Healthcare Marketing: A Case Study Approach According to Rachel’s environmental

Question

Healthcare Marketing: A Case Study Approach

According to Rachel’s environmental assessment CMC’s most important strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats?

Identify and describe CMC’s most important strategic issues.

In what ways should CMC’s strategic issues have driven the development of a strategic marketing plan?

What are the foremost issues Rachel and Lindsey should have considered as they positioned CMC and promoted its services to are physicians, patients, players, and the general public?

After completing the environmental assessment including the SWOT analysis and summary of strategic issues Lindsey and Rachel needed to develop business and marketing plans to advance the organization’s strategic initiatives. In your judgement, what are the elements or characteristics of a valid marketing plan?

Explanation / Answer

1. According to Rachel’s environmental assessment, she found the most significant strengths for CMC was that it is the largest hospital in Fresno. In addition, it is Fresno county's primary safety net provider and holds a 30-year contract with the county of Fresno to provide indigent care. Next, CMC has weaknesses that counter their strengths. These deficiencies include that CMC centers are located in less affluent communities. Further, the demographic CMC serves a higher percentage of patient’s who utilize public insurance (i.e., Medicare and Medi-cal) which have a lower reimbursement rate than private insurance or out of pocket payers. CMC also has trouble maintaining physicians to work as a hospitalist or hold contracts with them. This leaves a shortfall of providers working with CMC. Moreover, CMC has many threats, which include, two other Medical centers (Saint Agnes and Kaiser Permanente). More importantly, Saint Agnes, which is known as the areas "cash cow" and is located in more affluent communities. CMC's biggest threat Saint Agnes which also serves a significant geographical location and receives many referrals from outside county's. Fortunately, opportunities were recognized when Rachel conducted her SWOT analysis. These opportunities include CMC building a 160-bed flagship hospital with 56 neonatal intensive care beds. This will help CMC's problem with its hospitals being near capacity. Lastly, with Saint Agnes having highly publicized outbreaks of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), CMC has the opportunity to gain new patients who may be too afraid to seek care at its biggest competitor, Saint Agnes.

2. CMC's most strategic issues are the economy, healthcare reform, hospital-physician relationship, revenue and expenses, weak mainly due to the high unemployment rates. This is anexternal strategic issue because CMC cannot control or force positive shifts in the economy. Next, health care reform policies that include bundled payments and value base purchasing activities. This means reimbursement may decrease for CMC, which will out of their control. Hospital- physician alignment, with many physicians preferring to remain independent, CMC will have to increase their recruitment plan and offer higher incentives to doctors. This strategic plan will be hard for CMC to accomplish with already small margins. Further, revenue and expenses will be an issue if some payers rate increases are determined by documented patient care and quality improvements. This may be hard for CMC to accomplish with a low number of adequate physicians. Following, access to capital, with a weak economy CMC will have a hard time obtaining additional funds needed for merging, sales, affiliations and other alliance amongst hospitals. Also, consolidations and closures place an issue. Healthcare reforms agenda are expected to continue, and 5 % of hospitals closing by 2020, CMC may fall into that 5%.

3. CMC needs to be marketed as the high-quality place to receive healthcare with state of the art technology. When developing CMC's strategic market plan the strengths that were analyzed during the SWOT analysis need to be bolstered. Since CMC is Fresno counties primary safety admitting doctors. CMC should work on a plan to sell themselves as the employer of hospitalist that offers competitive employment packages and respect.

4. Some issues Rachel and Lindsey should consider as they position CMC, is to work out the hospital-physician alignment. This is the most important issue because CMC has problems retaining physicians. This carries on to the patient views of CMC. Patients in that area complain about the long wait times, which is due to a lack of available physicians. Further, this gives the negative public views of CMC and reduce the likelihood, or opportunity of them to become future patients (customers). Next, payers are starting to shift certain rate increases to documented quality improvements. With the lack of quality physicians, it is hard to improve quality care.

5. For Rachel and Lindsey to development a valid business plan, they need to address a few elements. They should start establishing goals for CMC. This should include short term goals and long term goals that stretch across the next 5 years. Secondly, the should incorporate target marketing and establishing target customers. They should do this by informing prospective clientele of the value, by describing what features does CMC offer (i.e., the new 160-bed flagship hospital with 56 neonatal intensive care beds) and what is the qualities of the described features. Next, they should describe easy access their medical centers, being that they're the largest, with many locations and have locations in outlining counties. Follow by Strategies and Tactics to include working on the retention and recruitment of resident physicians. Suggesting the recruitment of physician outside of Fresno metropolitan area. Offer skill continuous training and access to up to date technology. Also, needs to a shift towards offering more quality health care with shorter wait times.

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