Two health systems in different regions of the country used their Patient Relationship Management (PRM)^TM systems to solve different problems with positive results. At Central DuPage Health in Chicago's west side suburbs, the interdependent network of health care organizations and services had to prove the value of its nurse triage line to keep it. In doing so, it learned more about PRM technology and other ways it could favorably impact its operations.

At Franciscan Health System in Tacoma, Washington, the integrated provider developed a strategic marketing plan designed to bring patients into oncology services and improve market share, while simultaneously strengthening its brand image.

One of the obvious ways to improve the bottom line is to reduce or eliminate services and that's why the CEO at Central DuPage Health asked the marketing staff to consider discontinuing the nurse triage line. The marketing staff wasn't prepared to hear that message because of the service's high volume and customer satisfaction. However, it realized it had to quickly prove the value of service and turned to the centralized database and tracking system it been building that could match a caller's name with the same name at any touch point in the health system.

Using this Patient Relationship Management (PRM)^TM database, Central DuPage Health determined that it gained $1,808,755 inpatient and outpatient charges from its Physician Information and Referral Line during a 10-month tracking period, and $1,505,053 inpatient and outpatient charges tracked through its Nurse Line, with total bottom line net results at $800,000. Central DuPage considered these conservative estimates, however, because there likely was other downstream revenue attributed to callers' family members who had services but weren't matched with the callers.

Ultimately, this situation paid off more than Central DuPage anticipated. By learning how to apply PRM system capabilities to prove the worth of its call center, the health provider gained important market knowledge about the needs and use of health services by individuals in its service areas, which changed its overall approach to planning and strategy.

At Franciscan Health System, a new marketing plan took shape when the provider discovered a slight decline in its oncology services. To better assess market activity, Franciscan Health System used its PRM database and analytical software to conduct a market gap analysis to determine the difference between what the system was providing and what the market was consuming.

The analysis revealed that the health provider had a strong and profitable marketing position in oncology services but that its share had declined slightly over the previous year, and its overall oncology share was not as strong as Franciscan Health System's share in other, less profitable service lines.

With this data, the organization developed a more strategic marketing plan to bring patients into services most likely to benefit them. It included a goal of attracting 40 percent of new incremental business from women and obtaining an average charge per patient to meet revenue and return on investment goals.

To determine its best audience and campaign focus to meet these goals, Franciscan Health System used another PRM feature-predictive segmentation. By scoring its database with the patent-pending Consumer Healthcare Utilization Index (CHUI)^SM DRG Group 9-Hematology/Oncology, Franciscan Health System found it should focus on detection and education of breast related cancer, male reproductive cancers and digestive malignancies.

The result was a six postcard, multi-drop campaign with topics relevant to the target audiences designed to encourage early detection, use of Franciscan Medical Group physicians, and to build relationships with non-patients, especially women. Franciscan Health used a control group that was not contacted during the campaign as a comparison against the target group to determine the true measure of response and revenue generated by the campaign.

The end result was a higher than projected incremental .73 percent use of its cancer-related services, with 60 percent of that coming from women-far more than the 40 percent it had anticipated. The overall ROI was more than $240,000.

To learn more about Central DuPage Health's use of its PRM system in various campaigns and revenue analysis and to get more details about the Franciscan Health System campaign, go to the Press Room at www.cpm.com to read the case studies, "Saving the Call Center: PRM to the Rescue," and "Prolonged Cancer Campaign," or contact CPM at 1-800-332-2631, ext. 221 or marketing@cpm.com for a copy.