Marketing and Health Care System - Research Paper Example

? Marketing and the Health Care System Introduction The marketing of a healthcare system is essential for the spread of the health care services among the members of the community. The direct method of marketing is the most effective one as it allows the healthcare providers to get in touch with the healthcare recipients in the community. A direct interface helps the health care providers to understand the barriers due to which the health care services could not be accessed. The major barriers may be financial constraints, difficulties in transportation due to remote location, unawareness of the services available, etc. The utilization of the healthcare services of Maryland General Hospital could be assessed by the healthcare service provider in order to analyze the current situation of usage of healthcare services. A proper analysis of the field reports is helpful in designing the ways in which the decision of the healthcare recipients could be influenced. Research Objectives The scope of this research includes a study of Maryland General Hospital. The research objectives for this study are to examine the direct impact of marketing for Maryland General Hospital, to determine a strategy to find the utilization of products and services of the hospital, and to design a marketing strategy for Maryland General Hospital. Research Methodology The impact of direct marketing of Maryland General Hospital and strategies to determine the current utilization of healthcare services of the community that it caters have been determined with the help of the secondary method of research. The data collected for the study are secondary. The data have been obtained from secondary sources such as the electronic websites of the health care provider, journals, etc. The data obtained from the official website of Maryland General Hospital are reliable. The healthcare service activities have been studied from these secondary data sources. The information has been analyzed to design a marketing strategy for Maryland General Hospital and also to determine ways by which the decision of the healthcare recipients could be influenced for wider spread of the healthcare services. Analysis and Findings Maryland General Hospital is located in the city of Baltimore, Maryland, United States. The hospital serves majorly Afro-American citizens and lies in a medically underserved area of Baltimore. The hospital has been awarded a score of 38.6 for the medically underserved area, and any score below 62 requires medical services to a higher extent. This has raised the scope of direct marketing for the hospital which impact has been analyzed below. The hospital has engaged its consultants and internal committees for conducting surveys and direct marketing of its healthcare products and services. As a result, Maryland General Hospital has been able to understand the needs of the community through direct interaction with the members. The health care needs of individuals and their families could be identified and the cost of the healthcare services could be customized in order to serve the medically undeserved area of Baltimore. The direct marketing of healthcare services provides a clear picture of the demographics, income level and the barriers to access healthcare by communities (Maryland General Hospital, 2009). It has been found that about 16.2% of the population in the city of Baltimore are below the federal poverty line and cannot afford the primary healthcare service due to transportation barriers and financial constraints. The direct marketing of the healthcare services of Maryland General Hospital helps the organization to outreach to the people who need basic healthcare services. The strategies that could be adopted by Maryland General Hospital for assessing the utilization of the products and services of the organization are through the conduct of a survey using paper questionnaires and survey questionnaires through the Internet. The hospital could also conduct meetings with the religious leaders and school authorities to determine the utilization of health care services in the medically underserved area. Maryland General Hospital could also adopt a strategy of visiting the Maryland State Health Department to obtain statistical figures denoting the utilization of healthcare services in the area. Sponsored meetings with representatives of the community could also provide an insight into the access of healthcare services by the community (Moliner, 2009). The hospital could also arrange for outreach programs in order to spread the primary and specialty health care services to the remote areas of the state. The barriers to the utilization of healthcare service could also be determined with the help of this strategy. The major barriers to the utilization of healthcare services include non-availability of insurance among 14.2% of people in Baltimore to access the service, monetary restraints on account of remote location and distance from Maryland General Hospital, inability to get appointment with doctors, etc. The percentage of Medicaid recipients in Baltimore has been found to be 12.8%. The marketing strategy for Maryland General Hospital in order to tap the needs of the medically underserved area in Baltimore has been explained as follows. The socio-economic and environmental conditions of Baltimore would need to be analyzed for designing a marketing strategy. Maryland General Hospital would need to outreach to the people of Baltimore who cannot afford healthcare services due to financial constraints. As part of the marketing strategy, the patients who fall below the federal poverty line need to be provided with financial assistance so that they could afford the essential services (Maryland General Hospital, 2012). The hospital should focus on the diseases that are more prevalent in Baltimore, such as obesity, high blood pressure, heart ailments, etc., and develop customized healthcare services in order to spread their reach to a majority of healthcare recipients. The hospital could also undertake sponsored community programs and seminars in the local schools for the awareness of the health care services provided by the organization. Recommendations The ways in which Maryland General Hospital could shape the buying decision of customers in order to effectively spread the health care services are as follows. The first and foremost way that could be adopted by the hospital is to identify the economic status of the healthcare recipient. The hospital could provide financial assistance to the patients so that they could afford healthcare services. The increase of affordability could influence their decision to access the health care services. The location disadvantage is another area due to which the health care services are not accessed. Maryland General Hospital could look at undertaking medical camps at regular intervals in those areas. Due to this initiative, the decision of healthcare recipients could be shaped. The third way could be issuance of health cards where free checkups could be allowed on purchase of a membership in health care services. These offers would play a crucial role in shaping the decision of customers to access the health care services. Conclusion Maryland General Hospital is situated in an area of Baltimore which has been ranked as a medically underserved area. Thus, the hospital has an ample scope and responsibility to spread its health care service to the increasing number of members in the community. The direct marketing of healthcare services would have an impact on the social image of the hospital and also would increase its revenue earnings. By leveraging this increase in revenue earning, the hospital could look at providing financial assistance to people below the poverty line as per federal guidelines. The hospital could adopt strategies such as conducting of community programs, medical camps and meetings with the schools in order to raise awareness and influence decisions to access health care services. A proper marketing strategy of the hospital would not only increase its health care service but would also improve the condition of a medically underserved area. References Maryland General Hospital. (2009). Community benefits narrative. Retrieved from http://www.hscrc.state.md.us/documents/HSCRC_Initiatives/CommunityBenefits/Reports/2009/CBR_IndivNarr/Maryland_General_FY09.pdf. Maryland General Hospital. (2012). Community health needs assessment. Retrieved from http://www.marylandgeneral.org/pdfs/MGH%20Community%20Needs%20Assessment%20Report%206_12%20FINAL.pdf. Moliner, M. A. (2009). Loyalty, perceived value and relationship quality in healthcare services. Journal of Service Management, 20, 76–97. Read More