Reputation Management

Why Hospitals Need an Effective Crisis Communication Plan

From Cyberattacks to Netflix – Control the Narrative During a Crisis

Why hospitals need an effective crisis communication plan

Healthcare can’t seem to catch a break. From pre-pandemic when a nurse shortage impacted hospitals across the country through the crippling challenges associated with COVID-19, the crisis never ends. As soon as you began settling into a new normal, a plethora of new worries sets in.

Physician shortages; mental and behavioral health crisis; technology—solution or roadblock—all add to the anxiety. Looming ominously over the industry is the real and present danger of cyberattacks—up 141% from 2022 to 2023— and ransomware. According to the American Hospital Association, ransomware attacks targeting US hospitals have increased by more than 300%.

With ever-present phone cameras, there is also the concern of privacy invasive images showing up on social media or, even worse, streaming online. The possibility of a hospital being the subject of a documentary such as Netflix’s “Take Care of Maya” makes it crucial to have a crisis communication plan in place.

For healthcare marketers, control over many threats is limited, but you can be prepared to quickly control the narrative and avoid a reputation crisis.

Preparing for a crisis.

Predicting a crisis can be difficult given the inherent element of unpredictability in crises. You generally don’t know what and when one is going to happen until it happens. Who could have anticipated a pandemic that brought the world to standstill for nearly two years?

Not that we want to become pessimistic, gloomy Eeyore, but being prepared with a crisis communication plan helps you control the narrative rather than other way around.

Most healthcare systems have crisis and emergency communication plans. If your hospital has one, when was it last updated? Revising a crisis communication plan rarely tops the priority list—unless there’s an active crisis, and it’s already too late. Despite COVID-19 bringing the world to a standstill, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) hasn’t updated its CERC Crisis + Emergency Risk Communication manual since 2018.

Whether a natural disaster, contagion outbreak or ransomware attack, be prepared to quickly disseminate information to your employees, patients, the media and community. Clear, reliable communication is key to keeping people calm, organized and safe and to continuing hospital operations while weathering the crisis. How an organization handles a crisis directly impacts its reputation.

When developing a crisis communication plan:

  1. Identify the core crisis team; list cell phone numbers, email addresses, video conference links and digital channels where team members can access updated information. Provide hard-copy manuals in case of power or Wi-fi outages.
  2. Plan a crisis response strategy. Keep it general to cover various scenarios.
  3. Plan to act quickly and strategically and in lock-step with the emergency plan for your hospital when a crisis occurs.
  4. Plan to conduct a post-crisis communication analysis and immediately update your plan with lessons learned. Conduct mock crisis exercises annually.

Following the 5 Cs of crisis communication.

When building and executing a crisis communication plan, keep these 5 Cs in mind:

  1. Concern. Audiences respond to human language, not corporate speak. Communicate with empathy and concern.
  2. Commitment. Let your audience know what steps the organization is taking to resolve the crisis and changes to prevent the same crisis in the future.
  3. Competency. Ensure internal and external audiences that the organization is doing everything possible to protect their health and safety.
  4. Clarity. Don’t assume; don’t guess; don’t speculate. State the facts, even if those need to be clarified in follow-up responses.
  5. Confidence. Communicate with confidence to inspire confidence and trust in  your audience.

Executing when a crisis occurs.

Being prepared helps you communicate efficiently and quickly when an incident occurs. In doing so, your hospital can concentrate on mitigating or correcting the situation, protecting patients and employees, and continuing operations. While you can’t predict how the crisis may impact your brand reputation, following proactive best practices can help elevate the organization during a crisis.

  1. Assemble the core crisis team and act quickly.
  2. Gather all possible facts and define the severity of the crisis.
  3. Prepare a holding statement if more time is needed to clearly identify the crisis.
  4. Draft three key messages—clear, concise and consistent.
  5. Identify internal and external stakeholders. Communicate to employees first; you don’t want them to find out about a crisis from outside the organization.
  6. Be honest and transparent.
  7. Stay calm, even when facing a storm.
  8. Schedule debriefs with the core team to adjust plans as needed during the crisis and afterward to prepare for the next inevitable crisis.

Advance planning provides you with tools to control the narrative during a crisis, which helps protect your audiences and minimize damage to the organization’s reputation.

TotalCom is a full-service marketing agency helping brands like yours tell their story to the right audiences. Email Lori Moore or call TotalCom Marketing Communications at 205.345.7363 to learn more about how we can help you tell your story.

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Reputation Management in Healthcare: The Key to Correcting Misinformation

Reputation management is pivotal for hospitals and healthcare systems. Its effectiveness directly impacts the quality of healthcare services and ensures patient trust. Without a credible reputation, everything else pales in comparison. Quality scores, the latest technology, physician reviews, and patient experiences all matter. Addressing and correcting misinformation, especially in today’s digital age where rumors can spread rapidly, is a critical component of reputation management in healthcare.

A hospital’s reputation is a mirror of its medical proficiency and its unwavering dedication to patient care, safety, ethical standards, and overall community health. In the face of challenges, such as the recent pandemic, the importance of reputation management was further underscored. Unverified statements rapidly transformed into widely accepted facts, illustrating the urgency of debunking myths in healthcare.

Ultimately, a hospital’s reputation serves as a cornerstone for building lasting relationships with patients and the broader healthcare ecosystem, ensuring continued success and community support.

Addressing Sources of Misinformation in Healthcare

Effective reputation management in healthcare mandates a keen focus on the sources of misinformation. Whether managed internally or externally, social media channels require vigilant monitoring to identify and rectify misinformation that might sway your audience.

A recent study by researchers at the Ohio State Comprehensive Cancer Center evaluated 500 popular TikTok posts associated with five hashtags related to gynecological cancer. These posts garnered over 466 million views, yet a staggering 73% of the content was found to be inaccurate.

While social media’s reach can be a boon for healthcare marketing, circulating misinformation, especially about critical subjects like cancer or vaccinations, can detrimentally impact health outcomes. By actively tracking misinformation, marketing teams have the chance to rectify false information, bolstering the hospital’s reputation and highlighting its community value. This proactive approach also empowers healthcare providers to discuss trending misinformation with patients, bridging trust gaps and enhancing the overall patient experience.

Misleading Information’s Impact on the Healthcare Industry

The repercussions of misleading information extend beyond just medical protocols and outcomes. Patients, especially those battling conditions like cancer, juggle myriad challenges. For them, comprehensive discussions with their care team can allay concerns, fostering trust and nudging them to seek professional guidance over internet-based sources.

Platforms like TikTok, popular for light-hearted content, can unfortunately be breeding grounds for misinformation. Thus, reputation management also involves monitoring other social channels, podcasts, audio platforms, and even traditional media to a certain extent.

The Role of Influencers in Reputation Management and Misinformation

In the realm of reputation management, it’s essential to recognize the influence celebrities wield, especially when they venture into providing healthcare advice.

From celebrities promoting the latest wellness products to figures like the Kardashians endorsing new medical treatments or procedures, their vast outreach can often mislead the public. Consumers, captivated by these endorsements, might hastily follow such advice without consulting a medical professional. For healthcare marketers, it’s pivotal to address such celebrity-driven narratives and guide the audience toward informed, professional advice.

Who Do Audiences Trust for Health Information?

In our digitally connected era, online reviews and social media significantly shape public perception. Effective reputation management leverages these platforms to promptly address negative feedback, accentuate hospital strengths, and underscore a commitment to patient well-being.

Interestingly, the 2023 Edelman Trust Barometer reveals a diminished trust in media, especially social media, with only 44% of respondents placing their trust in social media platforms. In contrast, the healthcare sector enjoys a 70% trust rating, and scientists are trusted by 76%. A 2023 Gallup poll further indicates that despite a generalized skepticism among Gen Z towards major US institutions, their trust in science remains over 70%, and more than 80% express trust in the medical system to varying degrees.

These trust metrics offer healthcare marketers a golden opportunity: position medical professionals to counteract misinformation, thereby enhancing and preserving the institution’s reputation.

TotalCom is a full-service marketing agency helping brands like yours tell their story to the right audiences. Email Lori Moore or call TotalCom Marketing Communications at 205.345.7363 to see how TotalCom may be the right fit for you.

A Strong Crisis Communication Plan Is Critical During Cyberattacks
Having strong cyber security in healthcare is important in today's digital world. Be prepared for cyber security threats and data breaches with a crisis response plan.

COVID-19 challenged healthcare brands in 2020. Now there is an increased need for a strong crisis response due to a rising number of cyberattacks and data breaches that can hold your hospital hostage. While IT departments typically manage cyber security in healthcare, marketing teams must be able to communicate with patients about cyberattacks and data privacy.

Healthcare systems are increasingly targets of cybercriminals. In 2020, nearly two healthcare data breaches of 500 or more records occurred each day. On average, resolving such a breach costs more than $8.5 million.

The costs of ransomware payments, restoring data and resuming operations are just part of the financial hit. Regaining patient trust comes at a higher cost, especially if names, birth dates, Social Security numbers and medical information are posted online.

According to the Edelman Trust Barometer 2021, nearly 70 percent of survey respondents say they are “concerned” about hackers and cyberattacks, while more than half of those report being “fearful.” A slightly lower number is concerned about contracting COVID-19.

While the same survey indicates a slight decline for healthcare sectors, overall trust remains at 66 percent.

Almost everything about the healthcare journey seems to pose security risks now—drive-by and pop-up testing sites; vaccination clinics in convention centers, churches, and parking lots; and increased risks with remote patient monitoring.

Add in the battle with misinformation about COVID-19 and vaccines. Compounding those worries, a recent World Health Organization warning reveals that counterfeit or compromised vaccines and forged vaccination certificates are readily available on the dark web.

So, how do we protect our patient’s trust in us as guardians of their health and confidential medical information?

Play nice with the IT department.

You’ve been in meetings where the IT team looks at the marketing team like you’re aliens! How can you not understand what they’re saying? Probably because it’s a completely foreign language!

As healthcare moves from controlled environments, the need to strengthen cybersecurity measures within healthcare with clear communication increases. This requires collaborating with IT to develop a strong crisis plan in case of a breach.

While IT prioritizes healthcare cyber security by working to ensure confidentiality and integrity of patient data, the marketing team needs to tell those patients about what you’re doing to protect their privacy.

Ramping up security can also include communication to hospital staff about such cautionary measures as:

  • Protecting patient information on computer screens:
    • Carefully monitoring printers to safeguard patient data;
    • Securing laptops or other remote work devices with patient records;
    • Protecting log-ins and passwords, ie. do not keep on random Post-it notes.

Make a crisis response plan. Test it. Tweak it.

Remember instructions on shampoo bottles to “wash, rinse, repeat?” That rings true when creating a strong crisis response plan. Most healthcare facilities were unprepared for the coronavirus crisis. One director of a hospice care service remarked that shortly before the pandemic, her team drafted crisis plans for every imaginable scenario. The one they turned to when the pandemic hit was created as a joke—what to do in case of a “zombie apocalypse.”

Crisis communication plans are fluid documents to revisit every few months in collaboration with department heads throughout the hospital. Due to the growing number of cyberattacks, several free resources are now available including:

Set expectations for open, transparent crisis communication.

Breaches of patient records increased more than 180 percent in the second half of 2020. Most of those resulted from hacking, not misplaced computers or flash drives.

As any hospital can be a target of cyber threats, you want a strong response in place if it happens. As others work behind the scenes, the marketing department should position the CEO to communicate openly and as transparently as possible.

Keeping responses brief, simple and to the point is critical to maintaining trust. Ransomware attacks are likely to interrupt hospital operations, sometimes prompting closed ERs and cancelled surgeries. Tell the public. Don’t leave them wondering.

Treat bad news as extra media coverage for protecting the public.

The American Hospital Association warns that cyberattacks are not “white collar crimes, but threat-to-life crimes” and advises hospitals to remain vigilant against cybercriminals. A lack of cyber security in healthcare poses a serious threat to your facility and patients.

If a breach occurs, immediately respond to the crisis by sharing with the media the steps you’re taking to protect patients. Regard it as an opportunity to remind people how to safeguard their own data. Update them on phishing schemes or fraud alerts, especially relating to health information.

The entire community is at risk to cyber crimes. Even if you can’t share specifics about the attack, direct responses to reassure your patients that their protecting their health remains your priority.

TotalCom is a full-service marketing agency helping brands like yours tell their story to the right audiences. Email Lori Moore or call TotalCom Marketing Communications at 205.345.7363 to learn more about how we can help you tell your story.