October 2006

Six Sigma PR

Part Six in a Continuing Series on Healthcare IT Public Relations

          Today brings a guest blog post from my colleague Mark McClennan, APR, on Six Sigma practices applied to public relations.

          While PR professionals focus a good deal of time and effort measuring the results of their campaigns, they typically spend relatively little time examining internal operations and measurement unless something goes wrong. If an agency stays within its billable hours, a department stays within its line item budget, and objectives are reached-- they often declare success, and the team moves on to the next project.

          But that is a limited view, and it assumes that the current way of doing things at your organization cannot improve. Internal measurement, when done correctly, can significantly improve operations and program results. It is just as important to apply rigorous measurement standards and best practices to internal processes and operations as it is to scrutinize PR campaigns.

          For many companies, just measuring campaign activities is not enough for senior management. Reporting that the PR team called 20 reporters, held a special event or secured five articles does not meet management's needs. They want to understand what business objectives those activities accomplished.

          It is relatively easy to measure activity and output. Unfortunately, that does not give a complete or accurate view. Many internal areas are ripe for quantitative measurement, including:

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Posted by Shawn Whalen on October 20, 2006 at 4:42 PM
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Pop Goes the IPO

Gone are the days of IPO mania and stock run ups. I had the pleasure to be part of several client IPOs in the Bubble hey days.  So a 78% rise in the opening day of eHealth’s IPO was nice to see.  The stock was priced at $14, above its pricing range of $10-$12, and opened at $25 (up 78%) and closed at $22.90 (up 64%). eHealth provides a portal to compare and sell health insurance. At a projected $65 million in revenue for ’06, valuation is 68 times earnings. Pretty expensive premium.  We’ll check in again in six months.  From my perspective working with emerging growth tech and healthcare companies, I hear many hopeful plans for ’07 IPOs so look for more such action next year.

Posted by Shawn Whalen on October 13, 2006 at 4:25 PM
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Profitceuticals

While public and private interest groups wring their hands about the ever-increasing cost of drugs, one drug list publisher quietly wields monumental impact on pricing.  First DataBank, a unit of Hearst Corp., publishes a benchmark list of pharmaceutical prices that health plans and state Medicaid programs use as a guide.

As reported in the Wall Street Journal on Oct. 6, First DataBank reached a legal settlement in a case of price gouging. Implicated was McKesson, who is the only company that First DataBank "surveys" to arrive at price averages. As a result of the settlement, prices on many of the most common drugs will be lowered.

This is an egregious example of unmonitored pricing, one which when addressed does more to help alleviate pricing than all the excuses of pharma executives.

Posted by Shawn Whalen on October 8, 2006 at 4:34 PM
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Bridging CDH Islands

This week I wanted to share an interesting column on consumer directed healthcare. Benefitfocus CEO Shawn Jenkins wrote in Health-IT World an insightful piece on overcoming the data challenges to make CDH a reality.

Integration: The Key to Bridging CDH Islands
By Shawn Jenkins

Consumerism is the biggest trend in healthcare in 30 years, as the combined forces of federal and state government, the private sector, and consumer advocacy groups call for greater healthcare transparency and cost control. CDH [spell out – does it stand for consumer-directed health?] plans offer patients more flexibility in selecting doctors; large networks; and financial control over their healthcare. For employers, CDH plans reduce premium rates and annual cost increases but are complex to design and administer.

But what will it take to make CDH a reality?

Consider this vision of an integrated CDH portal: An expectant mother, uncertain and nervous of her many health options, uses a CDH portal to obtain the best information to make choices. An integrated portal should show which insurance plan is best for her family's care, the best local labor and delivery hospitals, compare nearby pediatricians, and offer immediate advice on financial planning and spending. Her employer, health plan, and doctor communicate electronically, thereby improving care while reducing costs.

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Posted by Shawn Whalen on October 5, 2006 at 2:53 PM
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