A number of years ago I wrote the brand plan for the North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System. Though I had to fight to sell it through – the strategy had the cold, cold word “systematized” in it – most approvers agreed it captured their essence. Of the three brand planks, the two that carried real water were resource and information sharing and community integration.
Today it was reported that North Shore-LIJ has decided to lead the way in creating and implementing digital patient records. The system has creates financial incentives for docs to record and save all patient procedures and outcomes on computers. Digital patient records were inevitable, but someone big had to do it first. The two key benefits of this approach are less mistakes and improved best practices. Thank you Jesus.
I write about this because it shows that a good brand plan should have legs. The systematized approach to improving healthcare was written the summer of 2000 and it’s not only still accurate today, it’s more powerful today. More powerful because the system has spent millions of dollars and millions reminding doctors, patients, employees, administrators and others that this organization is “Setting New Standards in Healthcare.” Brand plans must see and prepare the way for the future. North Shore is still living its brand plan. Peace!
