Congratulations on successfully navigating the first six months of 2021. It’s been a year like no other. Other than a continued emphasis on controlling the spread of COVID-19, we can’t say with certainty what the rest of 2021 holds for medical professionals. But that’s not stopping us from identifying three healthcare marketing trends we expect to emerge in the second half of the year. Let’s get started.
Continuing the pandemic response
Fighting the coronavirus was the top priority for the White House starting in January. Though President Biden fell short of his goal of about 70% of Americans vaccinated with at least a single dose and 160 million fully immunized by the Fourth of July, he continues to urge those who are unvaccinated to receive their doses.
Not surprisingly, COVID will remain his #1 priority for the remainder of 2021 and, we suspect, into 2022. The Biden administration’s approach includes expanding testing and contact tracing, providing the Centers for Disease Control with better public health information from states.
Promoting the Affordable Care Act
Here is another one of the major healthcare marketing trends: support of the ACA. This has been another key focus of the White House. About 1 million people in 36 states enrolled in health plans via the ACA within the first three months of his administration, creating an enrollment period for the marketplace. To White House officials, it confirms the need for the ACA. Which gives Americans access to health insurance who previously could not afford it.
This is relevant because health insurance will pay for some elective surgeries. Many people may not realize that most elective surgery is paid by health plans – if not in whole. In fact, Medicare and Medicaid both cover elective surgeries.
Here’s the tricky part: the insurer must consider the surgery medically necessary. And that will vary by carrier, regardless of what a physician or surgeon may believe.
Increasing use of artificial intelligence
There’s always been data collected on patients and treatments in the healthcare industry. Now the introduction of artificial intelligence is transforming data usage. It’s also a key healthcare marketing trend.
Digital innovation is already helping to improve patient outcomes, spur preventative care and decrease workloads on physicians. Now, healthcare companies are using AI solutions to manage data. And like many organizations, chatbots are helping with customer service, fielding questions and providing answers -and allowing staff to concentrate on more urgent tasks.
Expect change to continue
As we stressed in a recent blog, caregivers, who aren’t offering patients digital and in-person appointments, may well lose business to practices that follow emerging healthcare marketing trends.
Our health and wellness marketing consultants know the industry well. Learn more about how we can help you effectively market your practice to prospective and existing patients and help you recover revenue lost over the past 16 months.
