The Importance of Public Relations in Healthcare

Posted on September 26, 2025 by Dr. David Edward Marcinko MBA MEd CMP™

By Dr. David Edward Marcinko MBA MEd CMP™

SPONSOR: http://www.CertifiedMedicalPlanner.org

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Public Relations [PR] is differentiated than advertising in that an advertiser pays for and has control over the message. It differs from personal selling in that the message is non-personal, i.e., not directed to a particular individual patient. We pay for advertising but pray for public relations. Public relations are not controllable but it is free; advertising is not free. PR suggests that “good news or bad news”; just spell the doctors name correctly

Change Management is the discipline that guides how we prepare, equip and support individuals to successfully adopt to change in order to drive organizational success and outcomes.

For example, a senior doctor may retire, become ill, or a junior associate might become a practice partner. How will patients be affected?

Crisis Management is the precautions and identification of threats to an organization and its stakeholders, and the methods used by the organization to deal with these threats.

For example, recall in 1982, that Tylenol™ commanded 35 percent of the over-the-counter analgesic market in America and it represented nearly 17 percent of Johnson & Johnson’s profits. But, when seven people died from consuming the tainted drug, a national panic ensued. Moreover, Americans started to question the safety of all over-the-counter medications.

Fortunately, J&J commenced the proto-typical positive crisis response in the following way:

  • J&J acted quickly, with complete candidness about what happened and within hours of learning of the deaths, J&J installed toll-free numbers for consumers, sent alerts to healthcare providers nationwide, and stopped advertising the product. J&J recalled 31 million bottles of Tylenol™ capsules and offered replacement products free of charge. J&J did not wait for evidence to see whether the contamination might be more widespread.
  • J&J’s leadership was in the lead and seemed in full control throughout the crisis. The chairman was admired for his leadership to pull Tylenol™ capsules off the market and his forthrightness in dealing with the media. The Tylenol™ crisis led the news every night on every station for six weeks.
  • J&J placed consumers first. J&J spent more than $100 million for the recall and re-launch of Tylenol™. The stock which had been trading near a 52-week high just before the tragedy, dropped for a time, but recovered to its highs only two months later.
  • J&J accepted responsibility. The disaster could have been described in many different ways: as an assault on the company, as a problem somewhere in the process of getting Tylenol™ from J&J factories to retail stores, or as the acts of a crazed criminal. Yet, the company accepted full responsibility.
  • J&J sought to ensure that measures were taken to prevent a recurrence of the problem. J&J introduced tamper-proof packaging that would make it much more difficult for a similar incident to occur in the future.
  • J&J presented itself prepared to handle the short-term damage in the name of consumer safety. Within a year of the disaster, J&J’s share of the analgesic market, which had fallen to 7 percent from 37 percent following the poisoning, had climbed back to 30 percent.

This wildly successful response in now the stuff of graduate and business school case models for excellence in teaching!

PRM stands for Patient Relationship Management, which is a system for managing all interactions with current and potential patients, families, friends, referring physicians, clinics and hospitals. The goal is simple: improve relationships to grow your medical practice. PRM technology helps medical practices and clinics stay connected to patients, streamline processes, and improve profitability.

When people talk about PRM, they’re usually referring to a PRM system: software that helps track each interaction with a patient or elated others. That can include practice sales calls, treatment or service plans, marketing e-mails, website, social media and more. PRM tools can unify patient and practice data from many sources and even use Artificial Intelligence [AI] to help better manage relationships across the entire doctor– patient lifecycle – spanning departments described elsewhere in the Marketing, Advertising and Sales ME-Ps.

EDUCATION: Books

SPEAKING: Dr. Marcinko will be speaking and lecturing, signing and opining, teaching and preaching, storming and performing at many locations throughout the USA this year! His tour of witty and serious pontifications may be scheduled on a planned or ad-hoc basis; for public or private meetings and gatherings; formally, informally, or over lunch or dinner. All medical societies, financial advisory firms or Broker-Dealers are encouraged to submit an RFP for speaking engagements: CONTACT: Ann Miller RN MHA at MarcinkoAdvisors@outlook.com 

References:

1. Purcarea, Victor: The impact of marketing strategies in healthcare systems.  J. Med Life. 2019 Apr-Jun;12(2):93–96. doi: 10.25122/jml-2019-1003

READINGS:

Marcinko, DE and Hetico, HR: The Business of Medical Practice [3rd Edition]. Springer Publishing, New York, 2010.

Marcinko, DE and Hetico, HR: Hospitals & Healthcare Organizations [Management Strategies, Operational Techniques, Tools, Templates and Case Studies].  Productivity Press, New York, 2012.

Marcinko, DE and Hetico, HR: Financial Management Strategies for Hospitals and Healthcare Organizations [Tools, Techniques, Checklists and Case Studies]. Productivity Press, New York, 2012.

COMMENTS APPRECIATED

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Filed under: "Doctors Only", Career Development, CMP Program, Glossary Terms, Management, Marcinko Associates, Marketing & Advertising | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

The Future of Hospitals

Posted on February 28, 2009 by Dr. David Edward Marcinko MBA MEd CMP™

Between a “Rock and Hard Place”

By Dr. David Edward Marcinko; MBA, CMP™

By Hope Rachel Hetico; RN, MHA, CMP™rock-and-hard-place

A recent white paper by the Joint Commission suggests that hospitals must respond in new ways to meet the increasing complexity of patient care and to address rising health care costs. Duh! What an insight. Why did it take so long for them to declare same?

 

The Hospital Accreditation Competition Heats-Up

Was it because of competition from DNV Healthcare Inc? Was it their new ability to determine if hospitals are in compliance with Medicare Conditions of Participation [COP]? DNV joins the Joint Commission on the Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations [JCAHO], and the American Osteopathic Association [AOA], as the only national hospital accrediting agency approved by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services [CMS].

Link: https://healthcarefinancials.wordpress.com/2008/10/03/hospital-accreditation

Recommendations

Nevertheless, the JCAHO report recommends action in five areas:

  • Economic viability and ROI
  • Technology adoption and use
  • Patient-centered collaborative care
  • Medical and human resources staffing
  • Hospital architectural design

Patient Centered-Philosophy

Of course, it is no surprise that patient-centered care should be philosophically at the core of any partnership between a patient and his/her hospital and medical providers. Yet, just think of the last time you saw your HMO doctor and tried to engage in a collaborative health 2.0 discussion with him/her? Na-da!

Health Information Technology

The Joint Commission, despite the interoperable eHR controversy often presented on this blog, suggests that technology adoption can play a major role in improving patient care, safety and quality.

Link: https://healthcarefinancials.wordpress.com/2008/12/19/the-case-against-inter-operable-ehrs

This transformation from paper to electronic records, according to the report, will involve:

  • Making the business case for ROI and funding
  • Redesigning business processes with HIT implementation
  • Extending the digital footprint to the “medical-home”
  • Engaging IT leaders for guidance on prior mistakes 
  • Improve workflow – minimize labor intensive activities

Of Hospital “Insider” Administrators

One local hospital administrator insider, here in Atlanta, confidentially tells us that a single hospital bed is currently worth about a million bucks a year to the institution; private or public. And, the mantra of most hospital CEOs to staff doctors, is: “fill the beds”; “schedule the procedures”; and/or “book the operating rooms.”  So, the priorities outlined in the report really don’t seem appropriate; do they?

IOW: Put the hospital first; not the patient? And, this echoed our experience in hospital administration two decades ago. Has anything changed?

Assessment

Nevertheless, it may be refreshing to see an approach to healthcare technology implementation that seems to leverage the experience and knowledge of other industries. Privacy concerns however, are the biggest obstacle to HIT and true inter-operable eMRs, in our opinion. Yet, it doesn’t need to be. Who cares if grandma has a bunion, or dad had his cataracts repaired. They aren’t running for public office; are they?

The road to the Hospital of the Future will be bumpy, but we are hopeful enough to trust the benefits will be great once we arrive.

Full report: hosptals-future 

Conclusion

And so, your thoughts and comments on this Medical Executive-Post are appreciated. Are hospitals today “between a rock and hard place?” Is technology and business process reorganization being offered as a substitute for critical thinking and true collaborative medicine? Especially, in light of the healthcare capitalistic thrust to: “do more – in order to earn more.”

Speaker: If you need a moderator or speaker for an upcoming event, Dr. David E. Marcinko; MBA – Publisher-in-Chief of the Executive-Post – is available for seminar or speaking engagements. Contact: MarcinkoAdvisors@msn.com  or Bio: www.stpub.com/pubs/authors/MARCINKO.htm

Our Other Print Books and Related Information Sources:

Practice Management: http://www.springerpub.com/prod.aspx?prod_id=23759

Physician Financial Planning: http://www.jbpub.com/catalog/0763745790

Medical Risk Management: http://www.jbpub.com/catalog/9780763733421

Healthcare Organizations: www.HealthcareFinancials.com

Health Administration Terms: www.HealthDictionarySeries.com

Physician Advisors: www.CertifiedMedicalPlanner.com

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About the AHCJ

Posted on January 31, 2009 by Dr. David Edward Marcinko MBA MEd CMP™

Advancing Public Understanding of Healthcare Issues

Staff Reportersmedfrd1210

According to its website, the Association of Health Care Journalists [AHCJ] is an independent, nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing public understanding of health care issues. 

Currently, there are more than 1,000 members in the AHCJ www.HealthJournalism.org

History

The idea for an Association of Health Care Journalists was born at a conference of health care reporters in Bloomington, Ind., in March of 1997. As it happened, several journalists, who had felt the need for such a group, crossed paths at that conference, which was sponsored by the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. J. Duncan Moore, a reporter for Modern Healthcare magazine, and Melinda Voss, then a health reporter for the Des Moines Register, organized the initial meeting.

Mission

The mission of the Association of Health Care Journalists is to improve the quality, accuracy and visibility of health care reporting, writing and editing. AHCJ is classified as a 501(c) (6), a nonprofit professional trade association.

Goals

  1. To support the highest standards of reporting, writing, editing, and broadcasting in health care journalism for the general public and trade publications.
  2. To develop a strong and vibrant community of journalists concerned with all forms of health care journalism.
  3. To raise the stature of health care journalism in newsrooms, the industry, and the public, as a whole.
  4. To promote understanding between journalists and sources of news about how each can best serve the public.
  5. To advocate for the free flow of information to the public.
  6. To advocate for the improvement of professional development opportunities for journalists who cover any aspect of health and health care.

Assessment

For membership and contact information:

Association of Health Care Journalists
Missouri School of Journalism
10 Neff Hall – Columbia, MO 65211 USA

Conclusion

And so, your thoughts and comments on this Medical Executive-Post are appreciated. Do we need more journalists reporting on the status of the healthcare industrial complex; or do we need real subject matter experts? Nevertheless, we are supporters of healthcare journalistic transparency.

Speaker: If you need a moderator or speaker for an upcoming event, Dr. David E. Marcinko; MBA – Publisher-in-Chief of the Executive-Post – is available for seminar or speaking engagements. Contact: MarcinkoAdvisors@msn.com  or Bio: www.stpub.com/pubs/authors/MARCINKO.htm

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RIA Merger Mania and the Medical PPMC Fiasco

Posted on January 26, 2009 by Dr. David Edward Marcinko MBA MEd CMP™

What is Old is New Again -or- Lessons Learned

By Dr. David Edward Marcinko; MBA, CMP™

 dr-david-marcinko9According to the article Great Expectations-Disappointing Realities that recently appeared in Registered Representative, a trade magazine for the financial services industry, by John Churchill, the booming stock market of the last five years saw many Registered Investment Advisory [RIA] firms sell a portion of their future cash flows in return for cash and stock in an acquiring consolidating firm. This is known as a roll-up, or consolidator, business model. I am quite familiar with it, as both a doctor and financial advisor. I believe my dual perspective of both camps is somewhat unique, as well.

The NYSE Collapse

As the stock market collapsed in 2008-09, many RIAs who previously sold stakes to these “roll-up” consolidator firms began scrambling to pay quarterly preferred disbursements.  What gives, many implored? As a reformed Certified Financial Planner™, RIA representative, financial advisor and insurance agent, I can draw many parallels from these present day RIA consolidators to the similar Physician Practice Management Corporation roll-up fiasco of 1999-2000? Indeed, I can, and will [www.HealthcareFinancials.com]

My Experience with Medical Practice Consolidators

As a clinician and surgeon, I was the past president of a privately held regional Physician Practice Management Corporation [PPMC] in the Midwest. I assumed this route about a decade ago, by happenstance and background, when I helped consolidate 95 solo medical practices with about $50 million in revenues. But, our small company’s IPO roll-up attempt was aborted due to adverse market conditions, in 1999. Fortunately, a conservative business model based on debt, not the equity which was all the rage at the time, saved us right before the crash of 2000. So, we harvested fiscally conservative physicians who lost only a few operational start-up bucks; but no significant dollars.

On the other hand, those PPMCs roll-ups based on equity lost much more. In fact, according to the Cain Brothers index of public PPMCs, more than 95% of all equity value was lost by doctor-investors hoping to cash in on Wall Street’s riches they did not rightly deserve; not by practicing medicine but by betting on rising stock prices. So, projecting a repeat disaster from medicine, to the contemporary RIA consolidator business model, was not a great leap for me. And unfortunately, this was one of the few times I was all too correct in my prognostications.

PPMC’s Today

The type of medical consolidator or roll-up, formally called the Physician Practice Management Corporation [PPMC], was left for dead by the year 1999. Even survivors like Pediatrix Medical Group saw its stock drop precipitously. And, more than a few private medical practices had to be bought back by the same physicians that sold out to the PPMCs originally.

RIA Example

I sure hope this does not occur with FAs, as well. But, if an entity is being bought back and accounts receivables are being purchased, FAs should be careful not to pick this item up as income twice. The costs can be immense to the RIA practice, as later clients of mine learned the hard way.

Buy-Backs

For example, let’s say a family practice [or RIA?] purchased itself back from a PPMC, or RIA consolidator. Part of the mandatory purchase price, approximately $200,000 (the approximate net realizable value of the accounts receivable), was paid to the PPMC to buy back accounts receivable [ARs] generated by the physicians buying back their practice. Now, if an office administrator unknowingly begins recording the cash receipts specifically attributable to the purchased accounts receivable as patient fee income; trouble begins to brew. If left uncorrected, this error can incorrectly added $200,000 in income to this practice and cost it (a C Corporation) approximately $70,000 in additional income tax ($200,000 in fees x 35% tax rate). The error in the above example is that the PPMC [or RIA consolidator] must record the portion of the purchase price it received for the accounts receivable as patient [advisory] fee income. The buyer practice has merely traded one asset – cash – for another asset, the accounts receivable [ARs].  When the practice collects these particular receivables, the credit is applied against the purchased accounts receivable (an asset), rather than to patient [RIA] fees.  

RIA Revolution Follows PPMC Evolution

Today, surviving medical PPMCs are evolving from first generation multi-specialty national concerns, to second generation regional single specialty groups [my type], to third generation regional concerns, and finally to fourth generation Internet enabled service companies providing both business to business [B2B] solutions to affiliated medical practices, as well as business like consumer health solutions to plan members [healthcare 2.0]. I trust this sort of positive morphing will occur, over time, with the RIA consolidators. Perhaps yes, or no [www.HealthDictionarySeries.com]

RIA Consolidators

Among the most distressed RIA roll-up entities today may be the publically traded National Financial Partners and its more than 180 acquired firms, with more than 320 members in 41 states and Puerto Rico. NFP specializes in life insurance and wealth transfers, corporate and executive benefits, and financial planning and investment advisory services. Jessica M. Bibliowicz has been NFP’s President and CEO since inception in 1999. She is the daughter of Sandy Weill, and a member of the Board of Overseers for the Weill Medical College and Graduate School of Medical Sciences of Cornell University. NFP’s stock has declined from a high of $56 more than a year ago, to a current trading range of $3-4.           

And the Question Is?

And so, the question that MDs and RIAs should have asked when contemplating this business model was simply this: would I but the stock of an acquiring roll-up company if I were not part of the deal?

Valuable Consideration

Why? When MDs and RIAs sell to a consolidator, part of their “valuable consideration” is stock equity, so confidence and a conscientious work ethic is important. But, these “‘sell-out” entities are not retirement vehicles according to former financial advisor Hope Rachel Hetico; RN, MHA, CMP™ – a nurse executive and managing partner for www.MedicalBusinessAdvisors.com. Hope is also managing editor of this blog forum.

Assessment

More pointedly, according to one seller mentioned in the Churchill article,

“the whole [consolidator] pyramid is built on cash flows based on incremental growth and hugely optimistic projections of that growth”.  

Conclusion

Rest assured, the consolidator business model can be very successful; just think H. Wayne Huizenga’s Blockbuster Video and Waste Management, Inc. And so, your thoughts and comments on this Medical Executive-Post are appreciated? Why didn’t consolidation work in medicine, or with the RIAs? Or, reframed, why did consolidation work in the garbage collections industry and video store space? Can the fiercely independent RIA space learn something from the fiercely independent medical space?

Speaker: If you need a moderator or speaker for an upcoming event, Dr. David E. Marcinko; MBA – Publisher-in-Chief of the Executive-Post – is available for seminar or speaking engagements. Contact: MarcinkoAdvisors@msn.com  or Bio: www.stpub.com/pubs/authors/MARCINKO.htm

Our Other Print Books and Related Information Sources:

Practice Management: http://www.springerpub.com/prod.aspx?prod_id=23759

Physician Financial Planning: http://www.jbpub.com/catalog/0763745790

Medical Risk Management: http://www.jbpub.com/catalog/9780763733421

Healthcare Organizations: www.HealthcareFinancials.com

Health Administration Terms: www.HealthDictionarySeries.com

Physician Advisors: www.CertifiedMedicalPlanner.com

Subscribe Now: Did you like this Medical Executive-Post, or find it helpful, interesting and informative? Want to get the latest E-Ps delivered to your email box each morning? Just subscribe using the link below. You can unsubscribe at any time. Security is assured.

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Medical Tourism and Values Based Health Insurance

Posted on January 18, 2009 by Dr. David Edward Marcinko MBA MEd CMP™

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Two Emerging Medical Business Models

[By Dr. David Edward Marcinko; MBA, CMP™]dr-david-marcinko10

Last year, nurse-executive Hope Hetico; RN, MHA from www.MedicalBusinessAdvisors.com and I wrote a chapter on physician compensation for the book Practicing Medicine in the 21st Century. The book was edited by David B. Nash; MD, MBA of Jefferson Medical College, in Philadelphia. One of us [DEM] attended medical school at Temple University, so David clearly does not hold a grudge against us. Nevertheless, in the publication, we identified these two emerging trends that have grown even stronger with the passage of time:

Values Based Health Insurance Model

According to Mark Fendrick, MD and Michael E. Chernew, PhD, instead of the one size fits all approach of traditional health insurance, a “clinically-sensitive” cost-sharing system that supports co-payments related to evidence-based value for targeted patients seems plausible.

In this model, out-of-pocket costs are based on price and a cost/quality tradeoff in clinical circumstances: low co-payments for interventions of highest value, and higher co-payments for interventions with little proven health benefit. Smarter benefit packages are designed to combine disease management with cost sharing to address spending growth.

Medical Tourism and the Global Healthcare Model

American businesses are extending their cost-cutting initiatives to include offshore employee medical benefits, and facilities like the Bumrungrad Hospital in Bangkok Thailand (cosmetic surgery), and the Apollo Hospital in New Delhi India (cardiac and orthopedic surgery) which are premier examples for surgical care. Both are internationally recognized institutions that resemble five-star hotels equipped with the latest medical technology. Countries such as Finland, England and Canada are also catering to the English-speaking crowd, while dentistry is especially popular in Mexico and Costa Rica.

Although this is still considered “medical tourism,” Mercer Health and Benefits was recently retained by three Fortune 500 companies interested in contracting with offshore hospitals and JCAHO has accredited 88 foreign hospitals through a joint international commission. To be sure, when India can discount costs up to 80%, the effects on domestic hospital reimbursement and physician compensation may be assumed to increase downward compensation pressures.

Assessment

Another commentator on this topic is hospitalist Robert Wachter, MD; a blogger at Wachter’s World.

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Conclusion

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Speaker: If you need a moderator or speaker for an upcoming event, Dr. David E. Marcinko; MBA – Publisher-in-Chief of the Medical Executive-Post – is available for seminar or speaking engagements. Contact: MarcinkoAdvisors@msn.com

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Filed under: Book Reviews, Career Development, Health Economics, Health Insurance, Healthcare Finance, Managed Care, Media Mentions and PR, Op-Editorials, Practice Management | Tagged: , , , , , | 3 Comments »