Earlier this month the nation witnessed another tricky day for the government and the problematic health bill. The bill was approved by the MPs but will no doubt face further opposition when it reaches the House of Lords. For us the question is how will the bill affect marketing strategy in the healthcare environment? Are suppliers prepared to make the most of the opportunities presented to them by the bill?

As the House of Commons avidly debated the structure of the NHS, our PR Director Felicity Knights attended the Independent Healthcare Forum where she listened to key opinion formers (and the odd policy maker) discuss the implications of the bill for the private sector. It still appears that regardless of which government is driving the policy, some things remain a perquisite to success: the need for better communication, improved transparency and increased choice.

A compare the market for healthcare providers?

Not for the first time it was stated that if every healthcare provider supported a common framework of indicators, it would make commissioners jobs a lot easier and ultimately  patients better informed and able to make decisions. As Professor Ian Greener from the School of Applied Social Sciences at Durham University pointed out: “For schools we have league tables, why not introduce something similar for acute care providers?” He went on to say: “Imagine a compare the market for healthcare providers where a patient can compare like for like.”

No doubt this would involve a great debate and amount of academic scrutiny to determine the national criteria for ‘quality’ and ultimately ruling which elements should be measured. Personally, I’m not too concerned as long as it happens and there is transparency.

Too few patients exercise their right to choose.

I learned from Mark Hunt (Managing Director of CareUK) that patients make their decision based on experience or what they learned from a neighbour or friend. Apparently 75% of GPs provide patients with a choice but only 39% exercise their right to choose. Their choice of care provider should be based on quality and outcome measurements not word of mouth tittle tattle. Information needs to be easily understood and accessible. Marketing can only improve a patient’s knowledge and inevitably choice.

Undeniably the NHS is one of the strongest brands in the UK. It can treat anything from birth to death and there isn’t a private sector healthcare brand that can compete. However, there are private sector brands that can outperform the NHS in terms of clinical effectiveness, cleanliness, outcome data etc. In order that commissioners and patients understand it on a local basis, even the experts at the Laing and Buisson conference stated that it is going to good old-fashioned promotion and marketing that will get the messages out there.

Visit the Laing & Buisson Independent Healthcare Forum.