Does anyone have any ideas regarding marketing of home programs?
What is legal in how a clinic may use media to advertise and develop strategies for capture of patients?
I work for a small independent unit currently offering home therapies . I find we are greatly underutilized in our area, mainly due to our low nephrologist participation. Does anyone capture patients by offering joint priviledges with other nephrologists in their capture area in order to obtain patients?
There are over 300 patients in my area who are receiving little information regarding home therapies. This is due to the fact that the largest providers in the area do not offer enough education to these patients regarding this modality and the nephrologist lack of participation in the clinics in my area providing home therapy.
Interesting question! We started Home Dialysis Central to “market” PD and home hemo–to raise awareness and use of these therapies, as it says right on our home page. But we’ve really found that the whole idea of “marketing” a clinic is a very new one that people aren’t very comfortable with yet. So, you’re on the cutting edge for even thinking about it. In general, patients find out their kidneys are failing from their nephrologist, who then refers them to a clinic he or she has privileges at. Patients often don’t find out for months or even years that they had choices of treatments and of clinics–except for the ones who get on the Internet and start looking for information.
Clinics who want to market themselves nationally (some people do move to get home treatments) can purchase a sponsored center listing in our “Find a Center” database. You can see an example of such a listing at: http://www.homedialysis.org/v1/centers/sponsor_details.php?provider_num=502500--it’s basically a page just for your clinic. This costs about $80/mo–$1,000 year to reach our visitors. The database is always one of the most visited parts of the site, and last month we had 56,000 visitors. Have you checked your clinic’s listing in the database? Is it up to date?
Another way to market your clinic is to order free Home Dialysis Central postcards to give out to new patients (e.g., in CKD education classes), to current in-center patients, at local health fairs, etc., along with information about your clinic. Patients and family members can then find out about the types of home treatment from a neutral, credible, non-profit source, and then know where they can get the treatments they want.
Reach out to your local community–invite the press to visit your clinic and do an article, do a booth at health fairs (or sponsor a Kidney Information Fair yourself), go on local talk radio or local cable TV, etc.
We’re in the process of setting up a “How to Start a Home Program” section of the site that will include a Consultant’s Corner. We can think about including something about marketing a home program–so if anyone has done this and would like to contact us so we can do an article, we’d love to hear from you. In the meantime, we’re here to support the growth of home dialysis, so if there is anything else we can do to help, please let us know.
What is legal in how a clinic may use media to advertise and develop strategies for capture of patients?
…There are no issues with sending information to patients advertising your program. However, there are lots of HIPPA issues relating to getting their names and addresses, so direct marketing is not really a viable option except to patient in your own center. You can put advertising in newspapers and on radio and television, but that is a lot of money to reach a relatively small group of people. You can try calling the local paper and TV station to see if they would be interested in doing a human interest story on one of your patient.
I work for a small independent unit currently offering home therapies . I find we are greatly underutilized in our area, mainly due to our low nephrologist participation. Does anyone capture patients by offering joint priviledges with other nephrologists in their capture area in order to obtain patients?
……………When I was an administrator I took great pains to make sure as many Nephrologists in the area as possible had privileges. I would suggest sending all of them a letter telling them about your program. Have an open house and invite them all to visit and see what you are doing. Send them regular updates about your program. At some point they will see a patient who wants to try home dialysis, and you want your name to come to the Nephrologists mind. It may take a long time, but you will not get more patients without physician support.
There are over 300 patients in my area who are receiving little information regarding home therapies. This is due to the fact that the largest providers in the area do not offer enough education to these patients regarding this modality and the nephrologist lack of participation in the clinics in my area providing home therapy.
… Get involved with your local NKF affiliate and help with their “People Like Us Live” program. If they don’t put one on in your area, offer to help them. Remember that this is an opportunity to educate about the modalities in general, not promote your program specifically.
Hey, your welcomed to advertise at my site at http://www.dailyhemo.org …I have a banner spot there. I can provide the banner graphics service at no cost to you. However, I would really want a donation to keep that site going. You can also register there and submit your own newsletters for the public to read. Actually anyone can send news and pics. All you need to do is register…
The idea is a great one…now go getter the patients and make them happy! 8)
My website, www.igan.ca is totally non-commercial, with no advertising of any kind (which I think helps maintain an atmosphere of complete objectivity). It’s the major meeting place for IgA nephropathy patients on the internet, with it’s 1800 member-strong peer support group.
I’m prepared to start providing a list of dialysis providers on the website if anyone is interested. You can email me via this site, or via the comment box on www.igan.ca
Pierre
President
Foundation for IgA Nephropathy
www.igan.ca
Hi NephRN,
For 23 years, I have successfully provided staff-assisted home hemodialysis services to patients in Massachusetts. I would be happy to share with you how I went about marketing this very successful concept.
