Creating Printed Materials For Healthcare Marketing Professionals

Many times, marketing or advertising agencies have a broad range of clients. As a result, the marketing professionals that work for the company need to know how to extend their knowledge to accurately represent all types of brands and organizations. Because different marketing methods are employed depending on the type of client, it can sometimes be hard for a non-specialized marketing agency to accurately market and gain business for every organization or company they represent. For instance, one would go about marketing a non-profit differently than a restaurant, and also differently from a healthcare facility.

The healthcare field is one such field that needs to be marketed differently. For those looking to get the word out or re-brand their healthcare organization, it’s a good idea to turn to healthcare marketing professionals with vast experience in the field. With an organization that focuses specifically on healthcare marketing, clients can expect great results that successfully advertise their name to the public and ultimately increase their facility’s ROI.

Let Marketing Professionals Handle It

The hallmark of many healthcare facilities is printed materials including newsletters, magazines and collateral marketing materials. It can take a lot of time, money, and effort to create beautiful, error-free publications that are easy to read, appeal to a target audience, and are well designed. Those in the healthcare field, even in an administrative or managerial role, often don’t have the time, marketing know-how, or technical printing background to effectively market and brand an organization.

With an agency that specializes in healthcare marketing, clients can rest assured knowing that their healthcare facility will be advertised to the right people, the right way. Healthcare marketing professionals can help create and distribute content relevant to each specific healthcare field. Whether it is in the form of newsletters, in-house magazines, or physician publications, the content created by these marketing professionals will improve your relationship with your target audience.

Printing for Healthcare Marketing Clients

Healthcare marketing professionals may focus on healthcare, but the basis of their education is in effective marketing. Marketing agencies are made up of experienced writers who can promote healthcare organizations and successfully communicate their benefits and features to clients, doctors, and potential customers. Graphic and web designers can create beautiful, eye-catching newsletters, magazines, and web pages to go with the compelling text. And healthcare advertising professionals know how to properly prepare a document for print, and where to go for the most cost-effective yet professional print job.

Newsletters sent to clients or patients are a great way to let them know about upcoming specials, new services, a change of hours, or any other business news. In-house magazines can spread the word within the company about individual professional achievements, upcoming events, and more. Publications specifically for physicians can highlight new, innovative medical technology and methods, and employee publications can keep workers in the know, promoting company unity.

Hire healthcare marketing professionals to accurately portray your healthcare organization to the public. These professionals are able to create expertly printed materials with a polished voice that effectively communicates news to current and potential clients, other doctors, and competitors in the field.

Healthcare Environmental Issues and Opportunities

The healthcare industry affects the lives of virtually everyone in the United States. According to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), healthcare expenditures will account for approximately 17% of the Gross Domestic Product this year. Many activities in the healthcare industry result in land, water or air pollution. Much of the waste is recyclable and consists of paper, cardboard, glass, plastic and metals. There are two other types of solid waste in healthcare: regulated medical waste and hazardous or chemical waste. Additionally, hospitals discharge large amounts of wastewater and release air emissions from their facility operations.

Oftentimes, hospital services are decentralized, departmentalized, or even managed by contracted services. There may be little or no centralization of efforts. There may be minimal regard, knowledge or control over minimizing waste or environmental impact. If healthcare organizations really want to decrease costs and reduce their carbon footprint, they must embrace sustainability with the full support of top management. They must pay close attention to what they purchase and what they discard.

There are many variables affecting healthcare waste minimization:

* The types of products and materials purchased

* The types of waste segregation systems

* The degree to which wastes are identified

* The locations of the waste generation

Healthcare wastes can be categorized as:

* Municipal

* Recycling (Pennsylvania Act 101, for example)

* Regulated medical waste (Bio-hazardous or Red Bag Waste)

* Hazardous waste (listed and characteristic waste, commingled waste, pressurized containers and ignitable gas, and universal waste)

* Universal Waste (Batteries, Fluorescent Bulbs, Electronics, Mercury-containing Equipment)

* Waste water, Storm Water and Air Emissions

Municipal Waste:

The United States healthcare industry generates 6,670 tons of waste per day, most of which is solid or municipal waste. Of this solid waste, more than half is composed of paper and cardboard. Hospitals with excellent recycling programs recycle over 40 percent of their total municipal waste.

Recycling:

Many states mandate commercial and residential recycling of a wide range of materials. For example, Pennsylvania Act 101 mandates recycling in Pennsylvania’s larger municipalities and requires counties to develop municipal waste management plans. The goals of the Act are to reduce Pennsylvania’s municipal waste generation; recycle at least 25% of waste generated; procure and use recycled and recyclable materials in state governmental agencies; and educate the public as to the benefits of recycling and waste reduction.

Municipalities must collect at least 3 of the following materials: clear glass; colored glass; plastics; aluminum; steel and bimetallic cans; high grade office paper; corrugated paper and newsprint. Commercial, municipal and institutional establishments are required to recycle aluminum, high-grade office paper and corrugated paper in addition to other materials chosen by the municipality. Leaf and composting are required to be separated from municipal waste. Businesses, including hospitals, are encouraged to help reduce waste by purchasing products that are durable, repairable, recycled, recyclable and/or have minimal packaging, and to find other uses for surplus goods instead of throwing them away.

Regulated Medical Waste:

Industry best practices for red bag waste are between one and three pounds of red bag waste per patient day, yet many hospitals still treat 25 to 30% percent of their total waste stream as infectious. Bio-hazardous waste includes sharps, pathological waste, blood and blood products, blood-soaked items, and non-regulated chemotherapy waste. Most patients in medical-surgical rooms generate little, if any, infectious waste, however, there may still be reluctance on the part of hospitals to “source-separate” the bio-hazardous waste at the patient’s bedside or at the place of treatment. Some healthcare organizations still consider all waste generated in a patient’s room as red bag waste even when the waste contains no visible blood. Hospitals may fear that they will be cited with a violation should an item of trash be discarded improperly.

Progress in pharmaceutical technology has reduced the need for surgical interventions. Changes in healthcare reimbursements have decreased the length of stay in hospitals and increased home care and outpatient healthcare. Healthcare products are being packaged more efficiently and the use of plastics instead of glass has lessened the weight of many products. Despite all these advances, the widespread purchase and use of “disposables” in healthcare has created large amounts of waste that cannot easily be recycled. Many “single-use” medical devices can be safely sterilized and reprocessed and used many times. This can save healthcare organizations significant dollars by minimizing their need to purchase single use items.

Hazardous Chemical Waste:

The healthcare industry generates only small quantities of hazardous chemicals relative to the amount of municipal solid waste or bio-hazardous waste. Hospitals that own research laboratories generate greater volumes and more diverse types of hazardous chemicals. Healthcare laboratories that perform diagnostic testing often use a large volume of a few chemicals such as xylene, alcohol and formalin in their processes. Some labs recycle and reuse chemicals to avoid the cost associated with hazardous waste disposal and repurchase of new materials. Other labs are equipped with chemical analyzer systems with reagent reservoirs that reduce the total amounts of chemicals used and waste generated.

Wastewater Discharge:

Most healthcare facilities discharge wastewater to Publicly Owned Treatment Works (POTW). Dischargers are classified as major based on an assessment of six characteristics: (1) toxic pollutant potential; (2) waste stream flow volume; (3) conventional pollutant loading; (4) public health impact; (5) water quality factors; and (6) proximity to nearby coastal waters.

Healthcare Wastewater Best Practices include:

* Limit the use of water discharged through conservation and reusing water wherever possible.

* Train employees to use water more efficiently.

* Post signs at all floor drains and sinks to discourage employees from using drains to dispose of oil, vehicle fluids, solvents, and paints.

* Use non-toxic floor cleaners or “Green Chemicals.”

* Consider capping off unused floor drains.

* Prevent any spills and drips from reaching the drain.

* Know where your floor drains discharge.

* Set up a preventive maintenance program for inspecting and cleaning floor drains, traps and oil/water separators.

Air Emissions:

Hospitals may generate air emissions from boilers, emergency generators, sterilization chemicals (ethylene oxide), air conditioning and refrigeration, paint booths, and laboratory fume hoods.

Boilers: Many hospitals operate industrial boilers, which generate criteria pollutants (NOx, SO2, particulates, CO) as well as hazardous air pollutants. NOx emissions from boilers are the most serious criteria air pollutant generated by the healthcare industry. Click here for information regarding EPA’s new HAP regulations for boilers.

Incinerator emissions: As a result of the Medical/Infectious Waste Incinerators HMIWI rule, most facilities no longer have on site-incinerators.

Healthcare Sustainability:

Through training, education, source-separation, environmental purchasing, energy conservation, recycling initiatives and waste minimization, a green initiative will have a major impact on reducing waste and pollution. Healthcare facilities should organize a multi-disciplinary team of healthcare professionals and establish a sustainability program if they haven’t already done so. A Green Team will reduce waste from healthcare operations while saving money. Paying attention to the little things pays big dividends. It is also an important component of any organization’s public relations and marketing arsenal.

Understanding Self-Insured Retention (SIR) Programs – Healthcare Equipment Maintenance

The current economy has forced healthcare organizations across the country to search for ways to save money. As a result, many organizations are investigating the annual cost of maintaining their healthcare equipment inventory. In the past, it was common practice for healthcare organizations to purchase Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) service agreements for all their healthcare systems from patient monitoring to sophisticated diagnostic imaging systems. However, OEM service agreements are often quite expensive, service options are limited, and reports on financial cost benefit analysis, vendor issues, or equipment performance are rarely provided.

As a means to reduce maintenance costs and gain control over their maintenance budget, many healthcare organizations are challenging the rising cost of OEM service agreements by building in-house service capabilities, purchasing multi-vendor service programs, and working with providers of Equipment Maintenance Management Programs for customized solutions. Many healthcare organizations have found that a hybrid solution, using a combination of in-house biomedical staff with an Equipment Maintenance Management Program (EMMP) and the selective purchase of necessary OEM service agreements, provides the best long-term and cost effective solution. This approach provides the greatest level of control, vendor flexibility, and cost containment possible to handle the wide range of equipment utilized by healthcare organizations.

Over the past few years, insurance brokers have been promoting an insurance solution to address the healthcare maintenance cost issue – the Self-Insured Retention (SIR) Program. In insurance terms, this product is known as a deductible program. While the SIR Program is currently offered by a handful of insurance companies, aggressive insurance broker marketing of this product in the healthcare space has created interest, questions, and some confusion.

The SIR Program is explained in detail below. It is important to note that the potential financial benefits of the SIR Program rely on many variables and can be overstated by the insurance broker if they rely upon unreasonably low maintenance cost assumptions. In order to evaluate the potential benefit of the proposed SIR Program, it is imperative to consider all the factors described below.

What is the SIR Program?
SIR stands for Self-Insured Retention, which is an insurance policy using an aggregate deductible structure as a means for limiting overall maintenance costs for insured equipment. Unlike your typical personal insurance experience, whereby a homeowner’s policy may include a “per event” deductible limit, the SIR Program is an aggregate deductible. This means the insured must pay for the cost of maintaining their equipment, and the insurance policy will provide no financial protection, until the policy deductible limit has been satisfied. At that point, the deductible policy begins to function like a traditional insurance policy and future maintenance expenses, “losses”, may be eligible for reimbursement.

The SIR Program replaces OEM service agreements with an insurance vehicle for limiting maintenance costs. The healthcare organization identifies specific equipment to be insured, cancels the OEM service agreements, and enters into the SIR Program to limit maintenance cost exposure for that equipment. The insured (healthcare organization) pays the provider insurance premium for the coverage, plus an administrative fee to cover account servicing and insurance broker commissions. The insurance coverage only becomes relevant when the client has satisfied the policy deductible. The insurance company unilaterally determines what maintenance expenses will be applied to the deductible. The client is responsible for paying all maintenance costs for the covered equipment until such time as the insurance company agrees that the maintenance expenses were both eligible for coverage under the contract and have reached an aggregate level equal to the deductible.

Example 1: $100,000 in OEM Service Agreement

SIR Premium Plus Administrative Cost $25,000
Insurance Policy Deductible $60,000
Total Cost $85,000

Proposed Savings $15,000 (15%)

Insurance brokers will often present proposals that demonstrate the additional savings possible to the client should actual maintenance costs be less than the deductible.

Example 2: $100,000 in OEM Service Agreement

SIR Premium Plus Administrative Cost $25,000
Insurance Policy Deductible $60,000

Actual Maintenance Costs Paid By Client $30,000
Maintenance Costs Reimbursed By Insurance Policy $0
Clients Net Maintenance Costs $30,000
Total Program Cost ($25,000 + $30,000) $55,000

Illustrated Savings / Losses $45,000 (45%)

Under this example, the insurance broker can argue that potential savings will be a minimum of 15%, but could be much larger (45% illustrated above). Unfortunately, it is more complicated than described above and like any insurance deductible program, the devil is in the details. The insurance contract defines what types of maintenance events are eligible for coverage under the policy. It is critical that the SIR policy coverage exactly match service agreement coverage or there will be coverage gaps that lead to unexpected higher costs for the client. It is possible that some maintenance events will be declared ineligible for coverage under the insurance policy leaving the client responsible for the payment. Further, it is the responsibility of the insured (healthcare organization) to track all maintenance activity, collect all maintenance documentation required by the insurance company, and submit the information and documentation to the insurance company in a timely manner in order to have the claim applied against the policy deductible (or reimbursed once the deductible is satisfied). Unless the healthcare organization has the systems, personnel, and processes in place to handle all this additional administrative work, there is a good chance that potentially covered maintenance events may not be counted against the deductible or ultimately reimbursed under the insurance contract.

In the following example, we consider the possibility that maintenance expenses incurred are declared ineligible for coverage under the policy. The resulting financial impact to the healthcare organization could result in a significant increase in maintenance costs relative to the original OEM cost baseline. Please note that insurance contracts terms and conditions, policy exclusions, and defined coverage levels will dictate the level of protection provided by the SIR Program. It is critical that potential purchasers of these insurance programs conduct their own review of the specific contract.

Example 3: $100,000 in OEM Service Agreement

SIR Premium Plus Administrative Cost $25,000
Insurance Policy Deductible $60,000

Actual Maintenance Costs Paid By Client $99,000
Maintenance Costs Reimbursed By Insurance Policy $10,000
Clients Net Maintenance Costs $89,000
Total Program Cost ($25,000 + $89,000) $114,000

Illustrated Savings / Losses ($14,000) (-14%)

Example 3 demonstrates that the SIR Program could actually result in the client paying more than the original OEM Service Agreement cost. In the case of diagnostic imaging equipment, that contain proprietary X-Ray tubes that can cost over $200,000, one maintenance event declared ineligible for coverage or not applied against the deductible can turn the economics of this type of insurance program upside down for the client.

Who can utilize the SIR Program?
Any healthcare organization that currently purchases equipment maintenance contracts on their electronic equipment is able to utilize the SIR Program.

When is the SIR Program beneficial to the client?
The SIR Program may be beneficial to a healthcare organization if:
1) They possess the internal systems, personnel, and controls to administer the insurance claims submission process;
2) The policy coverages and limits contained in the SIR contract mirror and conform to the prior service agreement coverages; and
3) If actual maintenance expenditures incurred are favorable (less than normally expected for healthcare equipment).

The client is typically required to take on all the administrative duties of processing and tracking every claim on every single piece of equipment under the program. Every maintenance event must be paid immediately by the client with satisfactory documentation and proof sent in a timely manner to the insurance company. The insurance company reviews the claim, determines coverage eligibility, and either denies the claim, seeks additional information, or applies the claim against the deductible policy. Because the very nature of the SIR Program is to utilize a sophisticated insurance contract to insure the maintenance cost exposure of healthcare equipment, it is imperative that the client be familiar with all policy inclusions and exclusions. It is important to note that the maintenance requirements of complex healthcare systems do not always conform to the straight-forward “black and white” terms and conditions of the insurance contract.

Where is the SIR Program sold?
The SIR Program is sold by insurance brokers nationwide in the healthcare market segment. This type of product, which is primarily an insurance deductible policy, is generally sold to healthcare organization risk managers and CFO’s.

Why is the SIR Program sold?
The SIR Program is sold as an insurance vehicle to address the financial risk associated with equipment maintenance. The insured pays the premium upfront, pays all maintenance expenses, and submits claims to the insurance company to be applied against the deductible or for reimbursement once the deductible is satisfied. If the client’s actual maintenance expenses are less than the deductible, and everything works as promised, it is possible for the client to save money relative to the original service agreement cost baseline. If maintenance costs are high, if the client lacks the internal staff and processes to handle the additional administrative workload, if claims are not submitted in time, or the insurance company denies submitted claims due to coverage limitations or policy exclusions, it is possible the client may actually pay more than the original service agreement cost baseline.

Conclusion
The SIR Program is an alternative to Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) service agreements. This type of program is a sophisticated insurance vehicle designed to transfer some of the financial risk of maintaining healthcare equipment to an insurance company. Like all insurance policies, it is critical that policy coverage levels, inclusions, exclusions, and policy terms and conditions provide coverage equal to (or greater) than what was provided by the OEM service agreements. The SIR Program client must also possess the tools and resources necessary to track maintenance activity throughout the year. There should be no question as to which invoices were paid, denied, and reimbursed. Finally, it is critical that the actual equipment maintenance cost performance, and the types of maintenance events incurred, fall under the insurance policy defined coverage levels. The SIR Program can provide a wide range of financial outcomes based upon a number of variables. The healthcare organization would be wise to perform significant “due diligence” and not rely upon the optimistic promises offered by the insurance broker, who is not an expert on healthcare equipment maintenance. In other words, caveat emptor or “Let the buyer beware.”