Marketing Plan of Telehealth and Electronic Health Records - Report Example

Introduction

The high demand for the healthcare services has increased and it is expected to go up in the coming few years. Therefore this has forced the healthcare organizations to have pressure on the employees in order to deliver primary health care to the clients. The healthcare systems are facing unpredicted challenged of meeting the demands of the high population of the patients. Connection among the healthcare providers and the patients has become very critical. Most health organizations in the world are looking for the best strategies that can help improve coordination with the patients through adaptation of technology (Begun,et al., 2015). The current project proposes the strategies which can help to improve patient and healthcare providers’ coordination. The electronic health records and telehealth are the new products that I propose to the hospitals in Brail and in other South American Countries such as Peru and Bolivia because other countries in the world such as Canada and Australia are already using telehealth. However, South America is developing telehealth hence it is still underutilized. Telehealth intends to increase the patient engagement as well as focusing on the ways to prevent and manage chronic diseases among them. There is an increase of the chronic diseases among the aging population hence they need special attention. The new products will improve self-care, regulate reforms, introduce new payment models and reduce the healthcare costs.

• TWO NEW PRODUCTS OR SERVICES

• Methods used to determine that there is both a need as well as an existing global market for these products and/or services.
• Market research through survey
• Through pilot testing study
• Through marketing before launching and see the demand

Telehealth

This is a group of strategies which provide healthcare services. It consists of various technologies and methods used to deliver virtual medical as well as education services to the patients. Telehealth is a common term and product to the hospitals in Brazil since it is currently developing it (Barnett, 2007). Many researchers have focused on telehealth and electronic health records as a way to improve the patient’s outcomes. The two terms telehealth and electronic health records have been used interchangeably to imply the exchange of the medical information of the patients among the authorized healthcare providers. However, the have some differences whereby the telehealth allows for remote monitoring of the patient by the doctor as well as consultation. Moreover, through telehealth, the physician can monitor the condition of the patient such as the blood pressure, vital signs as well as health education. The physicians can evaluate and provide diagnosis to the patient remotely. In addition, they prescribe medicine through the telehealth software. The doctors can prescribe treatment and detect any fluctuations in the condition of the patient even while at home (Banaszak-Holl, etal., 2016).

Electronic health record is an official medical document that contains the patient’s health information which can be shared electronically among the medical practitioners within or outside the health organization whenever needed. It helps to improve health care, efficiency and reduces the cost. Various studies have demonstrated that there are various benefits of EHRs such as decreased medical errors ,it improves the distribution of prevention services, health outcomes and safety of the patient, enhances the quality care as well as reducing duplication of the lab tests and enhancing health promotion (Anderson, 2014).

Advantages to the patients

The patients will benefit from the new products through many ways

• It will be easy to access the healthcare services and they will receive convenient care wherever they need it
• The services will be affordable since the patient does not have to go back to the hospital to pay for consultation fee or go back to the lab for re-examination since all the information will be readily available the electronic records
• The patients will benefit from timely attendance and treatment through the new products since they can easily access their specialists online
• There will be collaborated patient’s care among the patients care team

Advantages to the specialists

• They will be able to connect easily to wider range of the patients
• They will be able to access the patient’s records and information through electronic health systems as well as telehealth software.
• The patients can connect with their specialist through the EMR platform as well as connecting with other specialists all over the world.

Advantages to the community

• There will be faster diagnosis and treatment that leads to improved patient health outcome
• The improvement of the patient’s results leads to the improved health of the general population

Target group

• The poor and underserved population
• Wellness and fitness oriented population
• People with chronic illnesses
• Elderly and caregivers
• Critical care patients

B .Competitive advantage

The competitive landscape of telehealth and electronic health records software were assessed and reviewed in various nations. The programs were ranked and assed their values position, services, location to their clients as well as expansion plans asses the depth and the broadness of their telehealth program and EHR coverage

• Broad rural presence

This project targets the well-being of the rural community and in this case, it has established a broad rural place that has a large community that will benefit from these products. The large rural hospitals and clinic associates will allow easy deployment of the telehealth services across the whole community (Scott, et al., 2014). The well-being of the individuals and the whole community will benefit from those product as follows

• Increases accessibility of health care services even in the remote places.
• Improves and promotes quality care of the patients
• Leads to collaboration and utilization of the resources
• Reduces time and frequent visits to the hospitals
• Reduces the cost of readmission
• Commitment to the underserved population

Most communities in the rural places are underserved due to lack of enough money to visits their specialists found in town. The commitment of the current project will enable these population to receive quality health care services, diagnosis as well as reduce the cost of making frequent visits to the hospitals and reduce stays in the hospitals all the services will be provided through remote control.

• Population health as the main objective

The planners will make the health of the whole population as a strategic objective in order to engage the patients and the specialists. This will also promote the acceptance of the product in the hospitals and the clients because they will realize the benefits it offer to the larger community.

• Inherent risks

There are various risks that are identified in the launching of these new products. For instance, there may be barrier of internet access, slow network connection, resistance from the hospitals and patience to implement change, lack of security and privacy of the patients’ information and the cost of implementation and maintenance

• Lack of internet access

Some places may have limited or lack of existing network in their places therefore it will be hard to implement these new products. The people from the rural communicate may fail to access the benefits brought out through the internet such as audio and video data. The rural health organization that lack connectivity of the internet may not be able to connect with other medical practitioners

• Slow network speed

Some people from the rural areas experience slow network hence that hinders them from accessing important information in time. The telehealth services as well as diagnosis need faster network. Therefore the communication infrastructure should be leveraged in such places in order to have the programs which reduce traffic networks and improve telehealth accessibility

• Cost of implementation and maintenance

The financial issues are also some of the barriers identified, for instance the cost of implementation is high therefore making many hospitals to ignore telehealth and EHR implementation. These financial obstacles include the initial cost of acquiring the equipment as well as non-financial expenditures such as adopting the staff to the new technology. In addition, the cost of training personnel to operate the systems is high as well as the cost of maintenance has hindered hospitals from adopting technology

• Issues of security and privacy

The concerns of privacy of sensitive medical information become a serious issues. Exchange of electronic information makes unauthorized people to access the patients’ health information. Most healthcare have failed to adopt the EHRs and telehealth systems because they still wanted to attain confidentiality and prevent people accessing patient’s medical information without permissions. Some employees have a tendency of accessing other people’s data in the systems, this made the patients to feel insecure and fear to give all the required information regarding their medical history. Therefore, some hospitals prefer to continue keeping the patients information on the charts to maintain confidentiality.

• Lack of commitment

The failure to achieve the set goals of the contract will make the organization not to be committed to the new products hence making the future plans to fail and thus making implementation risky. If there will be lack of understanding, utilization of the electronic health records and telehealth softwares will limit the referrals.

II. CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE

CRM information

Customer relationship management is an integrated customer related management of a given business to successfully manage its clients by giving customized goods and services as well as maximize the customer’s values and preferences (Burnett, 2011). The CRM provides a company with tools and procedures that serve their clients according to their preferences. In this case, the company has to know the values of its clients, their needs as well as expectations so that the company can build a strong relationship with its clients. A good customer relationship increases sales and deals with delivering and receiving. The current business world has become very competitive and it is necessary for the organizations to cooperate effectively with its clients so as to develop a strong trust and loyalty (Greenberg, 2011).

The collaboration is very difficult in many cases especially when dealing with software businesses because there in lack of sufficient communication among the clients and the organizations. They also lack knowledge as well as qualified personnel who have the appropriate skills that can help them to work closely to their clients, learn about their needs and preferences and serve them according to their needs. The CRM is the best form that creates a good relationship with the clients and creating a competitive advantage through understating, communication, delivery as well as creating new customers and maintaining the old clients (Gordon, 2008).

Benefits of the CRM

• Enhances marketing

The customer relationship management reduces the company’s dependence on the research surveys to collect data. The buying and consumption data can be collected through the CRM system. This is done automatically by the system. The CRM enables the data to be updated regularly as they interact with the clients. The repository of the clients’ information as well as updated knowledge is collected through regular interactions. This information helps the marketers to develop the customer centered goods successfully hence win more clients without struggle (Gordon, 2008).

• Reduces the cost of marketing

CRM has been known to reduce the cost of marketing since it creates the customer loyalty whereby the business does not have to spend maintaining the old clients but only tries to create and attract new clients. Higher loyalty keeps the clients happy and satisfied. The customers who are loyal become advocates to the brand without having to be given any incentive. Loyalty of the clients widens the customer base and makes the entry simple since there are no barriers to the global market therefore the business is able to minimize on the risk of the new entry (Burnett, 2011)

• Creates new clients

The CRM helps to create new customers through the existing customers who are loyal to the brand. Most of them attract more clients through prospective clients. They create awareness of the brand to their friends, they also help through developing a positive attitude and leaves the brand in action.

SWOT Analysis

Strength

• There is a strong leadership support which is a driving force for implementing telehealth and electronic health documentation
• The health centers in Brazil have already implemented EHRs and are even in the process of developing telehealth software.
• The telehealth scheduling, billing as well as registration is already known by some managers who are experienced in those areas.
• Tehelehealth program has vendor partnership with other managers from Brazil and the government is also funding the infrastructure of the outpatient.

Weaknesses

• Payment model of the telehealth and EHRs software is not well defined
• The strategy of cost avoidance is not also well stated
• The outpatient infrastructure only target a small number of individuals

Opportunity

• The telehealth target is defined by specific segments of the population. For instance these segments have been grouped according to their needs and how they will benefit from the new products.
• There must be a business plan development to minimize on the weakness and barriers of a successful implementation
• The company should incorporate financial analysts in the telehalth and electronic health organization structure
• There must be increased engagement

Threats

• There is lack of proper business plan
• There are unidentified goals and success criteria for telehealth
• Most places especially in the rural places there is limited resources which may hinder the successful implementation
• Sustainability plan is not well stated.

Market opportunity and segment

The opportunities of the electronic health records and telehaelth are defined through various population segments. There are various groups identified that will benefit from the new products. For instance:

• The poor and underserved population

There is low access to the health services by many people in the remote places, this can be due to the geographical barriers, transport or cost. Therefore such individuals will benefit receive special services through telehealth and electronic health records to improve on the health outcomes and cut on the cost of travelling.

• The elderly and their caregivers

Most of the elderly and the caregivers need to be independent. The telehealth services will enable the elderly to be safe and have convenient time to deal with their practitioners without having to be helped by the caregivers. This will also give them a peaceful stay that also acts as a therapy to improve their health.

• Clinical patient care

The clinical patient care will be done very easily with improved oversight and reduce the intervals to improve on the patient outcomes. This will also reduce the costs of treatment, mortality rate as well as limit hospital stays

• People with chronic illnesses

There are gaps in the healthcare results especially in the acute events. The telehealth and electronic health records will benefit such a population with chronical illnesses by providing better care and coordination as well as reducing hospital visits as well as readmission

III. DISTRIBUTION CHANNEL

• Key considerations

There are some of the aspects one has to consider while choosing the channel of distribution. For instance, the nature of the product in this case this is a networking system between the patients and their specialists. They also consider the nature of the market the segment group as identified below. Then there is middlemen, telehalth and electronic health records does not require middlemen because it is technical in nature hence it can be distributed directly. The other point to consider is the competition from the giant companies, however, this products have not really ben highly utilized as the producing companies are few and finally the government regulations and policies.

Federal and state regulations

Being aware of the development regulations on the local and international level

In the hospitals, there are various rules and regulations that should complied before any new innovations. For instance, one has to ensure he works within the regulatory agencies. The company has to operate according to the expected laws. Since the product will operate both federal and state level, both laws have to be reconsidered before launching the product. The telehealth companies therefore have to do an analysis of the laws and regulations in Brazil and any other state they are interested. This analysis consist of the e-mail, internet, and study other related technologies in the treatment of the clients how they operate.

Education of the potential clients

Educating potential clients about the new products. Most consumers may not be aware of the new innovations in the healthcare as they are new in the existence. However, telehealth is patient friendly and electronic health records is best for the medical practitioners. Telehealth gives low cost of spending by the patients, reduces waste of time and medical errors.

Formation of the mutual benefit relationship with peer industries

As a new member in the new market and nation, the manager has to ensure he or she forms a mutual alliance with the existing companies with the same products. There should be a strong network among the peers. Carry out market research, have a strong customer relationship management so as to get the consumer needs. There must be a solid team to share the visions and change the future.

b. Global supply chain

Market strategy

Push and pull marketing strategy will be developed for both telehealt and electronic health records systems. The push indicates that the software already exist in Brazil in various healthcare organizations but they are still now fully utilized. Therefore they need to be conceptualized as a distributional channel that provides healthcare services which the clients need. On the other hand, there is the pull aspect whereby the company needs to create awareness of the new products electronic health records and telehealth to the consumers. This can be done to various identified segment where the services are needed and how they want them to be delivered. It is assumed that the consumers will increase in order to utilize the use of telehealth and electronic health record systems as their presence will create the new demands to the healthcare (Duker & Elsner, 2012).

V. PROMOTIONAL STRATEGY

Mass and social media channels

Mass media is one of the well-known type of sales promotion. It is a technology that sends information to a wide audience all over the world. This is made through magazines, newspapers, television, and internet among others. The information can be created and shared among a mass of people over a short time (Henderson, 2015).

Social media is the method of getting traffic or attention of people through various social sites. There are various types of social media sites such as twitter, Facebook, whats app, Instagram, Pinterest among others. It involves creating content and sharing among people in the social media. It has become the most powerful tool of marketing of all types of businesses. The clients are made aware of the product even before they see it. They also get first-hand information about the new product before it is launched. It involves activities such as sharing, posting tagging, liking, updating images, sharing videos among others (Kierzkowski, et al., 2016).

Justification of media channels

Media channels have proven to be very powerful tools of promotion and marketing. For instance, Social media improves communication between the client and the brand, it also creates brand identity, and it also makes people to be aware of the presence of the brand. It improves to widen the customer base as it attracts more new clients through various social and mass media advertisement. Moreover, the brand image is made consisted on the media platforms and that promotes trustworthy. Media also helps in promoting content and sharing of important links. Moreover, media channels always reach the target group as the advertisement is made a a given particular time according to the type of the product and the target audience. It also matches the product supply with the coverage and also matching the objectives of the business with the media channel. Finally, it helps the business organization to know the competitor as all the information can be found through media channel (Tiago, et al., 2014)

Sales promotion activities

Sales promotion are the activities that marketers employ to educate, remind and persuade the customers to buy their products. They give some incentives to the consumers as well as intermediaries to change the buying behavior. The incentives motivate the customers and the retailers to encourage their clients to buy the product. The incentives consists of coupons, free samples, after sales services and discount among others. These incentives motivate the clients to take the action and make purchase immediately (Henderson, 2015)

Development plan

Regarding this project, an internal and external marketing strategy will be created for the program. The internal marketing plan will drive adoption of the electronic health records and telehealth programs. This will look for the initial stakeholders, marketing materials, timeline, messaging, social media, as well as metrics to evaluate the progress as well as the effectiveness of the marketing plan.

Pilot testing

There will be testing of the telehealth and electronic health records will be done through piloting to make sure standardization of the practices in the rollout phase. This approach will ensure that the program has incorporated all the issues of a robust telehealth plan and get feedback in order to improve on the project before implementation and also refine the set standards of the program. This pilot study will be done on three hospitals in Brazil with their associate clinics who will meet the criteria of governance, according to the clinical acceptance as well as technical requirements. These three hospitals that will be tested will be used as a proof for the initial wave rollout.

In this pilot study, the manager will maintain the aspect of logs, communication matrix, risk registers and manage the implementation according to the agreed project plan. There will also be a training of the clinicians before the beginning of the program. The results will be analyzed and the metrics will be done according to the initial design of the program and will be calibrated according to the data collected for robust reporting