Lincoln, Neb. - Ticker has partnered with long-time collaborator BVK to help crack the code on every healthcare marketer's dilemma: increasing ROI. Together their goal was to understand further an issue that can be slippery and find tangible tools to solve sagging ROI for hospital clients.

Lincoln, Neb. National Research Corporation (NRC) is pleased to publicly recognize the nations top hospitals as 2009/2010 Consumer Choice Award winners. The award identifies hospitals which healthcare consumers have chosen as having the highest quality and image in over 300 markets throughout the U.S.  This is the fourteenth year NRC has awarded hospitals whose consumers have recognized them for providing quality healthcare services.

Lincoln, Neb. Losing customers is something every business worries about.  Hospitals, though not always thought of as business entities in the conventional sense, can be grouped into this same category when the topic of patient outmigration arrives at the table.  Hospitals and health systems are faced with the struggle of sustaining themselves and bringing in new business just the same as a restaurant or department store. 

Lincoln, Neb. Even five years ago, the thought of hopping on the internet to make decisions about your personal healthcare seemed progressive if not foreign to most. Now, online trends are showing that using the internet to find healthcare information has become the norm. According to National Research and the Healthcare Market Guide (HCMG) survey, 4 out of 10 Americans are using the internet to find information about healthcare. Thats up from an average of only 1 in 10 in 2001 and demonstrates that e-health activity is surging.

Lincoln, Neb. National Research Corporation (NRC) is pleased to announce the release of the 2007/08 Healthcare Market Guide.  This annual study is the nation's most comprehensive consumer assessment of the health care industry.  Every year, NRC collects data from over 200,000 households representing 450,000 covered lives.  The assessment is then made available to hospitals and health plans nationwide through the Healthcare Market Guide.

Heart Disease is Americas leading cause of death. In fact, heart disease is an umbrella term to describe a number of different diseases that affect the heart, including everything from coronary to cardiovascular heart disease. All heart diseases are deadly and together they form a broader disease that now claims the lives of over 300,000 people in the US every year, according to the American Heart Association (AHA). Thats more than all forms of cancer combined.

Lincoln, Neb. National Research Corporation (NRC) is pleased to publicly recognize the nations top health plans as 2007/08 Customer Care Award winners. The award identifies health plans which members have rated as having the highest member satisfaction across multiple customer care metrics.

"All health care is local."  So begins a recent report to the American Hospital Association: "Trust Counts Now: Why Hospitals Need the Trust of the Public and What They Can Do to Earn It."  Citing several Independent polls, the report asserts that public trust in hospitals has eroded over the past few years, in large part because of negative press.  What does the NRC Healthcare Market Guide have to say?

"On average, every American has a very high risk of diabetes," CDC investigators announced at the Scientific Sessions of the American Diabetes Association this June. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) estimates that the prevalence of individuals with diagnosed diabetes increased approximately 104% between 1980 and 2004.

As high-deductible health plans in conjunction with health savings accounts (HSAs) take their place in the healthcare industry, healthcare professionals, insurance organizations, and consumer advocacy groups debate the pros and cons of the controversial Consumer Driven Health Plans (CDHPs).

An article appearing in the American Journal of Medical Quality used NRC Healthcare Market Guide data as the basis for a paper published in its July/August issue. The article, "Race/Ethnicity, Socioeconomic Status, and Satisfaction With Health Care" examines the effect of Race/Ethnicity and Socioeconomic Status on Healthcare satisfaction.

Do long time members of a community have different healthcare needs and practices than those who have lived in the community for a brief time? To explore this question, a new demographic was added to the 2005/06 NRC Healthcare Market Guide: Years Lived in Community.

As the number of people without health insurance grows, trends in this group are in the news.  In May, the American Hospital Association (AHA) newsletter, AHA NewsNow, cited two reports on the uninsured.

The migration of outpatient services from hospitals to freestanding clinics and physicians continues to impact traditional hospitals.  The July 2006 Trendwatch Report, from the American Hospital Association, examined the issues raised by the migration of outpatient services out of the hospital setting.

Are consumers aware of hospital report cards? If so, do the report cards influence their healthcare decisions?

Does your Web site offer the healthcare information and services that consumers in your area look for?  The NRC Healthcare Market Guide can provide insight into this question.