Marketing for Healthcare

Marketing for Healthcare
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Healthcare Marketing: Organizational Aspect
Private industries and businesses operating in free market competition have developed a strategy of building a bond with their prospective clients. This is the underpinning principle of marketing. Hence, marketing refers to the representation and promotion of services and/or products in such a manner so as to overcome competition. On the other hand, another role of marketing is to create and expand the need for different services and products. The healthcare industry is an important segment for ensuring safe and quality healthcare for patients. Like any other private or public industry healthcare organizations have to ensure profitability for meeting their operating costs. Hence, marketing plays a significant and pervasive role for the healthcare industry. There is a difference between the marketing approaches of a service-based organization and manufacturing-based organization (Lovelock & Wirtz, 2011).
The products or services in a service-based organization are often intangible. Hence, it is often difficult to measure productivity in a service-based organization. Healthcare industry is a service-based entity which thrives on the relationship between healthcare providers and healthcare consumers. Hence, the primary role of any healthcare organization is to assure patients regarding the quality of care. Therefore, marketing in healthcare have become production-oriented (Lovelock & Wirtz, 2011).

Healthcare organizations are implementing marketing initiatives based on quality, accessibility and reliability of their healthcare services. Moreover, extending cost-effective care is also an important marketing strategy of different healthcare organizations (Casalino et al., 2009).
Healthcare is not a commodity and the net benefit of any healthcare service is not directly measurable. Although such services are intangible, they strongly influence the perception of their clients. Patients or healthcare consumers have certain expectations from their health service provider. These expectations include trust, self-perception of care, and transparent communication with healthcare professionals, assurance of quality care and availability of highest standards of care. Hence, the role of marketing in the healthcare industry is to address such needs and apprehensions of healthcare consumers. Improving patient satisfaction and meeting their needs are some of the major priorities for any healthcare organization. Most marketing strategies in a healthcare industry pivots around building relationship between healthcare providers, healthcare consumers and healthcare administrators. Hence, marketing plays a major role in improving the quality of care. Healthcare organizations are thriving to ensure evidence-based care, person-centric-care and enacting different benchmarks for ensuring highest standards of care. Such changes are likely to be perceived by the healthcare consumers and would lead to effective marketing of the concerned healthcare organization. Healthcare organizations are installing state-of-the-art infrastructures for ensuring the highest standards of care (Bodenheimer, 2008).
Apart from promoting the quality and standards of care, healthcare marketing is essential to meet different fiscal implications. For example, the Affordable Care Act endorses on quality healthcare in a cost-effective manner. Therefore, the main role of healthcare marketing is to aware healthcare consumers regarding the availability of desired healthcare services as per their insurance coverage. The awareness is not only limited to accessibility and availability of services. This is because healthcare marketing helps to sensitize clients regarding the burden of illness and the related cost of care. Moreover, healthcare marketing also aid in unfolding different options that is tailor-made for each healthcare consumer. Healthcare marketing also ensures healthy competition between different healthcare professionals and between different healthcare organizations. Such healthy competition is desirable for improving the standards of care. Hence, healthcare marketing should be encouraged for ensuring positive health outcomes in patients (Casalino et al., 2009).
Healthcare Services Marketing: Individual Professionals
Marketing of healthcare professionals is as important as marketing of healthcare organizations. The concept of “Medical Practice Marketing” has gained acceptance across physicians and allied healthcare professionals. Physicians and allied healthcare professionals are directly engaged in delivering various healthcare services that aims to ensure safe and quality healthcare across healthcare consumers. Thus marketing of healthcare services is an essential attribute for gaining recognition across current and prospective patients. Marketing of individual healthcare professionals could be achieved through virtual and real environments. Personal websites and blogs are quite common forms of social engagement that are used by healthcare professionals (Lovelock & Wirtz, 2011).
Social engagement is essential for developing interpersonal relationship with present and prospective clients. Moreover, social media is also essential for sharing information and awareness across patients regarding novel and accessible and affordable healthcare services. Marketing of healthcare services helps healthcare consumers to unfold their personal and clinical needs. Personal marketing of healthcare professionals helps to ensure professional acceptance across prospective clients. Moreover, individual marketing strategies is also essential for ensuring visibility of a healthcare professional. Presence and communication on social media is also essential for gaining reliability and trust across healthcare professionals. Hence, marketing of healthcare services and marketing of healthcare professionals is an important attribute for developing professional practice (Lovelock & Wirtz, 2011).
The concept of healthcare has dramatically changed over the past two decades. Different diseases which were once considered life-threatening and debilitating are being effectively managed with good prognosis. Marketing helps to assure and sensitize the prospective clients regarding the novel therapeutic approaches. Moreover, marketing also creates an opportunity for the patients to explore different options. Provision of different and equable healthcare options are essential for meeting financial, social, personal and clinical needs of a patient. Each healthcare professional may undertake different marketing approaches. However, the underpinning principle behind all marketing strategies should be to address the apprehensions and needs of patients. Hence, marketing of healthcare services and marketing of healthcare professionals should be absolutely patient-centric. Marketing of healthcare professionals creates awareness amongst peers regarding the healthcare interventions and services available with such professionals (Lovelock & Wirtz, 2011). This helps in creating job postings and helps to develop “umbrella practice” across the physician community. Moreover, healthcare marketing promotes professional competence of healthcare professionals (Bodenheimer, 2008).
Lack of healthcare marketing would reduce the visibility and professional recognition of a healthcare professional. Such issues may reduce the turnover of patients and may impact the profitability of healthcare professionals. Moreover, patients and prospective clients would not be exposed to effective and novel healthcare services (Colwill, Cultice & Kruse, 2008). Ineffective marketing strategies may detriment the professional competence of a healthcare professional.
References
Bodenheimer T (2008). Coordinating care—a perilous journey through the health care system. N Engl J Med. 358, 1064-1071
Colwill JM, Cultice JM, Kruse RL.(2008) Will Generalist Physician Supply Meet Demands of an Increasing and Aging Population? Health Aff (Millwood). 27, 232-241
Casalino LP, Nicholson S, Gans DN, Hammons T, Morra D, Karrison T (2009). What does it cost physician practices to interact with health insurance plans? Health Aff (Millwood). 28, 533-543
Lovelock, C & Wirtz, J. (2011), Services Marketing – People, Technology, Strategy. 7th ed., Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Prentice Hall.