PR in Hospitals

Public relations is an important function to build up corporate image of the hospitals in the minds of the
public and the patients.
Public relation is relatively new service in hospital. Nevertheless, it’s rapid growth in recent years and the
fact that many hospitals now have public relations programs and public officer indicate that it has earned
an important and permanent place in the hospital set -up.
The importance of and the need for public relations can be appreciated when one considers some of the
problem today’s hospital have to contend with -high cost of medical care and the growing public criticism
of hospital, problem of delivering quality care at affordable cost, need for efficient and professional
management of hospital and increasing involvement of government agencies and consumer protection
forums in patient care and internal management of hospital. Different section of public- community,
employees, medical staff, patient, visitors, etc. forms their opinion about the hospital according to the
source of information .These opinions can be influences by a good public relations programmed.
A good public relation program is essential both inside and outside the hospital .Inside the hospital to
maintain dedicated staff who will provide warm and personal service to patient and outside to
communicate the activity of the hospital to the people and to interpret people’s perception of the hospital
and its policies to the hospital ‘s management
Healthcare changing at rapid pace with the role of public relations in hospital is changing too. There has
been an explosion in technology that has revolutionized the practice of the public relations in terms of its
acceptance and sophistication. Many public relations directors who remain insulated in their self contained
hospitals performing the traditional public relations activity such as publication of house journals and
functioning as hospitals media agent have suddenly found themselves equipped and unprepared to face
the challenge of new concepts of marketing positioning and advertising that have been introduce to public
relations.
The basic components of public relations in hospital :-
Counseling: This involves providing advice to management about policies, relationships and interactions.
Research: shaping attitudes and behaviors of the public in order to plan public strategies.
Media Relations: Working with mass media in seeking publicity or responding to their interests in the
hospital.
Publicity: Disseminating planned messages through selected media to sponsor the hospital
Employee/Member Relations: Responding to concerns, informing, and motivating the hospital employees
or members.
Community Relations: designed activity with a community to maintain an environment that benefits both
the hospital and the community.
Public Affairs: Developing effective involvement in public policy and helping a hospital adapt to public
expectations. The term is also used by government agencies to describe their public relations activities and
by many corporations as an umbrella term to describe multiple public relations activities.
Government Affairs: Relating directly with legislatures and regulatory agencies on behalf of the hospital.
Lobbying can be a part of the government affairs program.
Issues Management: Identifying and addressing issues of public concern that affect the hospital.
Financial Relations: Creating and maintain investor confidence and building good relationships with the
financial community Also known as Investor Relations or Shareholder Relations.
Industry Relations: Relating with other hospitals in the industry of an organization .
Development/Fund-Raising: Demonstrating the need for development and encouraging the public to
support the hospital, primarily through financial contributions.
Special Events: inspiring an interest in a person, product or organization by means of a focused
“happening” also activities designed to interact with publics and listen to them.
The major responsibility of the public relations department are interpreting ,advertising ,marketing and
communicating .To carry these responsibility effectively ,the public relation director should be fully
informed of everything that goes in the hospital .In other word he should be amender of top management
team and should attend meeting of the government board for this it is obvious that the director is a person
of the highest personal integrity ,stature ,judgment and personal discretion
PR for Charitable Institutions
Building the awareness of a charity organization or charity event is important to encourage donations and
support for the cause. Public relations is a great way to build awareness for a charity, grow the brand,
communicate to a target audience and encourage support. As many charity organizations have a strict
budget they may not be able to afford to invest much money in advertising or marketing. Charity
organizations can then conduct their own PR activities to promote the business and stick to their budget.
Public relations is the need for NGOs to maintain a close relationship with the public to achieve its
objectives. Foundations and charities organizations use the campaign to raise funds and acquire their
advanced methods of lobbying in collaboration with government institutions. Regardless of the operating
field, issue of promoting and maintaining social trust are major targets for non-governmental organizations
and to achieve these goals will present various strategies for public relations. The role of public relations is
to target well-defined objectives for non-governmental organizations such as:
− develop communication channels between the organization and beneficiaries;
− to win public acceptance for the organization's mission;
− create and maintain a favorable climate for fund raising;
− to ensure and maintain public interest in the organization towards the mission;
− inform and motivate organizational staff involved (employees, volunteers, board members).
Public relations tools at a nongovernmental organization may use are varied:
− press release. Press releases advantage organization that allows them to create positive publicity through
the media. The only risk which have this press release is that the company d’ont have certainty that the
subject appears in the press. Also shall appearing in news media be interpreted freely, which could distort
the original meaning.
− stories. An organization can not write a story or an article for print media and can not do a story for
television, but may invite journalists to carry out an exclusive story about the event that the company
considers it extremely important. This tool is advantageous in that it is much easier to control.
− interviews and press conferences. Press conferences have an air of importance and credibility that used
the media means to present information on the organization.
− creating events. Enables raising funds from various companies by engaging in such actions designed to
create a positive image among the public.
With the increase in the magnitude of non-profit sector has also increased interest from the media to the
activities of nongovernmental organizations. The number of articles in the press has grown considerably,
and time for television or radio broadcasts dealing the subjects relating to projects, programs and
initiatives by charitable nature. Given the process of communication, public relations activities play an
important role in the proper management of messages to be transmitted to the target audience. Since
work by nongovernmental organizations aimed at fundraising, public relations specialist will be to
streamline messages transmitted.
A good PR will give you a far wider reach that is unlimited, inspiring newer people to contribute, generating
more funds. With the use of PR, you not just establish the need for funds but also let the world know the
charity’s integrity in how it spends the money. We’ve reached out to local and national media, social
influencers on YouTube and Instagram, bloggers, got TV spots for the cause and generally helped the
charity attract a whole new audience they would otherwise never have had access to.
At the end of the day, people have a choice, they have a right to choose a ‘charity’ they want to donate.
Sometimes the cause could attract them or the integrity of the charity itself, which allows them to trust
they will make use of their money in a genuine way. When a charity does not have enough publicity, there
are chances they can be won or lost on these critical messages, which is why PR has so much value in a
fundraising situation. And when times are hard, it’s especially important in persuading supporters to
choose your charity over others in the sector. After all, if there is a greater success is using PR for a good
cause, who wouldn’t want it?
Defence PR
 The influence of defence coverage in the national news media is visible many a times on defence
relations between two nations, sale and purchase of arms, ammunition and equipment, policy decisions
R&D in defence, international polity and security operations. Hence in the current era this makes the
Defence PR all the more important.
 The Directorate of Public Relations (DPR) is the nodal agency for the dissemination of information to the
media and the public about the events, programs, achievements and major policy decisions of the Defence
Ministry, Armed Forces, Inter-Services Organisations and Public Sector Undertakings under the Ministry of
Defence. DPR came into existence in June, 1940 as a result of ongoing World War II at that time. Brigadier
Ivor Stuart Jehu was the first Director of Public Relations Department (PRD) in India. At that time PRD acted
as a bridge head between the Public and Armed forces through the media.
 The Directorate with its headquarters in New Delhi and 25 regional offices across the country. It’s main
responsibilities include:
1. Providing media support to ensure wide publicity in the print and the electronic media.
2. It also facilitates media interaction with the leadership and senior officials of the Ministry of Defence and
Armed Forces by conducting regular interviews, press conferences and press tours.
3. It has been an important communication tool on issues related to J&K infiltration, Assam crisis, and also
during Kargil war.
4. DPR prepares and operates contingency plans for publicity during operations and emergencies.
5. It also provides feedback on the reaction in the media to the programs, policies, and activities of the
ministry and armed forces.
6. It analyzes the various angles of the stories about armed forces that appear in various dailies.
7. DPR acts as media advisor to the ministry of Defence including the armed forces.
8. The Directorate conducts Defence Correspondents’ Course for media persons to enhance their
knowledge about Defence matters.
9. The Directorate brings out a fortnightly journal, Sainik Samachar for the Armed Forces in 13 languages.
10. The Broadcasting section of the Directorate coordinates and produces a 40 minute program ‘Sainikon
Ke Liye’ that is broadcast daily on All India Radio for the Armed Forces personnel.
11. The Photo Section of the Directorate provides photo coverage to important events related to Defence.
 Media publicity for the major events is arranged by DPR. Coverage is also arranged in the form of
photographs and news reports for various military exercises and assignments including those abroad. Visits
of the Indian Defence Minister and Armed Forces Chiefs abroad and the visits of foreign dignitaries to India
are also prominently covered by it. Major decisions of the Union Cabinet and the Ministry of Defence
(MoD) including the Armed Forces are also widely publicized by DPR.
 The DPR also conducts media tours to various places across the country for major events and
familiarization of visits.
 This Directorate also arranges all media facilities related to the Republic Day Celebrations and brings out
a commentary for the parade on the Rajpath. Other important calendar events such as the Independence
Day celebrations at Red Fort, Combined Commanders’ Conference and NCC Rally addressed by the Prime
Minister and Defence Ceremonies at Rashtrapati Bhawan were also accorded due publicity by DPR.
 It is responsible for projecting the Policies, programs and Welfare Schemes of Directorate General
Resettlement (DGR) regarding resettlement and welfare of ex-servicemen, widows and their dependants
through its publications, brochures, leaflets and advertisements.
PR IN POLITICS
 Until very recently political communications was dominated by primarily one PR technique: ‘ Media
Relations’. From the early1960's through to the early 1990s research focused primarily on the impact of
mass communication, especially television. As a result, political communication stressed the impact of
journalists and political actors on shaping public opinion.
 However, since the mid-90's the dominance of mass communications has been challenged by three
interrelated developments.
 Firstly, the introduction of the permanent campaign which has blurred the difference between
campaigning and governing so that politicians seek to dominate the agenda every single day.
 Secondly, there has been an increased professionalization of communication with public relations and
marketing professionals transferring their skills to the political arena.
 Thirdly, the growing importance of new communications technology, namely new media, especially the
internet, has encouraged political actors to use a much wider range of PR tools.
 Under such developments, political communicators do not rely on one dominant channel to reach their
target audiences.
 U.S. President Barack Obama showed other politicians how to harness the power of the Web in 2008,
bringing political campaigns kicking and screaming into the 21st century. Obama went beyond the static
web pages of most past campaigns, by tapping the power of web 2.0 tools including Facebook, YouTube,
Blogs and discussion boards, to create an engaged conversation with potential voters. The same has been
done lately by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
 Political PR encourages a rich interaction at a range of different levels between those active, interested
or even uninterested in the political process and political discourse. Politics also offer a broad range of PR
activities at international, national and regional level. PR communication is required both at party level and
in related organizations (chambers, associations, trade unions).
 The aim of PR in politics is to present functionaries their manifestos and programs in comparison to other
parties in society. This involves attracting attention and interest of the people towards the work done by
the party for the development of the people, as well as raising the level of awareness about the party and
its leaders. PR in politics is employed to convey information and shape political opinion.
 In our society filled with media, information, attention and communication, political institutions consider
it very important to use media for political PR. Keeping the media aware about the positive activities of the
political party is the is key to successful political PR.
 PR professionals in the context also conduct continued dialogue with other major target groups, such as
members, functionaries, voters, other political parties and stakeholders, to build up and promote a climate
of mutual understanding and trust. They act as two-way mediators between politics, the media, the
economy, the administration and civil society.
 They Consult political decision-makers, and govt. functionaries in formulating policies and concerns.
 They access the party image in the society and suggest corrective measures wherever required. They also
analyze the feedback of people in various political actions and Develop strategies on the basis of analyses
(e.g. analyses of strengths and weaknesses)
 The PR function of publicity is a great tool of gaining awareness for candidates and cause. Whether
through mass media exposure, special events or targeted direct communication, making candidates'
names known to voters is a basic function of political PR. Candidates can't win if voters don't know their
names.
Qualities of Political PR
Regardless of their field of activity PR consultants have sound knowledge and experience in a number
of different fields of communication.
 Knowledge of theory and practice in politics.
 Talent as journalists, the ability to analyse facts and sort them according to relevance.
 Wide knowledge of national and international media.
 The ability to tackle specific fields of communication including corporate identity, internal
communication, crisis/risk communication, media relations, online communication, personnel
communication, lobbying, sponsoring, amongst others
 Experience in creativity, planning and evaluation techniques, as well as market and opinion research
 Knowledge of and skills in professions related to PR, such as public affairs, lobbying, marketing,
advertising, direct marketing etc.
 Knowledge of contemporary methods in print and electronic media.
 Knowledge of communication technologies for communicating politics, for moderation, presentations,
negotiations.
 Extensive knowledge of political systems and processes.
 General knowledge of economics, law and society and thorough command of one foreign language.
 Professional handling of team work, communication in the context of (party) political activities.
 The ability to communicate empathically with staff and voluntary supporters.
 Their personal profile is expected to include the following: excellent communication skills, committed,
able to work under pressure, team player, able to work in committees, social skills, able to act and think
flexibly, responsible and creative.