Transforming Healthcare Thought Leadership | E. 96

The pandemic changed the face of healthcare as we knew it. Expert marketing strategist Lisa Larter explains why every hospital leader needs to rethink their view of thought leadership to Lisa Miller. 

 

Episode Introduction 

Lisa explains why thought leadership is essential in the era of Doctor Google, why different is better than better, and the importance of an online presence for healthcare leaders. She also highlights the 3 R’s of reviews, referrals and reputation, the importance of truth telling, and why every thought leadership strategy should begin with the end in mind.  

 

Show Topics

 

• Reimagining healthcare thought leadership 

• All of us have the same Doctor – Doctor Google

• Every healthcare leader needs their own brand

• Focus on your patients, not your peers

• Reputation is the driver behind success

• Effectively responding to patient reviews 

• Managing patient expectations is key to thought leadership

• Begin with the end in mind

 

 

03:25 Reimagining healthcare thought leadership 

Lisa said thought leadership is a vital part of patient care

‘’So when a hospital commits to thought leadership, not only is it a great tool for people to find when they're searching for information, but it's also a great tool to use as part of their patient care strategy. So if I'm someone who is recently diagnosed with let's say cancer, or diabetes, or a heart condition, it doesn't matter what it is, if a hospital has done a great job at creating thought leadership, they should have an area that they can direct me to that educates me on what to expect, that reassures me, that informs me, that really answers my most common questions and prepares me for the journey that I'm about to go on. Too often, I think people go to a doctor and they get some type of a diagnosis, and then they go home and they try to figure things out on their own. And I think that hospitals that are really, really committed to thought leadership are doing it so that one, people can find the information. But two, they can prescribe the information as part of their patient care strategy.’’

 

12:03 All of us have the same Doctor – Doctor Google

Lisa explained why an online presence is essential to prevent misinformation. 

‘’The first line of defense for all of us is Google. And before we've even seen a doctor, we're asking Dr. Google to tell us what's going on. And so if you understand anything about SEO, you understand that when somebody types a query into Google, you need to match the query in order to show up on the first, second, third page of Google. And if you're not creating thought leadership, then there's no way for your expertise, your thought leadership as a doctor to show up there. What might be happening is a mommy blogger who is passionate about a particular ailment because she had it or her mom had it, has been blogging about this thing. And she shows up there, because she's written more about it than an actual expert who is highly skilled and trained on the same topic. And so what happens is we go down these rabbit holes of reading information, and we don't know what is misinformation and what is legitimate information. ….so you can find whatever it is you're looking for, but that doesn't mean what you're reading is scientifically backed and/or was put together by a professional that really knows what they're talking about. And so I think Dr. Google is a scary thing, but it's the default.’’ Today's healthcare systems and hospitals, especially in rural communities, are slower than ever to service patients in need. And so when you're sitting at home and you're not feeling well, and you have to wait weeks or months to get in to see a specialist, what do you do? You talk to Dr. Google.’’ 

 

15:24 Every healthcare leader needs their own brand 

Lisa said healthcare leaders need to make it easy for prospective patients to find them. 

‘’…. when Covid hit, a bunch of doctors, national, local, rural were thrown into the spotlight, because people were looking for information. They wanted to understand