Most health systems are already focused on reputation management. The problem is they often fail to recognize it as a connected organization-wide strategy.
For years, hospitals nationally have relied on decades of respected clinical history and deep community connections to overcome challenges and obstacles in their way.
However, health systems that were once seen as pillars of community advancement have begun to struggle to remain the one patients choose, physicians want to join, policymakers want to work with, or communities see as essential. But the root of the problem isn’t a decline in demand, it’s a decline in reputation and relevance.
For too long, hospital reputation has lived in issues management as a reactive strategy. It’s been discussed by hospital executives and leaders when a negative patient experience, critical news story, or controversy shows up, and the default action has always been to bring in Communications to respond, explain, and repair.
In our experience working with leading health systems, the issues that damage hospital reputation often go far beyond the stories Communications is asked to manage. These issues are rooted in the experience of dealing with the health system itself: confusing or unexpected hospital bills, questions about price transparency, difficulty accessing care, insurance denials, long waits, workforce challenges, or growing scrutiny around hospital costs and community benefit. These are organizational issues that shape how key stakeholders perceive a health system long before Communications ever has an opportunity to tell its story.
We’ve learned alongside health systems over the years that reputation can’t begin when something goes wrong. It needs to be built every day by the organization itself as an enterprise asset.
Building healthcare reputation takes evidence, not just stories
When it comes to reputation management, health system executives need to move from “How should we respond?” to “What are we sharing each day that can shape how our stakeholders think about us in the future?”
This question matters more than ever as hospitals face increased challenges and scrutiny from payors, legislators, employers, and other stakeholders about cost, access, market share, and value.
While the external voices continue to challenge hospitals at every step, proof points that help influence a patient to choose a hospital for care, inspire a physician to practice there, and rally community support around investments are even more critical. That is why organizational milestones should be reputation-building assets the entire organization is aligned on, not stories for communications to find or share as a stand-alone.
For example, building a new care facility is about more than new windows or fresh paint, it is evidence of a commitment to access that meets a community need. Recruiting physicians goes beyond workforce growth to meet patient demand, it demonstrates that clinicians choose you because they see opportunity and believe in the organization and market. A major capital investment may seem like a balance-sheet decision, but it signals where leadership believes the organization and community are headed.
Thinking differently about how you showcase your milestones creates an opportunity for communications, brand, strategy, HR, and others to collectively recognize and share the true value the organization brings to their audiences.
Health system reputation management is an organization-wide responsibility
Different parts of a health system may see the same investment in very different ways. A CFO may see a capital investment. Strategy may see market expansion. HR may see new jobs. Physician leadership may see successful recruitment. Government affairs may see an opportunity to strengthen relationships with policymakers. Communications may see an earned media story. And that should not be seen as a negative.
Departments do not need to say the same thing or operate from the same playbook because messaging and channel delivery should always be tailored by audience. However, all departments do need to align on the same underlying story: what the organization is doing, why it matters, and what it demonstrates about the health system’s role in the future.
Done well, reputation becomes a proactive constant for ensuring the organization’s strategy, investments, and actions are aligned and understood by the audiences hospitals want standing beside them as advocates.
The health systems best positioned for the future will continually earn their place in the conversation by demonstrating why they are relevant.
When an organization is challenged by a payor, questioned by a legislator, competing for a physician, entering a new market, or trying to earn a patient’s trust, it can only lean on the reputation it has already built leading up to that moment.
The health systems with the strongest brand perception understand that reputation is an everyday action. It shapes who chooses you, who wants to work for you, who wants to partner with you, and who is willing to listen to you when the stakes are high.
So, keep asking yourself this question: Does our current reputation give people a reason to choose us, believe in us, and stand with us?
