Healthcare communications and marketing news and information

Today’s Wall Street Journal features an interesting article (subscription required) about how the numbers of patient advocacy organizations has exploded in recent years.  While this may be good news for patients, the glut of healthcare non-profits is making it more difficult raise funds and influence policy and medical treatment.

Some observers have suggested that non-profits should look for ways to join forces to maximize scarce resources.  They say that organizations with similar missions should look for ways to team up and access a larger pool of talent and human resources.   I agree.

From a communications perspective, I have witnessed the benefits of teamwork first hand.  Some of these include:

- Greater visibility within the healthcare provider community

- Increased potential for media coverage

- Improved access to private and public dollars

In this era of shrinking resources and increasing need, I think that non-profits should look for ways to join forces with other organizations in the same area wherever possible.  While it may be difficult to overcome rivalries and competition between organizations, collaboration often pays off – immediately and in the future.