I joined healthcare’s most influential leaders in Washington, D.C. last week at Modern Healthcare’s annual summit. I was eager to listen in as they tackled the field’s toughest questions.
It’s no surprise that AI and tech’s impact was a common thread, commanding the attention of providers, researchers, payers, clinicians, and medical professional services alike. With vastly different viewpoints and predictions – some optimistic, some less so – there was one unifying quote that had everyone head nodding:
“The idea of two AI bots fighting back and forth over whether a claim should be denied or not is our living nightmare.” This was from a panel including major payers and providers.
Finding Clarity in the Chaos
As a communicator, I was searching for clarity. It’s easy to pontificate on complexities. It’s another to offer a distilled, simple framework rooted in truth toward a measurable solution. That is where communicators shine, after all – crafting strategies that reiterate a salient point across varied channels and audiences.
I got it when the head of AI for the Mayo Clinic, Micky Tripathi, offered a compelling construct for thinking about AI’s impact on healthcare. He broke it into three categories:
- Reduction of Administrative Burden. Think less hands-on keyboard “box-clicking” by nurses and more time at patient bedsides.
- Improvement of the Healthcare Practice. Imagine minimizing disruption of care by identifying inventory shortages and supply chain issues before critical supplies run out.
- Driving Transformational Change. Consider powering baseline biological research to uncover a cure for cancer at 10x the speed of manual data analysis.
I couldn’t wait to share it with my team – the first sign of a powerful message – because we as communications strategists know that tackling complex and shifting topics requires deceptively simple constructs.
However, ideas like this are only as good as an organization’s ability to communicate them. As employers and patients turn to leaders for answers, it’s up to the communications teams to “enter the chat” at the C-suite level and ensure these kinds of “lighthouse in the storm” directional insights are effectively cascaded to every person engaged in the healthcare industry.
Thanks to tech and innovation, communications strategies now need to cut across supply chain, clinical studies, research, specialty care, and more. The agencies that understand this are poised to help their healthcare partners navigate what’s next.
Connected Economies Require Nuanced Strategies
It became clear supply chain matters more than ever. Medline’s CEO, Jim Boyle, shared what’s possible through supply chain transparency, outlining how their new platform, Mpower – a Microsoft Copilot-powered system – brings AI into every step to expedite care.
“Imagine a world where we identify in real time that 20 medical supplies are about to expire but are sitting unused. Or, that the placement of a tool nurses use most often is stationed 18 steps too far away from the best point of caregiving. We can help get nurses back to what they entered the field to do in the first place, serving patients, by addressing these issues for them, fast.”
Now that’s a compelling message. But without effective communications plans, it won’t cut through the AI news-machine clutter.
What’s Next? Championing Innovation and Solutions Through Communicating What Matters Most
Healthcare has seen so much disruption and pain for consumers. So, it was encouraging to hear real discussions about addressing problems head-on through innovation rather than skepticism. There are incredible, life-altering stories to tell if we as communicators do our part. It’s up to us to ensure these breakthroughs in care and operational opportunities to support frontline workers are communicated with clarity, consistency, and measurable effectiveness. It won’t be easy.
Despite all the disruption, I’m optimistic. Our team at Reputation Partners is already tackling these challenges. We have a 23-year history of successfully navigating the most complex topics across categories. For example, we already understand global supply chain through our work with SEKO Logistics. We’ve unpacked the issues facing nursing today through our partnership with the National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN) and Albert Einstein College of Medicine. We’ve partnered with major health systems across the country to support employee relations because we believe in the power of clear and effective communications to navigate through any uncertain time. We’re comfortable in the C-suite, rolling up our sleeves to architect strategies and messaging alongside leaders to drive measurable outcomes and, most importantly, build trust.
Because without trust, there can be no transformation at all. And healthcare is in the middle of the biggest transformation yet. Communicating through uncertainty is what we do best, so I’m bullish on where we go from here – along with our healthcare partners – to continue shaping the strategies of the future. If you are uncertain at all, I hope you join us in the next phase of healthcare communications. It’s going to be a great journey.
Interested in learning how strategic communications and PR can build and protect your reputation in healthcare? Reach out to Kate O’Neil at [email protected].