Legislation

A Marketer’s Skills Can Make Advocacy Better

Headshot of Michael Crawford
By Michael Crawford

Healthcare marketing professionals often focus on reaching potential patients as well as the upstream employer, broker, health plan and physician audiences that have an impact on where patients go for care. Less often they participate in government relations efforts and advocacy. Is this a missed opportunity?

Decisions by state and federal government have a significant impact on access to care and can cause big swings in the bottom lines of practices, hospitals and health systems. Some high-profile issues spark intense debate, such as suspending individual mandate penalties, which other decisions, such as supplemental funding for Disproportionate Share Hospitals, tend to attract interest only in legislative committees.

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Headshot of Michael Crawford

Michael Crawford

Michael Crawford became interested in healthcare listening to the conversations around the patio table as his parents and their colleagues talked about work. For the past 30 years he's used his marketing expertise to help medical groups, hospitals and health systems connect with consumers, physicians, employers, brokers and health plans. He advocates for a strategic approach to marketing, audience-based communications, coordination between marketing and customer service functions, and early inclusion of the marketing discipline when planning services. His work has earned more than a dozen awards over the past few years. He’s no stranger to healthcare reorganizations or healthcare reform, from the failed effort during the 90s to the implementation of the ACA to today’s efforts at repeal. His blog, Healthcare Marketing Survival Guide, offers advice for B2C and B2B healthcare marketers trying to chart their course during uncertain times. Connect with him via LinkedIn or follow him on Twitter @health_crawford.

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