Winning awards is great for morale. When your hospital is named “Top 50” in this or “one of the 100 best” at that, it makes your physicians, staff and volunteers feel good about the place they work. And to show their pride, they want to plaster it everywhere. Put up a sign, take out an ad, put it on a billboard, launch a tv campaign.
They’re not alone. Honors and awards are among the most commonly used copy points in healthcare advertising. Do you want your hospital advertising to be common, or differentiate you from the competition?
Here are a few more good reasons to avoid using awards and honors in your advertising:
- Research has shown them to have little influence over hospital preference
- They are far less credible than recommendations from trusted sources
- When the competition wins a better award, any advantage you may have had is gone
If your hospital is honored, or is newly or re-accredited by JCAHO, celebrate it internally. Congratulate your team. It’s evidence of a job well done. They’ve earned it.
But please resist putting awards and honors in your advertising. Its a waste of money and could very well work against you in the long run.
Please add a comment
Candace Quinn
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Nov 16th, 2011
Credibility is a key point, and consumers today have issues. Here's a link to the larger discussion of emotional v. rational http://healthcareadvertisingethics.blogspot.com/2011/10/emotional-vs-rational-debate.html
Jim Blair
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Nov 17th, 2011
Agree with author and many recent articles which have questioned the reliability of "the best of this for that condition". One variable which is never included in these awards is Physical Safety and Security or safety of the locus of care. The other weakness is that it is based on retro-review of care. Does the trusting public ever know that "important members of the "greatest team" has moved on or economic hard times has changed the Nurse-Patient mix? My latest book"DEADLY NEGLECT: Apathy and Denial vs Act of God" all hospitals and nursing homes in New Orleans had DHHS,CMS-contractor accreditation or certification "safe and secure quality healthcare goes on here". Post Katrina 34% of the 931 the bodies found in the New Orleans area were found in Hospitals and Nursing Homes. You can get great clinical care on the West Coast, but it is prudent to ask if the hospital is seismically upgraded both externally and internally. If you beleive that the area is safe from earthquakes for 30 years while the rest of the world including the rest of the "circle of fire" is quaking you will be joining apathy and denial gang. Stay Safe, Jim
Clifton D. Croan MA, LPC, DAPA, FAPA
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Nov 21st, 2011
No, because (to date) none of the awards/ratings are data based. But you can get yourself a snappy name and pretend you are offering a "grade".
Corey Shank
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Nov 21st, 2011
No, and no need to comment because Clifton has already explained why.
Frank Tiedemann
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Nov 21st, 2011
Not yet, or until CMS begins to publish it's quality ratings for accountable care organizations. Even then it will take time for the public to notice and act on what promises to be the most stringent quality measures to date.
Clifton D. Croan MA, LPC, DAPA, FAPA
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Nov 21st, 2011
Here's an article you may find interesting on the subject: http://www.annalsofpsychotherapy.com/articles/news/150/15/36-8-More-Thing-to-Come
And for the sarcastic (Corey): http://www.freshpatents.com/Healthcare-data-system-dt20080904ptan20080215365.php - Corey this is the first US patent for a data based method of fiscal review. Enjoy that crow pie.
Frank - CMS actually doesn't perform legitimate QA or UA/UM. The reference for that is an audit call the Mercer Report, Nov 2006 available at the Office of the Auditor (Colorado). VERY interesting.
Warren White
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Nov 21st, 2011
Awards and ratings are too subjective. Especially considering most publications use them as tools to make their advertisers feel what they are doing is working. It is an soft incentive for the advertiser to keep on putting money into that particular media vehicle. We as ad agencies don't like them due to the metrics that are used to determine the ratings, because a media plan is more than one ad in one issue of the one publication. It's all about the overall integrated media plan.
Michael Morgan
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Nov 21st, 2011
What about Joint Commission, HFAP, Magnet? Are you referring these awards/ratings as well. Please clarify.
Mark Shipley
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Nov 21st, 2011
Interesting question, Michael. From the perspective of referring and admitting physicians, JCAHO, HFAP and Magnet likely bring something to the marketing table. However, I would venture to guess that a small percentage of consumers actually know what these authorities do. And any bump in credibility has been greatly diluted by the plethora of misleading and pay for play awards found in healthcare advertising.
Clifton D. Croan MA, LPC, DAPA, FAPA
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Nov 21st, 2011
Here's a clarifying reflection: "Would you select your care, if it was a mortal issue, guided by any of the mentioned bodies?", or would you rather we built systems that truly reflected provider ratings/rankings based on truly data driven rationales ? Take a gander at that APA article I noted above and you'll see my family's response to the situation I've outlined about a mortal issue.
May I also share my lasting admiration for Dr. Ashish Jha's (Harvard and Mass Gen'l)research that is the pioneering work in MD/facility rankings/ratings.
John Baltazar
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Nov 21st, 2011
Good points, Mr. Morgan and Mr. Croan. The question to both perspective is the validity of the data being measured. I guess I have to read Dr Jha's piece. Thanks for sharing..
Patrick Lynch, CBET, CCE, MBA
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Nov 21st, 2011
I do not place any credence on awards. I recently visited the website of EVERY hospital in Ohio. Almost every one of them is in the top 10%! In looking closer, there are so many specialty and competing awards out there that virtually every hospital can have an award in something. The criteria for each award are too difficult to research. I am sure that some are "Pay for Play" awards. I just do not believe that 90% of hospitals can be in the top 10%.
Scott Wolfe
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Nov 22nd, 2011
I think they have some credibility, but should be used with caution. For example, if you are recognized by Health Grades as a top hospital in a given service line, but have never been similarly recognized by Thompson Reuters or USN&WR, nor have stellar corresponding patient satisfaction scores, it is a bit hollow to trumpet those rankings in a vacuum.
Clifton D. Croan MA, LPC, DAPA, FAPA
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Nov 22nd, 2011
There's that snappy name. I had an opportunity to attend a seminar on their method of "grading". It was....naw, Mom said if I can't say anything nice to not say anything at all.
Corey
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Nov 29th, 2011
An article from American Medical News: "Patient-rating websites top Google searches for best doctors" http://bit.ly/te0YjU
Mark Shipley
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Nov 29th, 2011
Corey,
A great article on the confusion around hospital ratings AND the importance of participating in social platforms and review sites. Not only do consumers hold referrals from those in their social network highly, but so do search engines. As hospitals move online, its important that they keep these sites in mind as part of their communications strategies.
