Marketing Health Care Services

Strategies used to market health care services are typically different than strategies used to market health care products. From intangibility to the natural inconsistencies in the delivery of services, traditional marketing strategies must be modified so that there is a greater focus on marketing relationships and quality care. Therefore, when developing marketing plans, it is important for organizations to consider the 5 I’s of marketing health services: inconsistency, inseparability, intangibility, interaction, and inventory. For this Assignment, use the 5 I’s to examine the health care service in the Aravind Eye Care System: Providing Total Eye Care to the Rural Population case study provided in the Learning Resources. Then provide recommendations for marketing the service.

To prepare:

• Review the Aravind case study in the Learning Resources.
• With the 5 I’s of marketing in mind, reflect on the health care service provided by the organization and its personnel.

The Assignment

In a 4- to 5-page paper, address the following:

• Using the 5 I’s of marketing, analyze the health care service provided by the organization in the scenario.
  • Inconsistency: Is there consistency in the quality of care?
  • Inseparability: When providing the service, do providers demonstrate biases toward or against patients and their families (i.e., racial biases, age biases, gender biases, etc.)?
  • Intangibility: What are the intangible characteristics of providers (i.e., demeanor, posture, etc.)? How do providers behave toward patients?
  • Interaction with consumers: Is the organization patient-centered or physician-centered?
  • Inventory: How much time is spent on providing the service and how much time is spent on non-service-related activities?
• Recommend strategies to market this service to health care consumers. Include how these strategies might improve operations.

Resources:

Thomas, R. K. (2020). Marketing health services (4th ed.). Health Administration Press.

• Chapter 6, “Healthcare Products” (pp. 169–196)
• Chapter 7, “Factors in Health Services Utilization” (pp. 197–226)

Berkowitz, E. N. (2010). The 5 I’s of services. Essentials of health care marketing (3^rd ed., pp. 258-259). Sudbury, MA: Jones and Bartlett.

Borg, S. (2012). Direct-to-consumer marketing of durable medical equipment. Family Practice Management, 19(5), 17-20.

Jung, M. & Hong, M. (2012). Positioning patient-perceived medical services to develop a marketing strategy. The Health Care Manager, 31(1), 52-61.

Tavenner, M., & Sebelius, K. (2012). Medicare program; revisions to the durable medical equipment, prosthetics, orthotics, and supplies (DMEPOS) supplier safeguards. Federal Register, 77(50), 1489-14994.

Velayudhan, S. K., Sundaram, R., & Thulasiraj, R. D. (2011). Aravand eye care system: Providing total eye care to the rural population.

Williams, J. D., Crockett, D., Harrison, R. L., & Thomas, K. D. (2012). The role of food culture and marketing activity in health disparities. Preventive Medicine, 55(5), 382-386. Retrieved from https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0091743511005238?via%3Dihub.