Why medical advertisers should focus on patient engagement appeals

Government incentives drive organizations to provide better patient care and reduce the number of unnecessary hospital readmissions. These incentives encourage organizations to develop optimized workflows, improve clinical documentation, make investments in advanced information technology, and more.

Physicians who want incentive payments from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) can't achieve these goals on their own. They require new technologies, upgraded equipment and expert advice. This need creates an environment ripe for advertisers of potentially relevant products and services.

Appealing to a physician's need for fewer unnecessary hospital readmissions could be a good strategy for generating new leads - but it requires a better understanding of the current compliance landscape.

A push for fewer readmissions

In 2012, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) created the Hospital Readmissions Reduction Program (HRRP), specifically targeting Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries. An independent study conducted by researchers at the University of Colorado found that HRRP noticeably drove down the rate of readmissions. From 2007 to 2011, the all-cause 30-day readmission rate for Medicare recipients was 19.5 percent. By 2013, the rate had fallen to 17.5 percent.

With the introduction of the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act (MACRA), the federal government created additional incentives for providers who can lower their readmission rates. In fact, the Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) rewards successful provider organizations with an additional incentive payment of up to 5 percent of total Medicare reimbursements.

Physicians with large Medicare patient populations focus on reducing the rate of hospital readmissions.

MIPS performance objectives

There are three performance categories under MIPS, each with its own set of tasks. Organizations choose which tasks are most relevant to their practice and submit improvement data to CMS.

• Quality: Highly specific tasks meant to improve patient outcomes. May relate to specific diseases, such as diabetes and coronary artery disease.
• Advancing care information: Technical improvements to electronic health records and other health information technology.
• Improvement activities: These tasks focus on increasing patient access to health data, as well as coordinating care across departments and between provider organizations.

If advertisers' products or services could help organizations achieve these goals, they should consider appealing to this need in their media campaigns.

Appealing to cost-sensitive physicians

The incentives from CMS can be significant, but physicians still need to make an initial investment in new processes, services and technology before they can reap the benefits of the aforementioned improvement tasks. Advertisers should consider positioning themselves as cost-effective solutions to mission-critical improvement goals.

To take advantage of these needs, advertisers should reassess their target personas. By researching the relationships between patient needs and physician goals, they can determine where these obligations overlap and how their products and services fulfill those objectives.

For example, a provider attempting to reduce unnecessary hospital readmissions may seek out new ways of engaging patients. A pharmaceutical manufacturer could develop informational collateral about its products to help patients follow their treatment plans more closely. Then, advertisers can highlight this collateral within display ads, appealing to the physician's need for increased patient engagement.

Advertising channels matter

To make these appeals effective, physicians need to find them in reputable sources. Utilizing multiple advertising channels is an effective way to ensure a message is seen by the highest number of relevant readers. That's what makes peer-reviewed content so enticing to media buyers. Doctors access peer-reviewed articles in print and digital journals as well as via expert-curated sites. Our infographic explains how modern physicians consume content in the digital age.

To learn about how Elsevier can help you reach your target audience, contact us today.