touch point podcast

In the annual “Year in Review” show, hosts Reed Smith and Chris Boyer reflect back on the past year of the Touch Point podcast, sharing some of their most popular topics, favorite shows, including a special shout-out to our Guest of the Year - Stephanie Petrazzi of Nuvance Health. They also share their perspective on “virtue signaling” in our industry and close out the show with their predictions...

In our annual holiday “butter-board” episode, hosts Reed Smith and Chris Boyer highlight clips from some of the shows on the Touch Point Media Network, including conversations about Apple and Amazon’s healthcare moves, diversity in clinical trial recruitment, the differences in hospital vs. academic marketing, innovation in nursing and child-care. Listen in and enjoy these audio “spreads” from the...

Recent news revealed that a number of hospital websites were found to have passed sensitive PII (personal identifiable information) to the Meta company via the use of the Facebook Pixel. In this episode, hosts Chris Boyer and Reed Smith discuss the importance of pixel tracking for digital marketers, how many websites encourage the use of tracking pixels and the legal and privacy concerns that aris...

Healthcare organizations face incredible industry challenges in 2022, they also must rethink their patient experience, marketing and data strategies. In this episode, hosts Reed Smith and Chris Boyer share ways leading health systems have implemented “big ideas” in their marketing, and how focusing on patient experience can help healthcare leaders transform their strategies. They are joined by Chr...

The healthcare industry is facing extreme pressures to change and transform. In this episode, hosts Chris Boyer and Reed Smith discuss the outlook for healthcare - both at a macro and micro level - and ask if we are finally seeing the long-promised transformation of our industry. They are joined by Carrie Liken, Head of Healthcare Industry at Yext, who shares her predictions on how health systems...

In this special episode, hosts Chris Boyer and Reed Smith discuss the various health observances that health systems use as part of their content calendars and ponder if they are useful or not. They also discuss whether Seasonal Marketing can align to the strategic plan as well as tap into consumer emotional states, and if that has an impact on various hospital strategies.  Mentions from the show:...

For organizations, the connection between reputation and brand is inextricably linked. This is even more important for hospitals and health systems focused on recruitment and retention efforts. In this episode, hosts Reed Smith and Chris Boyer discuss the relationship between reputation and brand, and share ways in which corporate reputation can be adopted by organizations that sometimes struggle...

In this episode, hosts Chris Boyer and Reed Smith discuss the top challenges social media companies are facing, and how the recent evolution of social platforms are conducive to health system marketing and communications strategies. From the challenges with content, the movement to paid approaches and the steady loss of importance of social media followers, it’s important to ask: is social media (...

Health systems understand the need to embrace consumerism - and that improving the healthcare consumer experience is a competitive differentiator. But are we ready for it? In this episode, hosts Reed Smith and Chris Boyer discuss the new digital consumer and the challenges their expectations have on health systems. Rob Klein from Klein & Partners joins to share the latest insights from the 2022 Co...

In the healthcare space, there has always been confusion about the marketing technology stack, and specifically around the role of CRM - and Marketing Automation (for that matter). In this episode, Chris Boyer and Reed Smith discuss the role of technology in the overall “patient engagement system” and how CRM and Marketing Automation are very different strategies that have a different place in the...

Healthcare organizations are transforming their patient experience measurements away from simple surveys to more sophisticated voice of customer programs. In this episode, Reed Smith and Chris Boyer share some of the pitfalls with survey-based measurement, and how to embrace predictive customer insight. They are joined by Amy Brown, CEO of Authenticx, who shares how truly listening to the “voice o...

In this triangular milestone, hosts Reed Smith and Chris Boyer celebrate their 300th recording by looking back over the nearly six years of weekly podcasts and reflect on how the role of digital and experience has evolved in hospitals and health systems. They share their top 3 episodes, and look forward to the top 3 things they each feel are going to have the most impact on our industry. They also...

Physicians are currently facing a myriad of challenges, yet the importance for hospitals and health systems to involve them in our marketing efforts is increasing. In this episode, hosts Reed Smith and Chris Boyer discuss the challenge of physician burnout, and how this factor can shift their expectations of being involved in an organization’s marketing and outreach efforts. Marketing and communic...

In this episode, hosts Chris Boyer and Reed Smith have “the conversation” about AI - and how the last decade (the so-called “Golden Decade of AI”) has radically advanced the capabilities of artificial intelligence and machine learning in all aspects of life and industry. After outlining some of the significant accomplishments of AI, they then discuss the challenges of AI adoption in healthcare and...

A recent study revealed the average patient appointment wait time has increased over the past few years to nearly a month, due to a number of factors impacting the industry. In this episode, hosts Reed Smith and Chris Boyer share the results of this study, broken out by cities and specialties, then share ways in which health systems can begin to better understand overall wait times in an effort to...

Live from the National Harbor in Maryland, host Reed Smith passes the baton to Chris Boyer, who shares field reporting from the annual Society for Healthcare Strategy and Market Development 2022. With short yet insightful interviews with Ed Bennett of Martech. Health, Justin Wartell of Monigle, Reba Thompson of WriterGirl, Jeff Speer of Revive Agency, Jessica Walker of Care Sherpa and Greg Gossett...

As health systems continue to evolve their online patient experience efforts, more and more are focusing on developing a “digital healthcare ecosystem.” In this episode, hosts Chris Boyer and Reed Smith discuss the concept of the Digital Healthcare Ecosystem (DHE), how it’s defined, how it differs from a Digital Front Door and the benefits that health systems can gain when launching this type of p...

For anyone in healthcare, the rise of health misinformation has become quite a concern. It is only exacerbated by the rise of social media platforms, and the ability to spread and amplify the content online is disturbing. In this episode, hosts Chris Boyer and Reed Smith discuss the challenges of health misinformation, how front line healthcare workers are responding and how we can leverage these...

Hosts Chris Boyer and Reed Smith discuss the latest Pew Research study that shows a remarkable shift in how teens are using social media and technology, and discuss how this is a bellwether for how hospitals and health systems need to shift their approaches to reach future generations seeking healthcare. They even share examples of how leading health systems are shifting the marketing and communic...

In this episode, hosts Chris Boyer and Reed Smith discuss how digital health and digital marketing solutions can help address the “triple aim” - improving patient experience, improving population health and reducing healthcare’s costs. They also share the five main traps healthcare organizations should avoid, to prevent them from falling into “digital myopia.” Mentions from the Show: The Future of...

In this episode, hosts Reed Smith and Chris Boyer discuss how the rise of the recommendation engines in social media is potentially hastening the end of social media as we know it. From discussing the impacts of influencers on the innovation of social media platforms, to the overwhelming need to engage in social media advertising to stay relevant in the sea of social media content, the way hospita...

Health systems across the United States are feeling a number of pressures that are impacting the industry today, including very narrow margins, elevated labor costs and shifts in patient patterns. In this episode, hosts Chris Boyer and Reed Smith discuss how these challenges are impacting hospitals and share how marketing and IT are shifting their strategies to embrace these changes. Alan Shoebrid...

Four years ago, hosts Chris Boyer and Reed Smith discussed the impacts that the “disruptive healthcare trifecta” - Google, Facebook and Amazon - were predicted to have on the industry. In this episode, they reflect back on how these organizations have evolved and changed their strategies. They cover Google Health’s recent announcement of expanding the AI capabilities to organize patient data, Face...

Health systems face significant challenges in today’s age when developing first-party data strategies. In this episode, hosts Reed Smith and Chris Boyer discuss the need for digital marketers to adopt a data first strategy, including prioritizing data security and understanding the various different data security laws being implemented across the United States. They are joined by Jeremy Rogers of...

In this episode, Chris Boyer and Reed Smith discuss the concept of the “Digital Front Door” (again) and really attempt to define it and outline the various technologies and approaches that comprise typical health system front door initiatives. Ben Dillon shares his expertise in the “Ask the Expert” segment of the show. Overall, they conclude that perhaps the challenge with trying to define the “Di...