I attended the Healthcare Marketing Strategies Summit in Orlando, Florida. There were many hospitals presenting their best practices and I appreciated the openness of those organizations.

So what's new? Everyone's talking about digital and social media but what caught my attention were the health systems (and there were many) that were tracking results from the time a prospective patient was engaged with the digital media through their appointment. In some cases, they were able to track the downstream revenue from the initial visit.

In addition, hospitals are not dispensing with traditional media (though most are spending less) but incorporating it. One case history integrated an inexpensive TV campaign with its online efforts for a strong ROI. The "no frills" yet creative approach in the TV helped drive a stronger ROI and visitors to their landing page.

In an "industry" where marketing has typically lagged behind consumer marketing, savvy hospitals are taking charge and showing that marketing can contribute to the bottom line.