Public Health Copywriting and Content Creation

Writers who have public health/population health experience are key to assisting health care organizations meet the triple aim requirements of health care transformation. The Affordable Care Act (ACA), more commonly referred to as Obama care or health care reform, is part of a new law transforming the health care industry in the United States. The goal is to create a system that allows all persons access to quality care for an affordable price. Patients, now viewed as health consumers, are required to purchase health care insurance or face a possible fine. Health care providers are now responsible for providing health care oversight for a group of patients assigned to their case load, not just to those who make appointments to be seen in their office. They are being asked to take on a more "public health" approach to managing their patients. This significantly changes the way business was previously done. So, why are writers so important all of a sudden? It comes down to five simple letters "W.O.R.D.S". Whether written, spoken, narrated in a story, or presented in a completely new and innovative way, words convey information vital to successful patient care and health delivery. Writers must interpret this information to create meaningful messages that are health literate for diverse audiences. Creating tailored messages for specific audiences is how that information becomes knowledge.  Which, in turn, influences decision making skills. The more knowledge gained, the more comprehensive the decisions become. Knowledge based decisions empower populations to to take action. Leaders emerge to raise awareness and established trust and respect further motivate others into action. This breakdown of communication is vital for influencing decisions, improving quality of care given, and motivating consumer engagement. Much of the time, health information is already available and accessible to others. It is up to the writer to capture the attention of the appropriate audience, triggering trusted community leaders to serve as conduits to care for the populations that trust and respect them.  Knowledge and communication deficits are a serious problem, especially in the health industry. Resolving this can start a domino effect that creates new and informed health consumers, improves access to timely medical care by linking consumers and primary providers, saves major costs on avoidable emergency room visits, increases the needed revenue for primary care providers, and assists in meeting the transformation goals of improving quality and decreasing costs overall.
And, it all starts with health copywriters and creating an inbound marketing and content strategy. Health writers should be offered a spot at the table when it comes to strategy planning in the first place. After all, not only do they generate revenue through their keen ability to write persuasively, but they also are experts when it comes to identifying target markets, key stakeholders, and negotiating new partnerships. After all, how else would they be able to craft such profitable messages?