Public Relationship in

Healthcare………..

Senior Vice President, Worldwide Sales

March 24, <year>

The Concept

Public relations today is much more a planned , persuasive social managerial

science than a damage-control reaction.

Don’t get me wrong, the public relations professionals who have the most

organizational clout and get paid the most are those who demonstrate the

ability to perform in a crisis.

Public Relationship Officer

Public relations (PR) is about managing reputation. A career in PR involves

gaining understanding and support for clients, as well as trying to influence

opinion and behavior.

PR officers use all forms of media and communication to build, maintain and

manage the reputation of their clients. These range from public bodies or

services, to businesses and voluntary organizations.

They communicate key messages, often using third party endorsements, to

defined target audiences in order to establish and maintain goodwill and

understanding between an organization and its public.

Management process of Public Relation

They function at the edge of an organization as a liaison between the

organization and its external and internal publics.

In other words, public relations managers have one foot inside the

organization and one outside, often this unique position isn't only lonely but

also precarious

The boundary role of Public Relations

According to Grunig and Hunt, public relations officers fill a boundary role.

They function at the edge of the organization, as a liaison between internal and external publics.

Questions that public relations

practitioners must ask:

What are we attempting to achieve, and where are we going in that pursuit?

What is the nature of the environment in which we operate?

Who are the key audiences we must convince in the process?

How will we get to where we want to be?

Reporting to top management

To serve as a true interpreter, the public relations director must report to the

CEO.

To be valued by management, public relations must remain:

independent

credible

objective

Public Relationship Channels

Communication

The channel is the ‘pipe’ along which a message is conveyed, and there are a

wide variety of different communication channels available, from basic face-

to-face conversation, through to telecommunication channels like the

telephone or e-mail, and computational channels like the medical record.

Messages

Messages are structured to achieve a specific task using available resources to

suit the needs of the receiver. Informal messages, which have variable

structures, include voice and e-mail messages. Structured or formal messages

include hospital discharge summaries, computer-generated alerts and

laboratory results.

Security protocol

In health care, patient privacy concerns make it important that unauthorized

individuals do not access clinical records. To protect privacy, messages can be

scrambled or ‘encoded’ as a means to prevent unauthorized individuals

intercepting and interpreting them. For example, mobile phone conversations can

be scrambled to protect unauthorized eavesdropping, and reports of medical

investigations sent by e-mail can similarly have their contents encrypted.

Decision-making:

Patient satisfaction increased when the importance of their social and mental

functioning as much as their physical functioning was acknowledged.

Referrals:

Patient satisfaction increases when their healthcare team initiates referrals relieving

the patient of this responsibility.

Continuity of care:

Patient satisfaction increases when they receive continuing care from the same

healthcare provider(s). Dignity: As expected, patients who are treated with

respect and who are invited to partner in their healthcare decisions report greater

satisfaction.

On the value of reputation:

“We can afford to lose money – even a lot of money – but

we cannot afford to lose reputation – not even a shred of

reputation.”

Warren Buffet

CEO, Berkshire Hathaway

Roles & Principles

CONSULTATION

SERVICE STANDARDS

ACCESS

COURTESY

INFORMATION

OPENESS & TRANSPARENCY

REDRESS

VALUE FOR MONEY

ENCOURAGING INNOVATION & REWARDING EXCELLENCE

CUSTOMER IMPACT

LEADERSHIP & STRATEGIC DIRECTION

GUIDELINES FOR RECEIVING A

TELEPHONE CALL

1. Answer the telephone as quickly as possible, preferable within three rings.

2. Greet the caller in a friendly way and state immediately both your name and

your department/division. The caller will then know whether s/he has

dialed the correct number and be helped a quickly as possible.

3. Take note of your language usage throughout.

4. Obtain the caller’s name and the reason for the call in a tactful way.

5. Always try to address the caller by his/her name.

GUIDELINES FOR RECEIVING A

TELEPHONE CALL

6. When busy with a call, respond. If you remain silent, the other person will

wonder whether you are still there. It is polite to indicate that you are

listening by saying for example, “Yes”, “Of course”, “I agree”.

7. Give all your attention to the telephone conversation and do not speak to

other people with you in the room at the same time. Under no

circumstances should you eat while busy with a telephone call!

What is the role of Public Relations in

the hospital

We are responsible for managing relationships between the hospital and our

clients, visitors, stakeholders, other organizations, as well as the internal

public.

We apply our commitment to the understanding of our public’s needs, and

find solutions to these needs. We are well positioned to listen to the

concerns of our clients, to create harmony with and between them and our

institution, so as to build and maintain an ever lasting relationship based on

integrity, honesty and openness .

PATIENTS RIGHTS & RESPONSIBILITIES

1. Healthy and safe environment

2. Participate in decision making

3. Access to health care

4. Knowledge of one’s health

5. Insurance/medical aid scheme

6. Choice of health services

7. Treated by a named health care provider

8. Confidentiality and privacy

9. Informed consent

10. Refusal of treatment

11. A second opinion

12. Continuity of care

13. Complaints about health services

RESPONSIBILITIES

Take care of your health

Take care for and protect the environment

Respect the rights of other patients

Utilize the health system optimally and not abuse it

Know local health services and what they are offering

Provide health workers with relevant information

Comply with the prescribed treatment and procedures

Enquire about the related costs of treatment

Take care of health records in your possession

When possible avoid negative language and

use positive responses.

Instead of… Say…

That’s not my job. I’m not authorized to do that but I will

find someone who can.

That’s not handled by my

department.

I think our Reference Department can

help but let me find out.

We’ve always done it this way. That’s our policy but I’ll see what I can

do.

I don’t know Let me find out for you.

Guidelines for dealing with difficult

patrons

1. Have an updated policy.

2. Develop communications skills.

3. Train staff.

4. Always observe verbal and non-verbal messages and respond accordingly.

5. Paraphrase.

6. Keep the conversation focused.

7. Remain polite and professional.

8. Refer to policies.

9. Use positive language.

10. Refer to a supervisor when necessary.

When speaking with a difficult customer,

remember to remain calm and focused.

Offer solutions.

Ask about the problem.

Offer help.

“Thank you for bringing this to my attention.”

Difficult Customer Situations

Listen

Empathize

Respond professionally

Recognize underlying factors

Ask questions

Give feedback

Summarize

Argumentative Customers

Speak softly

Ask for their opinion

Take a break – don’t’ get drawn in

Verbally Abusive Customer

Remain calm

Let the customer know the consequences,

calmly and objectively .

Saying “No”

Sometimes you have to say “no,” but if you do it right, you can still get a

“thank you” for your service

Conclusion

To successfully communicate with the public, all health facilities should

define/isolate their internal and external public.

Within health care institutions should be determined/ defined the person(s)

for the (internal and external) communications.

The PR Officers must be comfortable speaking with the public. Speaking skills

can be gained while climbing up the ladder to the position of PR Officers

Creating Public Relationship is at the heart of everything we do in our society.

It’s central to our learning, our work and our leisure interests. But it’s

particularly important in health care, where patients/clients can feel

vulnerable, alone and frightened, and where you’ll be working with

colleagues in the health care team who rely on good communication to help

them deliver safe, coordinated and effective care.

Questions and Answers