, host Rachel Woods discusses, with several guests, how health care executives can help address systemic racism not only in their communities but in their own organizations as well.

 

2. Hospitals Emptied Out by Pandemic Push for Patients to Return [Bloomberg] or Hospitals should prepare for pent-up demand from non-COVID-19 patients [Fierce Healthcare]

Hospitals are beginning to roll out their marketing collateral to encourage patients to return for both emergency and routine care. Even though many people have been putting off care or surgeries over the last few months, they may not all come rushing back to the hospital as soon as they open their doors. One hospital executive said they expect to see a U-shaped curve of patients returning to their hospital as states continue to re-open.

 

3. What are hospitals changing to prepare for the next 'surge'? Almost everything. [Advisory Board]

Alongside preparing to resume elective surgeries and re-open offices, hospitals are planning for the second wave of COVID. Hospitals have to create dedicated space for COVID patients-- a sort of self-contained mini-hospital.  Some hospitals have contingency plans to re-purpose real estate or underutilized wings into COVID treatment centers if need be. Many of the changes involve increased technology like mobile app check-ins or Brigham’s iPad robot, Spot. Along those lines, hospitals are encouraging telehealth visits whenever possible.

 

4. Rich vs. poor hospitals [Axios]

Safety-net hospitals (hospitals with a mission or legal obligation to treat people regardless of insurance status) operated on tight budgets before COVID. Many of these hospitals serve a majority black and Hispanic patient population. Like all hospitals, safety-net hospitals are struggling financially due to COVID. But unlike other hospitals, they are receiving disproportionately low government bailout money because the funds are distributed based on hospitals’ financials pre-COVID. The disparity in funds and the patient populations that safety-net hospitals treat functions to perpetuate race-based health inequality.

*As of June 9, HHS announced it would provide $25B in CARES funding to Medicaid providers and safety-net hospitals