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Mar 02 2016

Does Your Message Move the Media?

LorraineLorraine Hamby has 20 plus years of experience in tech PR, journalism and consulting. She has worked with corporate giants like HP and Intuit, disruptive startups, and everyone in between, teaching them how to use messaging to reach and captivate a target audience.

When you’re competing for customers, attention-worthy messaging may be your most powerful ally. I sat down with Lorraine to learn more about messaging with impact.

Why do we need messaging?

Messaging should always support broader business goals. So first, you need to define your objectives—whether it’s to grow the customer base, attract investors, or establish credibility for a new product — or some combination of goals. Then, you can begin developing messaging that will best support the cause.

As far as spending time on message prep itself – it’s worth the effort — because to get your point across, and particularly to secure media coverage, you need to be crystal clear and compelling. Every brand is fighting– not just against competitors– but for the audience’s attention in the first place.

Clear, compelling messaging that gets to the heart of the customer’s decision-making can make the difference between a “ho hum” campaign and strong results, or between an average presentation and an inspiring one.

How is messaging for PR different from other marketing messages?

Messaging should be consistent across all mechanisms, always reinforcing and differentiating your brand. The evolution of social, earned, and paid media has certainly blurred the divide between marketing and PR in many ways, but there are some key differences.

With marketing messaging, you may be able to get more creative — for example, you need to think in terms of taglines, and combining visual and text elements. But your core messaging is still the foundation for developing all of those — whether it’s a video, a newsletter, a tweet or an ad.

For PR, you have to go a step further to make your message newsworthy. Another unique aspect of PR messaging is being prepared for tough Q&A. Once you have a journalist’s attention, it becomes a two-way dialogue and you need to know in advance exactly how you’ll handle the most difficult questions.

How do you help clients create strong messaging?

It’s a collaborative process involving research, analysis, brainstorming and then, good old-fashioned writing and wordsmithing – including several discussions and iterations to get it to the final output.

One of the first steps is to analyze the broader landscape — what’s going on the industry, what are the competitors saying, what are the news trends, etc. I take a broad sampling of primary messages, recent news, and key phrases, and synthesize that into a viewpoint that informs the process. The goal is to identify what compelling stories we might be up against, what customer benefits everyone is hammering on, and where there’s room for a unique perspective.

Perhaps most importantly, I gather information from the client, asking a lot of questions and talking to people across the organization. I’ll identify common threads and priorities, and then help them crystallize those into key messages. Then we stress-test it: Is everyone else saying the same thing? Is our message enough to convince customers? Can we cut down the jargon? Is it newsworthy?

What is the most important take-away for brands that want to improve their messaging?

I’ll follow my own advice, and prioritize! My top three messages about messaging are:

  1. Prioritize: Streamline your message as much as possible. You can’t say it all, so know what’s most important to get across.
  2. Differentiate: Clearly define what makes you stand out, and always emphasize that.
  3. Tell a story: Combine facts with a narrative, and bring the story to life with anecdotes and examples.

 

Written by Shelly · Categorized: Healthcare PR, Journalism, Marketing, Public Relations, Reporters, Uncategorized · Tagged: campaign, coverage, interviews, journalist, journalists, messaging, PR, start up

Mar 04 2014

Kate Schafer’s HIPAA programming guide for mhealth engineers

Most of us are familiar with HIPAA, the law that requires healthcare providers, insurance companies, health plans, etc., aka covered entities (CEs), to protect the privacy of patients’ health information. The law has been around since 1996.  But last year the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) made sweeping changes to HIPAA.

Under the Final Omnibus Rule, a new set of provisions have been laid out that strengthen the HIPAA Privacy, Security and Enforcement rules for protecting patient health information. Some of the updated HIPAA Privacy Rule applies to business associates (BAs), the companies that provide services to CEs, which typically involves handling patient information.

Previously a BA was only required to sign an agreement assuring that it would safeguard patient health information on behalf of a CE.  But as of September 2013, both CEs and BAs became liable under the Omnibus Rule and are now subject to HIPAA audits which are about to ramp up.  And the definition of BA has expanded to include organizations that merely store or transmit patient data, even if they don’t touch it. CEs and BAs in violation of patient privacy rules could face stiff penalties.

Meet Kate Schafer, founder of Innovative Healthcare IT.  I met Kate at a recent Health 2.0 Silicon Valley Meetup.  A room full of developers looked at the latest batch of mobile health apps designed to help us lead healthier lives.  That’s the good news.  But if they’re getting their hands on patient information and not following HIPAA rules in the process they may be shut down before they say “click on our icon.”

That’s where Kate comes in.  She brings startups the trifecta of security technology, product development, and regulatory compliance with a focus on HIPAA, and advises them on building security and encryption layers into their platforms.  I asked Kate to tell me what she does and why healthcare startups should care.

Tell me about your work and the services you provide to startups?

I have a long and varied background in technology and product development, combined with regulatory compliance and a focus on HIPPA.  It’s that technical foundation that really resonates with potential clients and convinces them to work with me.  There are numerous audit firms that can do what I do – most coming from the financial industry – but they don’t really provide healthcare startup support. I offer a “let’s roll up our sleeves and get it done” service where I work together with each client to craft a compliance strategy that works for their staff and for their budget.  I can help healthcare startups get from prototype to industrial strength and scalable, and I make myself available for ad hoc questions any time a former client needs advice.

Companies come to me at various stages. A lot of my clients are just starting their first pilot.  The product may have been developed offshore and they’re trying to bring it in-house.  Or they may have just signed up a healthcare provider or a hospital for a pilot of the product, and their customer is asking for assurance of HIPAA compliance.

By law, healthcare providers must ensure that anyone who handles protected health information on their behalf (a business associate) complies with HIPAA before sharing any patient data with them, so non-compliance is a deal-breaker for these startups.  That’s when they call me.

 

What is the primary sector of healthcare that your startup clients are creating solutions for?

There’s a range, but most recently the startups I’m seeing have a focus on the communications between providers and patients, particularly pre-op and post-op or at some other transition of care.  For example, apps that focus on maintaining communications during recovery from surgery.  The patient will go home with information they can access from their smartphone or tablet.  These apps enable two-way communication, with metrics on rehab going back to the healthcare provider.  Secure telemedicine enables real time feedback.  Surveys and questionnaires provide feedback on the patient’s experience and can be fed into the product enhancement loop.

I’ve also got clients doing research and analytics on population health data and clients using mobile devices for healthcare decision-making.  Those apps often also need to be FDA compliant.  I also have clients from the VC community who are looking for an assessment of the security and/or compliance risk profile of a startup they’re considering investing in.

I don’t work with a lot of “quantified health” firms.  Often people assume that quantified self apps (where an individual chooses to store their protected health information on their smartphone, for example) need to be HIPAA compliant but that is not the case.  Healthcare providers must comply with HIPAA; individuals may do whatever they want with their personal health information.  For some of these applications the patient is collecting information they might give to their doctor.  But the doctors don’t always know what to do with it, may not trust it, or may not want it because they just don’t have the bandwidth to deal with it.  This has created a new market for companies that can solve this problem with data aggregators and other solutions.

At what stage do healthcare startups typically bring you in for consulting?

When the startup is ready to recruit beta testers and pilot sites that’s where I come in.  At that point if they haven’t already thought about security and HIPAA compliance, they are behind the 8-ball.  At that point I can provide a range of services from a simple assessment of compliance gaps to a full remediation project that gets the startup fully compliant.  I interview all the stakeholders and we talk about the big picture. I look at the technology stack, which refers to everything from the hardware up – all hardware and software components.

I look at all the security layers and identify where they could do better.  On top of the pure security aspect, HIPAA requires documented policies that describe how each HIPAA requirement has been met. Most startups are far from having the volume of documentation required to meet HIPAA compliance.

What are the biggest challenges or obstacles facing your startup clients?

They are resource constrained and tend to focus on product development and getting pilots lined up, rather than security.  They don’t have people on staff who understand compliance, so it gets handed off to somebody who’s already got a full plate.  Getting compliant is a big job, and staying compliant is a lot of ongoing work. Without dedicated resources and support from the top, it’s a real challenge.

How do you see the gap between your clients’ innovative technology and adoption by providers and payers (if they’re targeting insurance companies too)?

There are different challenges.  If you’re developing a product for use in hospitals it can be an uphill battle, particularly if the product needs to integrate with the hospital’s EHR.  Hospital IT teams are necessarily risk averse and often not up to date on cutting edge technologies.  They’re not entrepreneurial, so there can be a culture conflict.  But it’s not rocket science to integrate with an EHR.  I would say the challenges in working with hospitals are more bureaucratic than they are technical.

Working with clinics and smaller practices has its own challenges.  These folks have tight budgets and no cushion. If your product doesn’t save time – or worse, takes time – it will be a tough sell.  If implementation takes time away from providing care, it’s costing the practice money. Your product may improve care but if it makes a simple clinical step complicated and time-consuming it’s going to be a tough decision for them to adopt it.  It’s very hard to justify a product that may provide huge long-term benefits if it cuts into today’s bottom line.

Image:  Kate Schafer – provided by Kate Schafer

Written by Laura R. · Categorized: Healthcare PR, Medical Device PR, Medical PR, Other, Uncategorized · Tagged: applications, BAs, CEs, compliance, health, healthcare, HIPAA, hospital, innovation, mobile, start up, startup

Dec 26 2012

Your New Medical Treatment Could Change the World… But Not ‘Til the FDA Says So

Recently I attended a Media Panel for StartX and StartX Med founders.  StartX is a highly regarded startup mentorship and accelerator program, built and run by Stanford University students, with Silicon Valley executives, VCs, Stanford faculty helping the founders succeed.  These founders apply for a six-month program; less than 10% get in.  While the majority run tech startups, StartX Med, which kicked off in June 2012, has 11 newly minted companies, including a biotech outfit started by a 21-year-old who has figured out how to turn skin cells into beating heart cells, and won a $20 million grant from the CA Institute for Regenerative Medicine!  Another student is developing precision guidance implants to treat G-I diseases; think pacemakers for the GI tract.  How about a robotic manipulator that performs ultrasounds during cancer treatment?  These young founders are the future of healthcare.In a conversation with life sciences PR genius Rick Roose, of RCI Partners, we share some basic PR pointers for StartX Med founders…

When it comes to PR – and getting stories published about medical technology and the human body — beware of FDA marketing regulations and making premature claims.  Until your biotech, pharma, medical device or diagnostic product is commercially available proceed with caution on all external communication fronts.  Some products could be years in development before they’ve been proven safe and effective for patients.  These are hope-to-be products in the R&D pipeline, getting ready for clinical trials. They are investigational until approved by the FDA.

So startup communications must clearly state what stage of development the product is in, i.e., still in research, not yet approved, etc.  Founders need to stick to the science, share the pros and cons, and avoid selective disclosure of positive results data.  Talk about clinical data but don’t make inferences or implied claims for unapproved products.  For groundbreaking medical research journalists will accept: “Here’s what we know so far;” or “The data is very encouraging;” or “Doctors are excited about this new approach…”  If you’re running a clinical trial you can publicize positive results but your audience should know the product has a long way to go.

Some startups aim for a nice juicy story to attract investors and partners at this early stage.  But what happens after the initial excitement wears off?  Good PR maintains the media’s attention in a meaningful way with a plan that incorporates all possible elements, mapped out on a PR calendar and a budget allocated for execution.  While the stem cell treatment product is in development be available as a media expert to be called upon for articles related to this evolving technology.  You’ll have company news to announce along the way: new executive hires, new funding, new partners, a new advisory board, etc.   Without a sustained effort, PR is a hit-and-miss affair. You can get some big hits but it will be tough to keep the buzz going.

 

Written by Laura R. · Categorized: Medical PR, Public Relations, Uncategorized · Tagged: biotech, medical, medical device, pharma, PR, start up

Nov 14 2012

PR Case Study: How to Promote Your Medical Start Up Without EPA Clearance

Nearly 80 substantive media stories and more than 170,000 Google hits resulted from closely-coordinated marketing and PR efforts between G2Comm and start up PurThread Technologies

The Client: PurThread Technologies, Inc. — San Francisco, CA

— A start up with a new antimicrobial textile technology for preventing hospital acquired infections

The Challenge

PurThread Technologies (PT) is a development-stage company that is refining an anti-microbial textile fiber designed to help lower the incidence of healthcare associated infections (HAIs). The company was restricted from promoting its products without EPA clearance, yet wanted a seat at the table for the highly-important discussions about HAIs, and infection prevention and control.

The Public Relations Strategy/Solution

G2Comm was brought in to publicize the results of a research study sponsored by PurThread. The study showed that 92% of hospital privacy curtains harbored infectious bacteria within one week of being laundered. In concert with study investigators, G2Comm capitalized on the research findings, creating PR documents for the media to publicly introduce PurThread while at the same time complying with regulatory guidelines.

G2Comm also used the study to position PurThread as a lead contributor to the discussion of HAIs, since the topic appeared regularly in mainstream media as well as health journals and blogs. Concurrently, G2Comm forged relationships with editors of key healthcare publications.

The Results

—More than 80 stories on PurThread’s study appeared in top-tier national and industry media including Reuters, CBS News, FOX News, MSNBC, Time magazine and many more.

—Viral syndication of the original news story on the study generated 170,000+ hits on Google, enabling this development-stage company to amass a significant base of quality followers.

—In advance of receiving EPA clearance, PurThread executives are being interviewed and writing commentary on infection control for well-respected healthcare publications.


Written by Laura R. · Categorized: Public Relations, Uncategorized · Tagged: hospital, medical, start up, technology

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