Across the country, health care organizations are doing a new kind of planning to make better business and patient care decisions. One East Coast provider used the system to help identify services with the most market and financial potential. A Midwestern organization did volume projections in developing budgets with its finance department, while a West Coast system researched the feasibility of purchasing a major piece of therapeutic equipment.

Each of these organizations used their Patient Relationship Management (PRM)^TM system to accomplish market projections. They reached beyond the limited but more common vision of PRM for improved targeted marketing, and illustrated its value as a data and analytical source. That kind of knowledge finally gives marketing a more powerful voice within organizations and makes it an essential partner of operational planning. In the payer market, PRM offers tools for customer acquisition and increased stability of the member base as well as for pricing, risk and disease management.

The PRM system is ideal for powering comprehensive marketing research and analysis because it is a data-driven, patient/member focused approach to strategic planning and relationship building. In fact, patient/member relationship strategies are dependent on analysis, because the analysis illustrates what opportunities and problems exist in the market, and how services and programs can be adapted to meet those needs.

The following information is typical of what a health care organization can extract with the PRM system in number, chart or graph form:

Once the data assessment is complete, it's time to use the data and its underlying message to determine on which service lines and programs the organization should focus. Keep in mind that even unprofitable service lines could be important to maintain because they result in long-term business. Obstetrics is a perfect example.

As the plan reaches the point where service line goals and objectives are set, it's time to develop the tactics to achieve success. These include calculating the number of incremental patients you need above the current level, identifying the appropriate audience with predictive segmentation (see related article on the patent-pending Patient Disease Index^SM in this issue), and developing compelling and customized messages to achieve a measurable response and return on investment.

The final piece of the PRM system and its value lies in the ability to track results across all communication channels and to compare activity between a control group and the target group who received the communications. For each campaign, the PRM system generates a summary report that shows bottom line results: ROI, whether or not patient volume was increased, and the difference between the target and control groups to prove the incremental value of the campaign.

Using PRM for planning illustrates to your top executives that:

For the East Coast health system, the ROI tracking capabilities inherent in PRM have been a significant advantage. "The process of identifying the target audience, gearing a multi-message campaign personalized to that audience and having a tangible ROI may not be new to other industries, but it is very new to health care. The ability to see the needs/risks of those individuals in our market and to gear our messages and programs to meet those needs helps us to accomplish our mission of improving the health of the diverse community we serve."

PRM's ability to offer sound market analysis, campaign development and tracking, and proof of financial performance increases marketing's role and status within the organization. For more in-depth information, check out the white paper, "Using Your PRM System for Planning," in the Press Room at www.cpm.com or contact us at
1-800-332-2631, ext. 221 or marketing@cpm.com for a copy.