Ten Things to Consider Before You Get Started With the Media 

1. Refine your mission and vision statement for the organization so that it is clear to the prudent layperson.   This will help you state to the media “Who” you are and “Why” you are doing what it is you are doing.  Sample vision and mission statements can be found by visiting the eHealth Initiatives Connecting Communities Directory. 

2. Seek council and engage those who will be impacted by or benefit from health information exchange early on to ensure their support and as a means of gaining a clear understanding of issues and concerns. Research from the eHealth Initiative shows that many health information exchange initiatives begin to communicate early on with physicians, employers, healthcare organizations and local officials. 

3. Clearly outline what it is that you want to do before reaching out to the media-what is the purpose-goal of the communications campaign?  To generate general community awareness? To support a membership drive? To announce the launch of a new program?   To announce an important strategic partnership?

4.  Once you define your goals, define and prioritize your audiences in order to develop clear and compelling messages.  For example, our research shows that consumers view physicians as important allies in the development, use and adoption of health information exchange. We also found that physicians’ information needs and concerns about health information exchange differ from those of employers and consumers. 

5. Determine your budget – both human and financial.

6. Develop a one-page event plan to include strategies, tactics, communication tools (customized to the audience) to be used.  Include measures that you will use to determine success.

7. Seek partnerships to underwrite media placement or to broaden your distribution channels.  Partnership development can be useful in broadening your reach as you brand the organization.  For instance, if your local hospital is a partner or sponsor of the health information exchange initiative, ask them to add your website link to their patient portal.  Consider hosting a section on your website that outlines for consumers important things that they need to know about secure electronic health information exchange. While this is a pull strategy, there are many other partnership arrangements that can increase awareness of your organization through general run- of-the mill business occurring with their customers.  For example, a local pharmacy may be involved in an eRX campaign to encourage use of ePrescribing.  This creates a perfect opportunity for you to broaden your reach to the consumer point of contact. 

8. Develop a media list to include journalists that report on issues relevant to each one of your target audiences.  While you may not reach out to all media contacts on your list every time you send out an announcement, a defined, developed media list will be essential to gaining coverage and editorial support for your effort.  Begin early in the development of these relationships offering yourself as a resource and subject-matter-expert on topics that intersect with health information exchange (examples: quality reporting and monitoring; consumer driven healthcare; healthcare economics; health policy). 

9. Begin pitching to the media early, and make sure that all of your campaign promotional components are in sync.  Publicize your event and/or announcement ahead of time and make sure that activities and events build on prior efforts in support of the overall organizational positioning.

10. Seek feedback, advice and council from other health information exchange leaders.  The eHealth Initiative offers a monthly membership call where issues, concerns and “lessons learned” are shared among the community participants.