Healthcare marketing is a crucial discipline of public health. It involves the creation, communication, and delivery of health information and interventions to protect and promote public health (CDC, 2011). Healthcare marketing has evolved over the years; healthcare marketers no longer rely on traditional and ineffective marketing theories and principles that made no difference. Today, healthcare marketing integrates many disciplines to meet the needs of the diverse populations; hence the five P’s of marketing. The five P’s are patients, physicians, professional healthcare administrators, payers, and policymakers.
The first P is patients. Patients are more empowered today than before, with the changes in technology and increased education, patients now make an effort to learn about different health conditions and methods of treatment (Gray, 2008). Nonetheless, patients are also confused by the large health care information out there. When patients search about a particular condition or medication in the internet, they find it hard to make sense of the overwhelming information on the internet. It is the responsibility of healthcare marketers to create brief messages that address patient concerns without confusing them. Additionally, patients are now spoilt for choice concerning medications, health plans, and even providers. Healthcare marketers should empower patients and customize their messages and services to meet patient needs.
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Patients value convenience and easy to use information and healthcare services. Marketers should create pamphlets, websites, or use social media adverts that are convenient. CVS has taken advantage of the need for convenience services by dispensing prescriptions online, delivering, and through easily accessible mobile clinics. When providing convenient services, it is necessary to consider lifestyle factors and personal preferences. Organizations should identify the needs of the target market and attempt to meet these needs through innovative service delivery.
The second aspect of healthcare marketing is physicians. Physicians play a crucial role in healthcare, but the changes in the healthcare industry have changed the nature of physician activity. With the changes in healthcare technology such as non-invasive surgery and telemedicine, physician autonomy has declined. Additionally, there are many physicians now such that patients do not rely on the few physicians as in the past. Research studies show that physicians do not feel like they are in control of the direction of the healthcare and that they have lost their autonomy and decision-making capabilities (Gray, 2008). Healthcare marketing should address the contemporary concerns faced by physicians. For example, when a healthcare marketer is selling products or technology to a certain physician specialty group, the marketer should address how the product or technology will enhance the physician’s capability to influence clinical outcomes. Healthcare marketing should be sensitive to the needs of physicians; otherwise, the physicians will not be receptive to a new product.
The third concept is professional healthcare administrators. Healthcare administrators play a crucial role in managing the healthcare organization. With the growing healthcare networks and integrated care, the need for professional healthcare administrators has risen. Professional healthcare administrators are responsible for the medical innovation, cost-benefit analysis, and new procedures in a healthcare institution. Healthcare marketing should also appeal to the needs of healthcare administrators as they make decisions that can affect patient outcomes. Sales personnel and marketers should create marketing content that aligns with the requirements of healthcare administrators. Administrators are often more receptive to products, technology, and services that will improve patient outcomes while minimizing costs and inefficiencies.
Professional healthcare administrators can also refer to professional bodies or healthcare alliances that affect the activities of health organizations, physicians, and administrators. Larger professional bodies like American Public Health Association (APHA) can have negative or positive implications on healthcare marketing. When trusted professional bodies endorse certain products, physicians and patients are more likely to be receptive towards the products. Healthcare alliances want to improve accountability, positive outcomes, and profitability; hence they align themselves with brands that enable them to do so.
The fourth P is policymakers. Policymakers shape the direction of the healthcare industry in a significant manner (Ayed & El Aoud, 2017). Policy makers have raised the stakes higher regarding product development and marketing. There are FDA regulations concerning the promotion of new drugs, using digital media, healthcare spending, and coverage. For example, some prohibitions denied hospitals and doctors to advertise their services until the 1980s. The prohibition claimed that hospital and doctors deal with sensitive information that should not be shared publicly. Once the prohibition was lifted, many healthcare organizations and professionals are now advertising their services.
Policymakers are in the process of creating more regulation to guide healthcare ads like pharmaceutical ads. Healthcare adverts should be informative and balanced; it should not mislead patients or encourage them to utilize their services even when the services will not improve their conditions. Healthcare marketers should be careful and must observe general healthcare policies and specific healthcare marketing policies that can affect their work.
The last P represents payers. Healthcare payers finance the healthcare system; hence they affect healthcare marketing in a significant manner. Payers tend to be inelastic regarding healthcare marketing messages; however, it is still important to pay attention to the payer landscape as it has an economic impact. A CommonHealth Healthcare Marketers Trend Report (Dobrow, 2016), payers affect the activities of healthcare marketers by 56% percent. Payers determine the healthcare spending of patients such that patients can be willing to purchase new products or try out new services if the payment plan allows it. Payers are responsible for the financial arrangements that encourage or discourage providers to provide certain services to patients. Healthcare marketers prefer payers that offer flexible plans to enable providers and patients to experiment with new products and services. Healthcare marketers should be aware of the different payment methods, for example, bundled services, pay for performance, and Accountable care organization (ACO). Each payment method has implications on healthcare marketing. For example, ACOs aim to minimize costs by all means, hence the limited spending on new products and services.
In conclusion, healthcare marketing is undergoing tremendous changes that affect marketers. Some changes such as the increase in patient spending, patient education, and new technologies are positive changes that make it easy for marketers to achieve their goals. Nonetheless, there are challenges such as resistance from patients and providers. Providers are resistant to change, and they are not willing to try new products that could have negative implications. With the changes in the structure of healthcare organization, marketers now have to deal with administrators, networks, alliances, and payers. Such stakeholders might not welcome change because it can have a negative effect on returns. Healthcare marketers have to broaden their outlook; they should come up with specific marketing strategies to meet the five different stakeholders in the healthcare industry.
References
Ayed, M., & El Aoud, N. (2017). The patient empowerment: A promising concept in healthcare marketing. International Journal of Healthcare Management , 10 (1), 42-48.
Centers for Disease Control & Prevention. (2011). What is Health Marketing? Retrieved from: https://www.cdc.gov/healthcommunication/toolstemplates/whatishm.html
Dobrow, L. (2016). How Is Pharma Shifting Its Marketing Budgets? Healthcare Marketers Trend Report . Retrieved from:
http://media.mmm- online.com/documents/214/healthcare_marketers_trend_rep_53381.pdf
Gray, S. J. (2008). Healthcare marketing has five'P's. Journal of Management & Marketing in Healthcare , 1 (3), 306-313.
