SHSMD

What SHSMD does

SHSMD (Society for Health Care Strategy & Market Development) is a professional membership organization founded in 1996 and headquartered at 155 North Wacker Drive in Chicago, Illinois, co-located with and operating as a strategic unit of the American Hospital Association (AHA). The organization serves health care strategy, marketing, business development, digital engagement, communications, and public relations professionals working in hospitals, health systems, and integrated delivery networks across the United States. SHSMD is a non-profit professional society with 11–50 employees and does not develop proprietary software or technology platforms; its core offering is educational content, professional frameworks, peer networking, and benchmarking resources targeted at the healthcare marketing and strategy function.

SHSMD's product portfolio centers on the annual SHSMD Connections Conference as its flagship in-person event, the Futurescan annual trend publication, the SHSMD Learning Center with multiple certificate programs (HIPAA & Privacy Compliance, Driving Service Line Growth, Social Media Strategies, Health Care Marketing Plans), the By the Numbers: MarCom benchmarking dashboard, a Resource Library, Quick Tools templates and checklists (including a Generative Engine Optimization Checklist and a Digital Dream Team Maturity Model), the SHSMD Podcast, and the MySHSMD online member community with state and local chapters, mentorship, and Catalyst Conversations meet-ups. Featured case-study subjects across webinars include UChicago Medicine, Mount Sinai Health System, Piedmont Healthcare, Baptist Health Jacksonville, Brookings Health System, Children's Health (Dallas), and Geisinger.

SHSMD's revenue model is subscription- and event-driven across five streams: annual membership dues, conference and event registration fees, educational program and course fees (e.g., $500 member / $750 non-member for Driving Service Line Growth, with a 10% group discount for 3+ enrollees from the same organization), sponsorship and advertising sold through a dedicated media kit portal (shsmdmediakit.org), and Career Center job posting fees. Distribution is primarily direct-to-consumer digital through shsmd.org and AHA's membership management system (ams.aha.org), with the rotating annual conference as the principal in-person channel and a network of martech and agency sponsors (SearchStax, Uberall, Gozio Health, Freshpaint, MoreVisibility, HSG Advisors, LeagueSide, LiveWorld, Hedy & Hopp, Futurety/HUCKLE) extending reach and content production capacity.

Name

SHSMD

Legal name

Society for Health Care Strategy & Market Development

Website

https://shsmd.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1996

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

SHSMD is a non-profit professional membership organization, affiliated with the American Hospital Association, that provides education, benchmarking, networking, and professional development resources to healthcare strategy, marketing, and communications professionals at US hospitals and health systems.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Chicago

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership Dues: Annual membership fees providing access to the full suite of SHSMD member resources, online community, career center, mentorship, chapters, and member-exclusive tools and content.
2. Conference and Event Registration: Registration fees for the annual SHSMD Connections conference and virtual/live educational events, webinars, and certificate programs.
3. Educational Programs and Courses: Fees for structured certificate programs (e.g., HIPAA & Privacy Compliance, Health Care Marketing Plans, Social Media Strategies, Driving Service Line Growth) with member and non-member pricing tiers.
4. Sponsorship and Advertising: Paid sponsorship and advertising opportunities through the SHSMD Media Kit, reaching health care strategy, marketing, and communications decision-makers. Includes sponsored webinars and exhibit opportunities at the annual conference.
5. Career Center Job Postings: Fees charged to employers for posting jobs to the SHSMD Career Center, targeting health care marketing and strategy professionals.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels10 records

Core offering

SHSMD is a professional membership association for healthcare strategy, marketing, communications, and public relations professionals working at hospitals and health systems. It sells individual and institutional memberships, an annual conference (SHSMD Connections), educational courses and certificate programs, benchmarking tools, and publications such as Futurescan. The core value delivered is networking, education, and benchmarking resources tailored to healthcare strategy and marketing functions.

Product overview

SHSMD (Society for Health Care Strategy & Market Development) is a membership organization of the American Hospital Association that provides a comprehensive portfolio of professional development and knowledge resources for health care strategy, marketing, and communications professionals. The offering consists of the annual SHSMD Connections Conference as the flagship event, the Futurescan annual publication for trend analysis, the SHSMD Learning Center with courses and certificate programs, the Resource Library with research and guides, Quick Tools including templates and checklists, the By the Numbers MarCom benchmarking dashboard, the SHSMD Podcast, and the MySHSMD online member community. The portfolio also includes specialized certificate programs covering HIPAA compliance, service line growth strategy, and social media marketing, as well as topic-specific webinars and educational content covering digital engagement, AI applications in health care, and communications best practices.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• SHSMD Connections Annual Conference Annual multi-day conference bringing together healthcare strategy, marketing, and communications professionals for keynote sessions, networking, and exhibits; held September 14-17 in Grapevine, Texas.
• Futurescan Healthcare Trends Publication Annual thought-leadership publication highlighting emerging trends and strategic insights for healthcare leaders; available for purchase through the AHA Store.
• SHSMD Learning Center Online education platform providing on-demand courses, webinars, and certificate programs for healthcare strategy, marketing, and communications professionals.
• By the Numbers: MarCom Benchmarking Dashboard Online benchmarking dashboard that enables healthcare marketing and communications teams to compare departmental metrics, staffing, and performance against peer institutions.
• HIPAA & Privacy Compliance Certificate Program Self-paced certificate program covering HIPAA and privacy compliance fundamentals tailored for healthcare marketing and communications professionals.
• Driving Service Line Growth Course Online course teaching service-line growth strategies and tactics for healthcare strategy and marketing leaders.
• AI-Powered Website Search Webinar Series Webinar series covering AI-powered website search optimization techniques for healthcare marketers and digital strategy teams.
• Student Professional Development Workshop Series Workshop series targeted at students and early-career professionals entering healthcare strategy, marketing, and communications fields.
• MySHSMD Online Member Community Online member-only community platform enabling peer networking, discussion forums, and resource sharing among SHSMD members.

Quantifiable outcome

• The By the Numbers: MarCom benchmarking dashboard helps members compare their MarCom budget, staffing, and channel mix against national data to justify investment and identify gaps.
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• UberallminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 25 June 2026Uberall co-hosts the SHSMD webinar 'Winning the AI Recommendation: Connecting Hospital Brands and Doctors in the GEO Era' with SHSMD. Uberall provides location management and generative engine optimization solutions for health care organizations, and partners with SHSMD to educate health care marketers on GEO strategies.
• SearchStaxminorGTM or Marketing PartnerSearchStax is a sponsor of the SHSMD AI-Powered Website Search webinar (August 2026), featuring Chris Pace, VP of Digital Experience Strategy at SearchStax, alongside Kalee Hildreth from UChicago Medicine. SearchStax provides AI-powered website search solutions for health care organizations and uses SHSMD's educational platform to reach and engage health care marketing and digital strategy professionals.
• Gozio HealthminorGTM or Marketing PartnerGozio Health is the sponsor of the SHSMD Differentiating Your Brand Through the Mobile Experience webinar (April 2026) and the Digital Front Door webinar series. Katie Logan, Chief Strategy Officer of Gozio Health, co-presented the session alongside speakers from Tidelands Health. Gozio Health provides mobile wayfinding and patient experience platforms for health systems.
• HSG AdvisorsminorGTM or Marketing PartnerHSG (Health Strategy Group) Advisors sponsored the SHSMD webinar on patient attraction and retention growth strategies featuring Baptist Health Jacksonville. HSG is a national health care consulting firm focused on employed physician networks and physician integration, and partners with SHSMD to share consulting expertise through educational webinars.
• LeagueSideminorGTM or Marketing PartnerLeagueSide sponsored the SHSMD Community Marketing webinar on gaining mindshare through local sports sponsorships. LeagueSide specializes in sports sponsorship marketing for brands and partners with SHSMD to share community marketing strategies with health care marketers.
• LiveWorldminorGTM or Marketing PartnerLiveWorld co-sponsored the SHSMD on-demand webinar on Online Communities alongside Mount Sinai Health System, sharing how condition-based online communities can drive patient engagement and brand loyalty.
• Hedy & HoppminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerHedy & Hopp is the content provider for the SHSMD HIPAA & Privacy Compliance for Health Care Marketers certificate course. Jenny Bristow (CEO), Lindsey Brown (Director of Activation), and their team developed and deliver the four-module program covering compliance fundamentals, digital marketing tactics, analytics and technology, and privacy law case studies.
• FreshpaintminorGTM or Marketing PartnerFreshpaint sponsored the SHSMD webinar 'Driving Performance in 2026: Data-Driven Health Care Marketing That Proves ROI and Protects Privacy' (April 2026). Freshpaint provides privacy-safe analytics solutions for health care organizations and partners with SHSMD to address data privacy and marketing measurement challenges.
• MoreVisibilityminorGTM or Marketing PartnerMoreVisibility co-presented the SHSMD webinar on driving performance and proving ROI in health care marketing, drawing on insights from the MoreVisibility 2026 Healthcare Marketing Insights Report. MoreVisibility is a digital marketing agency specializing in health care.
• Futurety / HUCKLEminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerFuturety (operating as HUCKLE) partnered with Geisinger to develop a privacy-compliant data infrastructure enabling highly segmented and personalized patient marketing communications. This partnership was featured as a bonus module in the SHSMD HIPAA & Privacy Compliance course.
• American Hospital Association (AHA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSHSMD is a professional membership organization of the American Hospital Association (AHA). AHA provides SHSMD's institutional infrastructure, credibility, and network reach, including shared headquarters in Chicago, integrated membership management systems (AMS), and access to AHA research, advocacy, and member services. SHSMD content and events are branded as 'An American Hospital Association Conference.'

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• American Organization for Nursing Leadership (AONL): AONL is the AHA-affiliated professional organization for nurse leaders, offering membership, certification, and an annual conference. It is the most direct structural twin to SHSMD—same parent (AHA), same model (membership + education + annual conference), serving a different but adjacent hospital executive persona.
• American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE): ACHE is a professional association serving healthcare leaders, with a similar membership, education, and conference model to SHSMD. Both operate as AHA-affiliated (ACHE also affiliated with AHA) continuing-education bodies for healthcare executives, making the operational and revenue model directly comparable.
• Medical Group Management Association (MGMA): MGMA is a professional association for medical practice administrators, offering membership, certifications, benchmarking data, and educational events. Its membership + benchmarking + certificate model is structurally comparable to SHSMD and serves healthcare operations leaders in the same hospital/physician-practice buyer base.
• Beryl Institute: The Beryl Institute is a global community of practice dedicated to improving the patient experience in healthcare, offering membership, certificate programs, and an annual PX (Patient Experience) conference. It directly mirrors SHSMD's community-led, education-anchored membership model and serves a closely adjacent healthcare marketing/strategy audience.
• Healthcare Financial Management Association (HFMA): HFMA is a membership organization serving healthcare finance professionals with annual dues, certification programs, and a major annual conference (HFMA Annual Conference). Its structure mirrors SHSMD's mix of membership + education + events and serves an adjacent buyer persona inside the same hospital/health-system buyer.
• American Association for Physician Leadership (AAPL): AAPL is a professional membership association providing education, certification, and conferences for physician leaders. Like SHSMD, it monetizes through individual and institutional memberships plus paid courses, and serves an adjacent executive buyer within hospitals and health systems.

Broad incumbents

• Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS): HIMSS is a much larger, globally scaled healthcare technology professional society with annual dues, certification, and a flagship global conference. It is a broad incumbent in the healthcare professional development space and overlaps with SHSMD on digital/health-IT education for hospital leaders.

Emerging players

• Health Management Academy (HMA): The Health Management Academy is a membership-based peer learning organization for C-suite healthcare executives, with research, convenings, and benchmarking. It targets a senior buyer adjacent to SHSMD's service-line and strategy leader segments and competes for the same health-system education and content budget.
• Society for Health Care Innovation (within AHA) / AHA-related innovation communities: Emerging innovation-focused communities within and adjacent to AHA target healthcare strategy and transformation leaders. They overlap with SHSMD's audience and increasingly compete for the same education, benchmarking, and conference dollars from health-system innovation executives.
• National Association of Healthcare Marketing Executives / healthcare marketing councils: Regional and industry-specific healthcare marketing executive councils and peer groups serve overlapping buyer personas with curated networking, benchmarking, and events. They are smaller, niche communities that compete for the same hospital marketing decision-maker attention and sponsorship budgets as SHSMD.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/SHSMDAHA
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@SHSMD
• Facebookfacebook.com/SHSMDAHA
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/shsmd

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about SHSMD