Market Strategy of Blue Cross Blue Shield - Assignment Example

Market Strategy of Blue Cross Blue Shield Blue Cross Blue Shield is a prestigious company that specializes in providing health services and products. As a premiere company, Blue Cross and Blue Shield, the leader in providing health care services, has embraced the idea of virtualization and adapted in their current IT infrastructure. One of the main concerns of the organization was to reduce cost of their servers and address the issue of a growing customer base that was vital for their organizational needs. This paper will discuss the various aspects of Before understanding the infrastructure and technology, the company has been very well-off financially. Conducive research indicates that even during the financial crisis of 2008, the organization has been stellar because of their high customer equity and premiums. Healthcare is one the elements that was always solid. Looking at the financial statements, the company made annual sales of $75.7 million. This allowed the company to leverage itself in the industry. One of the major strengths of the organization is its ability to have a strong customer base supported by its technological infrastructure. The infrastructure is heavily supported by its business model and understanding how technology can serve its needs. However, the key benefit that the Blue Cross achieved was the fact that it allowed its customers to accessibility of information without much delay. In an industry where information is vital, this organization was able to accommodate the needs of their growing customers as well as provide information that were compliant with HIPAA and ACA. Strengths One of the major strengths as mentioned before was the fact that it had a strong customer and revenue base. The premiums that were being derived from the organization truly harnessed growth and allowed the company to get a strong threshold as a company. Weakeness One of the major challenges of the company was to expand its private and public cloud with compliance. It was evident that the risk management involved in insurance business is a huge focal point.  Blue Cross had a huge dilemma of expanding their IT infrastructure boundaries by maintaining old records and creating space for new customers. Furthermore, the company’s auditing team was able to ensure the legitimacy of network passwords within their own IT infrastructure. When it comes to cloud computing, many flavors are present. For instance, a public cloud is one based on the standard cloud computing model, in which the service provider makes the such as applications and services open to public. Private cloud is the phrase used to describe a cloud computing platform that is implemented within the corporate firewall. For instance, Blue Cross Blue Shield might have its own private cloud in which firewalls and DMZ act as barriers before the company can access a public cloud. Opportunities One of the best opportunities was the fact that compliance and authentication can be met with its new technology infrastructure. Customer can easily access their information using PKI and get an easily secure to obtain their medicain informationIn fact, recent studies have found that organizations achieved on average an 18% reduction in their budget from cloud computing and a 16% reduction in data costs. It is clear that cloud computing is a technology that has been around for many years, but lately has been the pivotal point for organizations. By optimizing technical support, optimization, and trouble shooting, the cloud provider can achieve significant economies of scale, leading to low prices for cloud resourcesFinally, a hybrid cloud is a combination of public and private. Threats One of the major challenges for Blue Cross Blue Shield Incorporation major trends would consist of streamlining the process, conducting a SWOT analysis, and acknowledge all stakeholders within the organization. As a healthcare director, there are many challenges that need to be addressed in this realm. First and foremost, is the issue of ethics in the healthcare industry. This can be detrimental as Medicare will be a huge issue around 2033. In order to rectify this issue, a solidified solution that consists of all-network relationship must be applied. Additionally, compliance for HIPAA and Stageful 2 Compliance must be thoroughly met. External threats One of the biggest external threats is obviously the advent of cloud computing and the dynamics that it continues to change in the industry. Even though a small portion of is submitted through fraud, the estimated loss in these fraudulent activities can result up to a hefty $56.7 in losses. This can be detrimental as Medicare will be a huge issue around 2033. In order to rectify this issue, a solidified solution that consists of all-network relationship must be applied. For a director, it is clear to utilize a strategy that assesses policies within the environment of the organization. Each organization faces different challenges. Evaluation To combat this seamless customer service, in-depth understanding of financial plans, and a more enhanced mobile application for customers to see their policies and procedures. Securing a cloud environment along with emergence of competition from other organization such as State farm and All-State has been another focal point. In order to meet customers’ demands, Blue Cross Blue Shield has been proactive in ensuring that customer data is being secured and in compliance with regulations. Additionally, it must continue to provide innovative services of products and services to ensure that it keeps up with its customers. In order to rectify ever-growing problem of compliance and patient security, hospitals must be proactive in streamlining policies. Corporate/Business Level Strategy Without a doubt, the organization must must take a proactive approach to not only collect information, which can be an extremely critical situation for medical personnel. Even though it is almost to estimate the cost of fraudulent claims, taxpayers have to atone for the financial woes as their tax money is utilized. The worse aspect in this whole scenario is the fact that money lost to improper financial billing can be used to support lower income individuals. The lower income individuals instead have to suffer as a result of fraudulent claims. Health care marketers will play a role in helping their organizations by ensuring that technology and business processes are placed. Analyze Implementations Conducive research indicates that rehabilitation centers and pharmaceutical services has been center of attraction for revenue cycle. In essence, healthcare teams has been emerging horizontally for a while to streamline the process of statutory regulations and healthcare itself. With much demand of privacy accumulating, Functional health status was the most frequently reported effect outcome of the program. In essence, an integrated review of the programmed depicted that all stakeholders such as physicians, collaborators, healthcare officials working together is more lucrative and beneficial for health officials as it eliminates tiers and provides a seamless manner of statutory regulation and compliance. References Hillestad, S & Berkowitz E. (2004). Health Care Market Strategy: From Planning to Action (3rd Ed). Sudbury: Jones & Bartlett Publishers, Inc..  "What is HIPAA." What is HIPAA. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Aug. 2011. . Kongstvedt, P. R. (2007) Essentials of managed health care: (5Th Ed.) Jones & Bartlett Publishers  Read More