NRC Health, the leading provider of in-depth customer intelligence
in healthcare, today announced the winners of its 2017-2018 NRC
Health Consumer Loyalty Awards. The Consumer Loyalty Awards are the
first, and only loyalty-based hospital rankings in the U.S. The
awards recognize the top healthcare facilities garnering
extraordinary loyalty from their patient populations today as
identified and rated by over 300,000 U.S. consumers. CHI Memorial
Hospital Chattanooga earned the number one ranking on the inaugural
consumer loyalty list while the University of California healthcare
system and Kaiser Permanente each placed three hospitals on the
list, the only healthcare systems to do so.
While the top hospitals scored exceptionally high in categories
like access and motivation, scores in the engagement category
remain low comparatively. Despite a growing focus on loyalty,
hospitals still have much work to do in bolstering engagement with
patients and other consumers and as patients increasingly view
their healthcare through a consumer lens, hospitals must find ways
to keep up with those expectations.
“Consumers have more choice than they’ve ever had when it comes
to their healthcare,” said Brian Wynne, VP and General Manager at
NRC Health. “Those hospitals that are proactive about cultivating
and maintaining consumer loyalty will ultimately be the ones who
will dominate the market. NRC Health’s Consumer Loyalty Award
winners are at the forefront of this shift towards a
consumer-centered approach to care and we predict that these
organizations will continue to be top performers in the years to
come.”
Major metros still boast more leading facilities but
competition is heating upIn addition to ranking the top
hospitals, NRC Health’s Consumer Loyalty Awards revealed that
increasing competition in large urban areas, like Chicago and Los
Angeles, is forcing hospitals to differentiate and do more for
patients in order to earn their loyalty. Both cities boasted four
hospitals in the top rankings.
While large metros may be the most competitive, the rankings
confirm that there are top performing hospitals all across the
country, and not just on the coasts. As patients’ willingness to
travel for healthcare continues to rise, and new innovation around
telemedicine solutions builds more and more momentum, hospitals are
being forced to compete with not only their regional rivals, but
also those facilities far outside their traditional geographic
boundaries.
Consumers not sold on systems, despite continued network
growth Ninety percent of the top hospitals are part of
larger networks; however, only 11 systems had multiple hospitals
make the list. Regardless, the majority of the winners were
primarily hospital-based or flagship facilities, meaning patients
experienced a healthcare brand at the facility level, often without
even being aware they were part of a larger network. With nearly 40
percent of consumers reporting it makes no difference whether a
hospital is part of a healthcare system, it’s clear that consumers
are less concerned with a hospital’s affiliation, so long as they
receive premier treatment.
“We expected a lot of the more recognizable names to make our
inaugural loyalty-based list, but we were pleasantly surprised to
see a good mix of facilities represented across the country,
including community hospitals in smaller markets,” Wynne added.
“Ultimately, every system, no matter how big or small, has blind
spots in the consumer journey. The top hospitals on this list prove
that it doesn’t matter to patients if they are part of a huge
system or a community hospital or somewhere in between. As long as
their healthcare services are intentionally designed to inspire
loyalty, patients will recognize those efforts, regardless of a
hospital’s affiliation.”
Though hospitals do gain access to more resources and can cut
down costs by joining larger networks, the Consumer Loyalty survey
results reveal that being a part of a larger brand does not
guarantee increased consumer loyalty.
Hospitals focusing more on wellness versus episodic
careHospitals are acting more and more like technology
companies, focusing on holistic care, wellness and empowering
patients to become more engaged through the use of mobile apps and
other digital touchpoints. According to research from the American
Hospital Association, 70 percent of patients say they became more
engaged with their healthcare during the past two years.
Among the 71 percent of provider organizations citing patient
engagement as a top priority is McLeod Regional Medical Center in
Florence, South Carolina. The facility earned the top honor for
Patient Engagement in the NRC Health Consumer Loyalty Awards,
proving that today’s patients turned consumers are no longer
interested in receiving a singular healthcare service. They want an
experience that's enjoyable, not just transactional, as evidenced
by the success of McLeod Regional’s philanthropic and
community-based programming, like blood drives, childbirth prep
classes, AARP safety driving courses, summer camps for kids, cancer
benefits, scholarship runs and more.
About NRC Health’s Consumer Loyalty
Awards To qualify for the NRC Health Consumer
Loyalty Awards, a hospital must receive at least 150 Top of Mind
mentions on the Market Insights Internet-based survey, which
measures the opinions, behaviors, and profiles of more than 300,000
consumers annually in more than 300 markets across the U.S.
Additionally, ranking organizations must earn extraordinarily high
composite scores on the seven aspects of the NRC Health Loyalty
Index: access, brand score, engagement, need, motivation,
experience and Net Promoter Score (NPS). The facilities across the
country with the top composite scores are awarded. Results are
weighted to account for age, income, population, presence of
children in the household, marital status, and ethnicity to ensure
an accurate demographic distribution.
About NRC Health For 37 years, NRC Health
(NASDAQ: NRC) has been committed to achieving human understanding
and bringing healthcare organizations closer to their customers
than ever before by illuminating and improving the key moments that
define an experience and build trust. Guided by their uniquely
empathic heritage, proprietary methods, skilled associates, and
holistic approach, NRC Health helps its customers design
experiences that exceed expectations, inspire loyalty, and improve
well-being among patients, residents, physicians, nurses, and
staff. For more information, write to info@nrchealth.com, or visit
www.nrchealth.com. Press Contact Jennifer Lyle
Public Relations for NRC Health nrchealth@barokas.com
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