Health Care

Four Health Care Communications Trends You Can’t Ignore in 2012 (From Ragan's Health Care Communications News)

By Nina Dunn on February 21, 2012 - 2:08pm

This year is going to be filled with uncertainty for the health care industry—and, as a result, for health care communications. For starters, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act will continue to reshape our health care system, and the Supreme Court will also decide whether an individual health care mandate is constitutional.

But even with so many political, economic and regulatory questions hanging in the air, here are four trends that will affect health care communications in 2012.

New Developments in Pharma/FDA Faceoff

By Nina Dunn on January 25, 2012 - 5:38pm

The pharmaceutical industry realizes it must participate in social media. After all, that’s where its customers — patients and health care providers — can be found. In fact, more than 65 percent of physicians use social media for professional purposes, while more than 40 percent of patients use it to find health-related information.

Long-term Care Insurance: Light at the End of the Tunnel

By Nina Dunn on December 21, 2011 - 1:00am

Now that the federal government’s CLASS Act has been shelved, the problem of paying for long-term care is back in the public eye. According to a 2011 MetLife report, the cost of a private room in a nursing home averages $87,000-plus a year, while the assisted living facility rate is more than $41,000 a year – and these massive costs are only expected to grow. Worse still, these sums do not include private aids or any of the special equipment a senior or disabled person might need.

Health Care

Health Care PR Trends in 2012

By Nina Dunn on December 20, 2011 - 3:49pm

As we're approaching the end of the year, many health care companies are creating new or revising existing PR strategies for 2012. So I thought it would be appropriate to look back at the health care developments of the passing 2011 and discuss some of the emerging trends in health care PR.

Don’t Fall into the App Trap

By Alison Clement on November 17, 2011 - 5:28pm

We are all familiar with the line “there’s an app for that.” Smart phones enable consumers to have the world at their fingertips. Most recently, consumers have been quick to adopt the idea of health apps, in hopes of downloading their way to a better and healthier life.

How To Create ‘Lean’ PR in the Healthcare Industry

By Nina Dunn on November 7, 2011 - 4:31pm

Leading healthcare companies will consistently return a profit, no matter what the economic climate, and each has its own strategies to achieve high revenues. But one strategy they all share is the streamlining and economizing of processes. This approach needn’t be limited to the production line and business strategies. Many of the world’s largest corporations have recently begun applying many of the same efficiency and quality control techniques to their communications departments.

Can Social Media Help us Fight Alzheimer’s?

By Nina Dunn on October 17, 2011 - 4:36pm

Social media is becoming an integral part of our lives and a powerful new way to communicate. The digital realm also offers us an opportunity to access health-related information on a whole new level. Today, thanks to social networking sites, patients, healthcare professionals and companies can have personal conversations in real time, wherever they are.

What About Blogs?

By Nina Dunn on September 26, 2011 - 4:35pm

According to the Pew Internet and American Life Project, more than half of all Americans search for health-related information online. Across the nation, people are turning to the web to learn more about diseases and their symptoms, research medical treatment options and even select a doctor or medical facility. And these consumers are not just going to medical resources (like WebMD and Mayo Clinic), Wikipedia and company pages: they’re also consulting trusted blogs for their healthcare information and support.

A Public Relations Primer for Professional Patient Advocates

By Nina Dunn on August 11, 2011 - 11:57am

Companies are always looking for foolproof communications techniques to increase the visibility and recognition of their brands. Although there are no silver bullets in public relations, one way to get greater publicity than usual is to leverage news cycles around awareness days, weeks and months. Although the number of such calendar days has significantly increased, and as a result its impact on the media has shrunk, many major awareness days/weeks are still significant enough to attract reporters’ attention.

Health Care

Census data reveal a new, masculine trend in eldercare

By Nina Dunn on August 10, 2011 - 4:32pm

It is a well-known fact that our nation is aging rapidly. However, a recently released census brief "Age and Sex Composition: 2010" revealed remarkable findings. The study found that in the last decade, the male population grew much faster than the female population in the 60-plus age group. The number of males between the ages of 60 and 74 increased by more than 35%, while their female counterparts increased by only 29%.

Health Care