Marketing of Medison Hospital

Submitted by:
Sadaf Iqbal
BBA-Semester III
(2010-13)
Enrolment no:
A7006410027
Under guidance of:
Faculty Guide:
Mrs. Sabeeha Fatma
Lecturer
ABS,Lucknow

(RESEARCH PROJECT REPORT FOR THE BACHELOR BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION (2010-13)


AMITY BUSINESS SCHOOL
AMITY UNIVERSITY UTTAR PRADESH, LUCKNOW







OBJECTIVE OF THIS STUDY :

To Examine the satisfaction level of consumers by
the facility provided in the Medison Hospital.

To Study awareness of consumers regarding
services.
To examine new areas of marketing of medison
hospital.






INTRODUCTION
The growing demand for the quality health care services in India has resulted
in mush rooming of hospitals of different sizes and scales in different cities of
India. Due to high investment costs on the infrastructure and equipment, its
success or failure in commercial terms depends mainly on bed ocupancy rates,
quality of services and availability of competent staff. Having state of the art
equipment and best battery of medical and paramedical professional alone
cannot guarantee any faster return on investment (ROI). The reluctance of
Indian masses to part with their hard earned money on health insurance
premiums has made it harder for the existing hospitals to grab their share of a
small percenatge of patients who can afford to pay from their own pockets for
the quality health care services available at private hospitals. The founders of
the Medison hospital with high investment at stake were faced with a daunting
task of establishing itself as truly service- focused entity end emerge as one of
the top five of its peers in the city of Lucknow.




Ethically Right
Mar ket i ng of hospi t al was consi der ed unet hi cal i n t he ei ght i es
. Today some degree of marketing is essential to hospital success,
some cases even survival Hospitals provide the most vital
servicest h a t h u ma n b e i n g s c a n n e e d . Emp t y h o s p i t a l b e d s
a n d u n d e r utilized equipment and staff are ultimately costly to patients and
to the society. Marketing seeks to match what the hospital
providesa n d wh a t t h e p u b l i c wa n t s . By h e l p i n g t o a d j u s t t
h e h o s p i t a l s
f aci l i t i es and ser vi ces t o best meet t he communi t y s t r ue heal t
hcare needs marketing benefits the patients and the society.Hospital with
responsive effective marketing programs will enjoy public acceptance
and support



What is Marketing?
Before you learn more about marketing in the many links later on below topic,
you should first understand what marketing is, because the topic is so often
misunderstood. Marketing is the wide range of activities involved in making
sure that you're continuing to meet the needs of your customers and are getting
appropriate value in return.
How Marketing is So Misunderstood
Far too often, organizations try to develop a product to meet customers needs
without ever really verifying what the customers wanted in the first place.
Instead, those organizations make a strenuous effort to sell the product
through rigorous, ongoing advertising, promotions and publicity -- through
"outbound" marketing. These organizations may have built a beautiful ladder
but it may be entirely on the wrong roof! Far too often, that lesson comes from
painful experience.
Experienced organizations have learned that it is not their opinion that matters
most regarding whether their product is needed or not. The opinion that matters
most is that of the customers. These organizations have learned that they might
not know what they don't know about their customers. That precious
knowledge about the customers comes from "inbound" marketing -- through
market research to clarify customers' needs and what they are willing to do to
get those needs met. If the inbound marketing is done well, the outbound
marketing is particularly easy -- and effective.


Inbound Marketing Includes Market Research to Find Out:
1. What specific groups of potential customers/clients (markets) might
have which specific needs (nonprofits often already have a very clear
community need in mind when starting out with a new program --
however, the emerging practice of nonprofit business development, or
earned income development, often starts by researching a broad group of
clients to identify new opportunities for programs)
2. How those needs might be met for each group (or target market), which
suggests how a product might be designed to meet the need (nonprofits
might think in terms of outcomes, or changes, to accomplish among the
groups of clients in order to meet the needs)
3. How each of the target markets might choose to access the product, etc.
(its "packaging")
4. How much the customers/clients might be willing pay and how (pricing
analysis)
5. Who the competitors are (competitor analysis)
6. How to design and describe the product such that customers/clients will
buy from the organization, rather than from its competitors (its unique
value proposition)
7. How the product should be identified -- its personality -- to be most
identifiable (its naming and branding)
Outbound Marketing Includes:
1. Advertising and promotions (focused on the product)
2. Sales
3. Public and media relations (focused on the entire organization)
4. Customer service
5. Customer satisfaction


It's easy to become confused about these terms: advertising, marketing,
promotion, public relations and publicity, and sales. The terms are often used
interchangeably. However, they refer to different -- but similar activities. Some
basic definitions are provided below. A short example is also provided
hopefully to help make the terms more clear to the reader.
One Definition of Advertising
Advertising is bringing a product (or service) to the attention of potential and
current customers. Advertising is focused on one particular product or service.
Thus, an advertising plan for one product might be very different than that for
another product. Advertising is typically done with signs, brochures,
commercials, direct mailings or e-mail messages, personal contact, etc.
One Definition of Promotion
Promotion keeps the product in the minds of the customer and helps stimulate
demand for the product. Promotion involves ongoing advertising and publicity
(mention in the press). The ongoing activities of advertising, sales and public
relations are often considered aspects of promotions.
One Definition of Marketing
Marketing is the wide range of activities involved in making sure that you're
continuing to meet the needs of your customers and getting value in return.
Marketing is usually focused on one product or service. Thus, a marketing plan
for one product might be very different than that for another product.
Marketing activities include "inbound marketing," such as market research to
find out, for example, what groups of potential customers exist, what their
needs are, which of those needs you can meet, how you should meet them, etc.
Inbound marketing also includes analyzing the competition, positioning your
new product or service (finding your market niche), and pricing your products
and services. "Outbound marketing" includes promoting a product through
continued advertising, promotions, public relations and sales.
One Definition of Public relations
Public relations includes ongoing activities to ensure the overall company has a
strong public image. Public relations activities include helping the public to
understand the company and its products. Often, public relations are conducted
through the media, that is, newspapers, television, magazines, etc. As noted
above, public relations is often considered as one of the primary activities
included in promotions.
One Definition of Publicity
Publicity is mention in the media. Organizations usually have little control
over the message in the media, at least, not as they do in advertising.
Regarding publicity, reporters and writers decide what will be said.
One Definition of Sales
Sales involves most or many of the following activities, including cultivating
prospective buyers (or leads) in a market segment; conveying the features,
advantages and benefits of a product or service to the lead; and closing the sale
(or coming to agreement on pricing and services). A sales plan for one product
might be very different than that for another product.
An Example of the Definitions
The following example may help to make the above five concepts more clear. I
recently read that the story comes from theReader's Digest, a quote found in
"Promoting Issues and Ideas" by M. Booth and Associates, Inc. (Thanks to
Jennifer M. Seher, participant in the
CONSULTANTS@CHARITYCHANNEL.COM online discussion group.)
"... if the circus is coming to town and you paint a sign saying 'Circus Coming
to the Fairground Saturday', that's advertising. If you put the sign on the back
of an elephant and walk it into town, that's promotion. If the elephant walks
through the mayor's flower bed, that's publicity. And if you get the mayor to
laugh about it, that's public relations." If the town's citizens go the circus, you
show them the many entertainment booths, explain how much fun they'll have
spending money at the booths, answer their questions and ultimately, they
spend a lot at the circus, that's sales.



Features/ Nature of Marketing Orientation:-

1. Consumers

Consumers are the king of market and all salesmen who want to sell goods
to consumers, should create good relationship with consumer and also
solve their problems for enhancing the product branding in market.

2. Organizational Capability

Before marketing, it is very necessary that company should see his
organizational capability which is available to fulfill the order of sale. If
not, then create the limit of marketing.

3. Competitors

It is also nature of marketing that you will see competitors in the your
market. Never ignore them and create advance strategy to fight and defeat
your competitors. Some time, new competitors may be your friends for
increasing sale because every new competitor helpful to make a physical
market for you where consumer can come and buy.

4. Co-ordination

It is also nature of marketing that it is connected with other activities. It is
the duty of marketing manager to do co-ordination with other
department.

5. Performance

Marketing should be based on performance. We have to pay for all cost on
the basis of past selling. If any branchs sale value is high. We should
promote that branch by increasing the salary that branchs salesmen and
advertising cost.

Main Marketing Concept

1. Production Concept

This concept guides us that we should produce the products at minimum
production cost.

2. Product Concept

This concept guides us that we should sell the best quality product to
consumers.

3. Selling Concept

Selling concept guides us that we should take minimum selling price from
consumer. For this we have to decrease our selling cost.

4. Marketing Concept

Marketing concept guides us that in this era, consumer is king of market
and all marketing activities main target should be to satisfy the
consumers.



Marketing Mix

The marketing mix is probably the most famous marketing term. Its
elements are the basic, tactical components of a marketing plan. Also
known as the Four P's, the marketing mix elements
are price, place, product, and promotion. Read on for more details on the
marketing mix.





Product: It is the tangible object or an intangible service that is getting
marketed through the program. Tangible products may be items like consumer
goods (Toothpaste, Soaps, Shampoos) or consumer durables (Watches, IPods).
Intangible products are service based like the tourism industry and information
technology based services or codes-based products like cellphone load and
credits. Product design which leads to the product attributes is the most
important factor. However packaging also needs to be taken into consideration
while deciding this factor. Every product is subject to a life-cycle including a
growth phase followed by an eventual period of decline as the product
approaches market saturation. To retain its competitiveness in the market,
continuous product extensions though innovation and thus differentiation is
required and is one of the strategies to differentiate a product from its
competitors.
Price: The price is the simply amount a customer pays for the product. If the
price outweigh the perceived benefits for an individual, the perceived value of
the offering will be low and it will be unlikely to be adopted, but if the benefits
are perceived as greater than their costs, chances of trial and adoption of the
product is much greater.
Place: Place represents the location where a product can be purchased. It is
often referred to as the distribution channel. This may include any physical
store (supermarket, departmental stores) as well as virtual stores (e-markets
and e-malls) on the Internet. This is crucial as this provides the place utility to
the consumer, which often becomes a deciding factor for the purchase of many
products across multiple product categories.
Promotion: This represents all of the communications that a marketer may use
in the marketplace to increase awareness about the product and its benefits to
the target segment. Promotion has four distinct elements: advertising, public
relations, personal selling and sales promotion. A certain amount of crossover
occurs when promotion uses the four principal elements together (e.g in film
promotion). Sales staff often play a major role in promotion of a product.







Branding
A brand is the identity of a specific product, service, or business.
A brand can take many forms, including a name, sign, symbol, color
combination or slogan. The word branding began simply as a way to tell one
person's cattle from another by means of a hot iron stamp. A legally
protected brand name is called a trademark. The word brand has continued to
evolve to encompass identity - it affects the personality of a product, company
or service.

The Importance of Branding
Branding is an integral part of the business building process. Large
corporations spend hundreds of millions of dollars building their brands, and
theres a reason:
Brands enable customers to remember your product-service.
Brands build customer loyalty and lead to repeat purchases.
Brands make it easier for current clients or customers to refer you to
others.
Brands send a message as to what your customers can expect.
Brands convey an emotion.
Brands add value.
Economies of scale (production and distribution)
Laying the groundwork for future extensions worldwide
Maintaining consistent brand imagery
Quicker identification and integration of innovations (discovered
worldwide)
Preempting international competitors from entering domestic markets or
locking you out of other geographic market.
Increasing international media reach (especially with the explosion of
the Internet) is an enabler



Example : People dont mind buying Apple products at a higher price as a
result of brand loyalty. Apple has also become a status symbol. In all these
cases, branding has played a major role.
An Interesting fact about Apples branding :The Apple Store is an integral
part of the Apple Brand Experience. The hip factor that characterizes Apple
Products are extended into street-level through the store. Blended with Apples
corporate culture characterized by friendly, care-free and egalitarian service,
delivered by mostly youthful-looking staff, some of whom look like surfer
dudes and cool geeks.Within a few short years, the Apple Store spread to over
200 stores, starting in the US and later in major cities across the world.

Service Marketing

Service marketing is a sub field of marketing, which can be split into the two
main areas of goods marketing (which includes the marketing of fast moving
consumer goods (FMCG) and durables) and services marketing. Services
marketing typically refers to both business to consumer (B2C) and business to
business (B2B) services, and includes marketing of services like
telecommunications services, financial services, all types of hospitality
services, car rental services, air travel, health care services and professional
services. The range of approaches and expressions of a marketing idea
developed with the hope that it be effective in conveying the ideas to the
diverse population of people who receive it.
Services are economic activities offered by one party to another. Often time-
based, performances bring about desired results to recipients, objects, or other
assets for which purchasers have responsibility. In exchange for money, time,
and effort, service customers expect value from access to goods, labor,
professional skills, facilities, networks, and systems; but they do not normally
take ownership of any of the physical elements involved.
There has been a long academic debate on what makes services different from
goods. The historical perspective in the late-eighteen and early-nineteenth
centuries focused on creation and possession of wealth. Classical economists
contended that goods were objects of value over which ownership rights could
be established and exchanged. Ownership implied tangible possession of an
object that had been acquired through purchase, barter or gift from the
producer or previous owner and was legally identifiable as the property of the
current owner.
Adam Smiths famous book, The Wealth of Nations, published in Great Britain
in 1776, distinguished between the outputs of what he termed productive and
unproductive labor. The former, he stated, produced goods that could be
stored after production and subsequently exchanged for money or other items
of value. But unproductive labor, however honorable,useful, or
necessary created services that perished at the time of production and
therefore didnt contribute to wealth. Building on this theme, French economist
Jean-Baptiste Say argued that production and consumption were inseparable in
services, coining the term immaterial products to describe them.
Alternative View
A recently proposed alternative view is that services involve a form of rental
through which customers can obtain benefits
]
. What customers value and are
willing to pay for are desired experiences and solutions. The term, rent, can be
used as a general term to describe payment made for use of something or
access to skills and expertise, facilities or networks (usually for a defined
period of time), instead of buying it outright (which is not even possible in
many instances).
There are five broad categories within the non-ownership framework
1. Rented goods services: These services enable customers to obtain the
temporary right to use a physical good that they prefer not to own (e.g.
boats, costumes)
2. Defined space and place rentals: These services obtain use of a defined
portion of a larger space in a building, vehicle or other area which can
be an end in its own right (e.g. storage container in a warehouse) or
simply a means to an end (e.g. table in a restaurant, seat in an aircraft)
3. Labor and expertise rental: People are hired to perform work that
customers either choose not to do for themselves (e.g. cleaning the
house) or are unable to do due to the lack of expertise, tools and skills
(e.g. car repairs, surgery)
4. Access to shared physical environments: These environments can be
indoors or outdoors where customers rent the right to share the use of
the environment (e.g. museums, theme parks, gyms, golf courses).
5. Access to and usage of systems and networks: Customers rent the right
to participate in a specified network such as telecommunications,
utilities, banking or insurance, with different fees for varying levels of
access and use.

Service marketing plays a major role in this project. As hospitals are all
about services. The marketing of hospitals are done in a strategic way. As
health is really important and people dont tend to risk it by going to any
hospital. For this hospitals first have to gain trust of consumers by
improving the quality of the product.

Customer satisfaction is very important in marketing of any
service. If one costumer is satisfied by the service of any hospital,
say medison hospital, then he (the costomer) will praise the service
of the hospital among his friends/relatives, & in a way a it is a
marketing technique and it will lead to promotion of the hospital.



Marketing of Medison Hospital:

MARKETING A HOSPITAL & FACILITIES
India today boasts of hospitals and establishments that arecomparable to the
worlds best medical facilities. Todays patientsar e ver y
demandi ng and expect t he best qual i t y of f aci l i t i es
andmedi cal car e. The hospi t al s need t o conf i r m t o NABH (
Nat i onal Accreditation Board for Hospitals) and JCI (Joint
CommissionInternational) guidelines.In keeping with this philosophy
only International best practices areobserved by Hospitals. We need to keep in
mind that the Hospital iso u r s h o w p i e c e a n d o u r s h o w -
r o o m. w h e n a p a t i e n t v i s i t s t h e Hospital he utilizes the
facilities. But his relatives and friends whoaccompany him are also
potential patients and the ambience andservices that they avail of or
observe may influence their decisionshould they ever require medical
attention.S i n c e a l l f a c i l i t i e s a r e w o r l d -
c l a s s w e mu s t ma k e t h e me d i c a l f r a t e r n i t y a n d p u b l i c
a t l a r g e a wa r e o f t h e e x i s t e n c e o f t h e s e facilities. This
marketing has to be done in India and abroad, wherethe medical facilities are
not so advanced.Medical tourism is a reality and efforts have to be made to
promotethe hospital in countries like Africa, Afghanistan,
Pakistan,Bangladesh, Nepal etc where such facilities are not
easily available.I n a d v a n c e d c o u n t r i e s l i k e t h e U K a n d U
S A t h e f a c i l i t i e s a r e expensive with long waiting lists and
advanced medical facilities in India make it an attractive medical tourism
destination


Marketing department
With the realisation of importance of hospital marketing, the presence of a full-
fledged marketing department has been acknowledged. The marketing
department is said to be the voice of hospital where the brand is fashioned and
communicated, internally as well as to the community at large.
Since Medison hospital made a lot of investments in setting up the
infrastructure and offering its services, selling the services of a hospital needs a
proper system. Therefore, the role of the marketing department in Medison
hospital is of paramount importance. Apart from helping to create a brand
image for the healthcare institution, the department acts as an interface
between the doctor and the public.
The marketing department has assumed more importance after the boost in
medical tourism.. The marketing department liaisons with the medical officers
of the other cities to bring patients from other cities or states.
Eg : Many patients of Medison hospital come from Nepal.
The success of the marketing department depends on its association with
various other departments. Organisational excellence is very important than the
departmental excellence. The front end cannot perform its duties without the
backing of the quality of back end operations.
Marketing strategies
Though there are no specific strategies for Medison hospital marketing, a
systematic approach to marketing has evolved over the last year. Medison
Hospital prefer a long-term association with the healthcare institution by
signing a memorandum of understanding (MoU. Marketing experts of this non
for profit org. believe that a sound Client Relationship Management (CRM)
forms the basis for soliciting corporate tie-ups, today.
Events, both indoor and out-reach programmes, play a significant role in
marketing of healthcare institutions. Continuous medical education, awareness
sessions for general public, check-up camps for public, organising events on
various health days, conducting interviews of specialists on visual media,
informative and interactive website, printing and making readily available
various emergency or appointment numbers are the commonest marketing
tools.
with the surge in concern in health check ups, Medison hospital has fashioned
various types of special health check up packages catering to executives,
pregnant women, servants, shop keepers to slum dwellers. Recently, Medison
Hospital celebrated Liver Day, which was aimed at educating and creating
awareness amongst patients and the team had gone various a school in
Faizabad, i.e Faizabad Public school, so they organised a health quiz, which
generated a lot of interest.
As patients are the best ambassadors, it is important to take care of their needs
and provide them with best possible care. Their apprehensions should be
addressed so that they have the courage to come back to the same facility, he
adds. Agrees Faizan Iqbal, Managing Director. In this business, every
satisfied customer brings thousand new customers.
Numerous marketing strategies are being adopted by these corporate Hospitals
in order to ensure competitive advantage. Someof them are as follows:



Attractive preventive check up packages comprising of whole body check-ups
including Blood profile, Ultrasound and treadmill tests, CT scan, endoscopy
etc.


Many hospitals have eminent personalities from the
industryi n t hei r boar d of t r ust ees. Thi s l eads t o i ncr ease i nf l ow
of patients working in the companies of these trustees.


Successes of crucial operations and surgeries are discussed
inthe health magazines and newspapers, which become a natural
advantage for the hospital.


Hospitals holding seminars and conferences relating
tospecific diseases where doctors throughout the country areinvited for
detailed discussion. This makes the hospital well known among doctors
who may refer complicated cases to these hospitals.


Hospitals promoting medical colleges. This helps them to generate
extra resources in the form of fees using the same infrastructure



As we all know, marketing of any hospital can be really difficult as it involves
a strategic way of marketing. The marketing managing team of Medison
Hospital has studied various elements of marketing mix for the marketing of
the hospital. The following are the elements :

People
Product
Price
Promotion
Place
Packaging
Positioning



People
The patients, clients, customers, prospective patients, providers, staff,
management - everyone - involved in the healthcare organization, facility, or
practice.
The people who deliver a service are a significant ingredient in the product
itself. Consumers evaluate service and satisfaction based on perceptions and
personal interactions. A patient doesn't have much insight to a physician's
clinical skills, but they will know if they are pleased based on dealt with them
as a person. Your reputation and your brand are not yours aloneit's a matter
of teamwork.
Questions : Have the people (demographics, psychographics, geographic) we
served changed? Do we have the right staff people in the right positions to
serve the people we see? Do they have the right training, experience or other
skills needed? Do they know what's expected?
The People component reflects the important role played by individuals in the
provision of services. People are also an important element in the marketing
mix.
Service personnel play an important role in an organization which offers
service. The behaviour and attitude of the personnel offering service will
influence the customer's overall perception of the service. Customers are a
source of influencing other customers by word of mouth.
It is necessary that the staff in hospital are trained to offer quality patient care
with human touch using state of the art technology.

The objective of offering quality service to the patients can be attained by:
o Motivating employees to be efficient, dedicated and loyal to
the organization.
o Offering regular on-job training of employees to ensure
continuous improvement in health care.
o Utilizing services of professional competent medical
consultants.
o Use of latest technology.
Motivation is not necessarily by giving high salaries. There are many other
ways to motivate the employees. Concessions should be given to the
employee's near ones. There should be regular liaison with them at all times.
Knowing what the employees want is very important. There should be active
participation of the employees in the activities of the hospital.
In a hotel, where the clientele is happy, free from any kind of tension, the job
of the staff becomes much easier, whereas in a hospital, the staff has to cater to
the needs of sick, depressed and an agitated lot. Warm ambiences with
efficient and cheerful staff help make the experience of the public a memorable
one. Therefore, it is very important that the staff of the hospital is friendly and
comforting, always wearing a smile.

Product
Presenting the correct product (goods and/or services) with values that meet
or exceed the needs and expectations of the target market.
When was the last time you took an unbiased and critical look at yourself
products, service, value proposition, facilitythe works? For a toothpaste
company, the "product" is a box on the store shelf. But the product for service
organizations is usually defined in terms of personal happiness: less tangible
than a pretty box and not easily quantified.
The primary determinant is in knowing that customers perceive and receive
value and satisfaction by way of your healthcare practice or organization.
Questions : Does the current product, service, or product mix answer the
needs of the customers? Do they deliver significant value? Are they properly
presented? How do they compare and distinguish their value above the
competition? What should be changed or added? Is there a product or service
that you could offer that answers a need of the target audience?


Apart from the above mentioned services, hospital also offers "Health
Diagnosis Programme" which is a complete, comprehensive, periodic health
check up offered for busy executives, professionals, business persons and so
on. The health diagnosis programme comprises of the following:

1. Master health check up

2. Executive Health check up

3. Diabetics health check ups etc.,

Generally, the service offering in a hospital comprises of the following levels:

1. Core level it comprises of the basic treatment facilities and services
offered by the hospital like diagnostic services, emergency services, casuality
services etc.

2. Expected level it comprises of cleanliness and hygiene levels maintained
in the hospital.

3. Augmented level it comprises of dress code for staff, air conditioning of
the hospital, use of state of art technology, services of renowned consultants.

Price
The amount paid in exchange for the value received. Price must be
competitive and lead to profit, but may vary within promotional and/or
bundle purchase options.
Price is a toughie in the healthcare industry. Sometimes there are few or no
options: Price is what it is, or maybe it's paid through an individual's insurance.
Elective care or cosmetic procedures, of course, are a different animal.
Anywhere in this spectrum, price is also a function of value, competition in the
marketplace, and affordability. Take a serious look at those areas where there
is flexibility, and be open to adjusting prices.
Questions : Is perceived and delivered value in line with price? Are prices
connected to the realities of the marketplace, including competition, economic
environment, etc.? Do we need to raise or lower prices selectively, add value
to current prices, or eliminate specific services? What affordability options do
we offer, such as patient financing, special offers, or product mix?
As the service is intangible, it is very hard for deciding the price of the
particular service offered. Pricing strategy adopted in Medison Hospital
does not depend on the price offered by competitors. The pricing strategy is
formulated after consulting the concerned heads of department. Prices of
various facilities revised every year depending on the change in technology.
Before fixing prices, government controls are also taken into consideration.
On admission, an initial deposit will be collected at the inpatient billing
counter. The amount extends on the category of room and the treatment or
surgical procedure planned. Various categories of rooms, ranging from the
general ward which attends to the needs of the lower classes to the deluxe suite
which attends to the needs of the middle and upper classes are available.
Medison Hospital does not believe in profit maximization, it aims at providing
quality service for its customers at reasonable price.

Promotion
The many and various forms of communicating with the target audience
to effectively present benefits, answer needs and inspire action.
For this list, it's convenient that Promotion begins with a P, but some
healthcare professionals react negatively to the "retail" or "blue-light-special"
connotation. A better label for this category is communications, meaning all
the direct and indirect ways of expressing yourself (your practice, your brand,
your services) to those who need and want your services.
This includes both personal or direct interaction (one-to-one, inspiring
referrals), and interacting with many (advertising, public relations, publicity).
In all instances, this is done in a professional way. The objective is to critically
examine how, where and when you let others know about what you can do for
them. (And those in need want this information.)
This is also where you consider changes in the media that's in play. A few
years ago, nobody had a website. And a few moments ago, Social Media
Marketing had yet to be invented. Some newspapers have disappeared or gone
online only. Magazines and other publications, online and in print, adjust to
capture audiences.
Questions: What's playing on all my communications channels? Is it the right
message? Is it being seen and heard by the right audience? Does the message
need to be revised...the volume increased...the presentation refreshed? Am I
sticking to my Marketing Plan, measuring results, and making adjustments?
What new marketing approaches, strategies and/or media are available and
need to be considered?
Promotion function of any service organization involves the transmission of
message to present, past and potential customers. Customers need to be made
aware of the existence of the service offered. Promotion includes advertising,
personal selling, sales promotion and publicity.
Medison Hospital does not normally undertake aggressive promotion, they rely
a lot on a favourable word of mouth. To crease the clientele, a hospital may
continuously introduce different health services like the accupressure clinic,
master health programmes and diabetes health checkups apart from annual
health checkups offered to different companies. (Corporate clients)
Medison Hospital conduct camps in rural areas to give medical check ups at a
reasonable price so that the rural people approach the hospital again in the
future. They also sponsor frequent visits to the spastic society, old age homes,
etc. Hospitals generally advertise in health and fitness magazines.

Place
Presenting products or services to the customer (patient, client, end-user) in
the right place and at the right time.
The most obvious "place" is the office, facility, SurgiCenterwhere the
product meets the user. In healthcare, the place for purchase decision is often
separate from where and when product/service is delivered. Keep this spectrum
in mind...a change in location can impact the decision to buy. And it's likely
that more than one "place" is involved when there are multiple providers in the
practice and/or multiple offices.
(Importantly, place can also refer to your marketplace demographics, or even
the world if you deliver services over the Internet.)
Questions : What's the ideal place or location to offer or provide your
products/services? Do different locations require different approaches or
presentations? How does the end-user get the necessary information to reach a
buying decision? Are there other or additional places (locations) where your
products/services should be offered?

The two major issues considered regarding the decision of a place are
accessibility and availability of the service to customers. Accessibility refers
to the ease and convenience with which a service can be purchased, used or
received. Availability refers to the extent to which a service is obtainable or
capable of being purchased, used and received.
Factors influencing the placing decision are market size and structure by
geographical regions, number and types of competitors in the region, location
of potentially attractive consumer segments, local infrastructure, good road
access facilities and public transportation network. A hospital must be ideally
located and must be easily accessible to all.

Packaging
What the customer perceives and experiences about you, your
product/servicetangible and intangiblein every form of visual contact.
(Sometimes "Physical" or "Physical Evidence.")
This is not only the hands-on, physical container of a physical product...the
definition is also experiential, and often more so for healthcare marketing.
Look at this through the end-user's window, and everything counts. Take a
fresh lookas if for the first timeat the appearance of the physical office or
location, the impression of your reception area, the look and feel of brochures
and website, and even the appearance of staff.
Some doctors never walk through the front door of their own office. Try it.
You might be surprised to see what patients are seeing as they form their first
impressions. (First impressions take about 10 seconds to form...and you've
only got one shot at it.)
Packaging can also refer to how you bundle services (think of a plastic surgeon
offering a "mommy makeover" lipo and tummy tuckfor moms who have
finished having children).
Questions : What does a new patient see and feel? Will the first impression
exceed expectations? What would "secret shopper" discover and report to me?
How do new patients describe their experience to others-good, bad, or
ordinary? Does the packaging create an impression of confidence? What
changeslarge or smallwould engender trust? How can I bundle our
services?


PROCESS
Process is a set of activities that take an input, convert it and add value to the
input and finally create an output. Process has only recently been given much
attention in the service sector although it has been the subject to study in
manufacturing for many years. Processes are designed by blue a print, which
sets a standard for action to take place and to implement the service.
In Medison hospital, the process is divided into three phases.


1. The Joining Phase

It includes the following:

* The arrival of the patient.

* Registration where a patient has to make an initial deposit at the in-patient
billing counter after which a file is opened in the patient's name to know the
patient's medical history.

2. The Intensive consumption Phase

It includes the following:

Diagnosis where the consultant diagnoses the illness by making the patients
undergo various tests.

Treatment when the illness is treated with proper medication or surgery and
so on.

Information about further actions the consultant will instruct the patient
regarding the diet to be followed, the medication to be taken, when to consult
him again in the future and so on.

3. The detachment Phase

It includes the following:

* Discharge of the patient a patient can be discharged from the hospital on
the advice of the consultant

* Payment after the patient is discharged, the bill will be paid at the billing
counter.

4. Feedback

At this stage, the patient is requested to fill an evaluation form, which assists
the hospital authorities to know the level of satisfaction derived by the patient.
Patients' suggestions are always welcomed, valued and considered and many
times are very useful for improving the services of the hospital.
General Process Organization in a Hospital


Within the hospital, it each department is looked, it is noticed that each
department serves the needs of another department, for example, the purchase
department serves the needs of the stores, the billing department serves of the
finance department and so on. So in a way, each department is a customer to
another department, while at the same time it might be a supplier to another
department. Each department is an "internal customer" or the other
departments.
Only when each unit of the hospital understands who their customers are and
what their needs are, will the hospital develop basis for giving the best service
in the most efficient way to the patient.
In a way, each department or unit should consider itself to be a service
provider serving the needs of the customer department. In a superficial level, it
may seem as if each department is working as an independent unit rather than a
team. However, the world-over in many organizations that have used this
concept, it has found that this kind of a customer-supplier relationship helps to
offer an important system of checks and balances and gives the organization a
more focused customer orientation.
PHYSICAL EVIDENCE
It is the environment in which the service is delivered with physical or tangible
commodities and where the firm and the customer interact. Physical evidence
plays an important role in hospital services.
It makes a huge impact on the customer. Physical evidence offers customers
means of evaluating the service. Corporate image plays in important role in
terms of physical evidence. This can be developed through corporate relation
programmes.
Modern hospitals need to create a good ambience. Right from the reception
one finds very cordial and comforting staff. The ambience plays an important
role because when a patient walks into the hospital he immediately forms an
opinion about the hospital.
The staff follows a dress code to show professionalism and to maintain
discipline. The staff is trained to be understanding, warm and comforting
because the clientele that goes to the hospital is usually disturbed or unhappy.
It is necessary for a hospital to be well organized and segregated into different
departments. All the doctors should be offered with a well-equipped cabin.
The entire hospital requires to be centrally air-conditioned with good lighting.
Ventilation is taken care of by air-conditioning.
Special care should be taken to maintain hygienic, cleanliness and whole
hospital must be well lit. This is taken care of by the housekeeping
department. A hospital has to keep in mind both the aspects of physical
evidence that is essential and peripheral evidence. Physical evidence
particularly plays an important role in the hospital where the patients are
already depressed or traumatized and a good atmosphere could make all the
difference.
CONCLUSION
Marketing is a function by which a marketer plans, promotes, and delivers
goods and services to the customers. In the services marketing, the providers
are supposed to influence and satisfy the users. When people buy services
offered by a service provider in a true sense, they buy the time, knowledge,
skill or resources. Marketing the service is meant marketing something
intangible. It is like marketing a promise. The applications of marketing
principles in the services sector are the main things in the services marketing.
It is the managerial process of managing the service.


Healthcare Marketing: Seven Rules of Social Media Followed by
Medison Hospital
Social media success, like most everything, requires mastering the basics.

Social networking can be very helpful to hospitals and healthcare
organizations. And healthcare marketers have used it with varying degrees of
success. But there are some basic rules, which must be followed to build
online relationships and leverage the power of social media.
Here are seven fundamentals for social media success:
1. Listen Social networking for marketers is more about listening and less
about talking. Listen to discover whats important to your target audience.
Only by listening can you create quality conversation thats relevant and adds
value to your friends and followers.
2. Quality Its not about quantityhow many online connections you have.
But more about quality. Its better to have a few relationships that value
your content and who are loyal than to have thousands you connect initially
but never become engaged.
3. Focus You cant be everything to everybody. Its more important to be
narrowly focused providing specifically directed content. A focus intended to
build your brand instead of being too broad and general.
4. Consistency Its like any relationship; you cant be a friend just every-
once-in-a-while. A friend is there consistently. To have meaningful
relationships you need to have frequent contact and dialog. If you
disappear for a while, your followers will leave youfor a more reliable
relationship
5. Value People dont like others who talk about themselves all the time. A
friend must care and bring something worthwhile to the relationship. You
cant use social networking to always promote your brand or services. It
must be about providing something of value.
6. Acknowledgment People dont like to be ignored. If they are ignored for
very long, they will find better friends elsewhere. So when someone reaches
out or participates in a
7. Patience Strong relationships are not built quickly. And social media
success doesnt happen overnight. It takes a commitment for the long haul.
As we swim into the waters of social media its easy to be overwhelmed and
begin to sink. But as healthcare marketers if we adhere to these basic
rules, our likelihood of long-term success is greatly enhanced.


Healthcare Marketing: 10 Tips for More Effective Social
Media Marketing

Scientific research indicates that certain proven strategies can enhance
social marketing efforts.



Branding of Medison Hospital


Branding has hit the radar for hospitals and healthcare organizations. The
industrys marketing efforts are maturing to the point that marketers and senior
management are beginning to realize how important their brand is. And
rightfully so. The battle for the consumers minds and future market share will
be determined by our brand perception.
But for many marketers, branding is about logos and typefaces, corporate
identity standards and taglines. Good branding encompasses these things but
its so much more. It s really more about the consumers experience. What
does your brand communicate each day to those who come in contact with it?
And its not just the patients experience that determines the brand. Its
also the patients family and friends and what their experiences are like.
And employees and how they experience the brand. And suppliers and
vendors. The community at large. Its the totality of all the touch points.
By everyone.
Medison hospital keeps on updating logos and altering the visual look of their
communications. We see them changing positioning lines. And giving
facelifts to their facilities. All of which is good. Very good in fact. But if
that is all thats changing, its only cosmetic and only skin deep.
These changes help position a brand but the most important thing is the
experience it delivers. What is the experience like? It has to do with parking,
cleanliness, friendliness courtesy, wait times, competence, customer service,
caring, attitudes and everything else that affects a persons experience.
Its great that hospital marketers and senior management are turning their
attention to their brand. But hopefully its more than just aesthetics.
Hopefully the emphasis is on the total experience delivered by the hospital.
Thats what will really determine your brand in the minds and hearts of
consumers.

For brands, change for change sake is not a good thing. For healthcare
marketers, we need a strong message, a story that resonates with the consumer,
a brand with a promise. And we need to stick to it. Continuity ad consistency
with one simple, and powerful message will make our brand grow stronger and
stronger over time. We must resist the change for change sake.



Advertising

Advertising can be defined as the business of drawing public attention to goods
or services .It can also be defined as public promotion of a particular good or
service.
With the growing number of hospitals around, there has been an immense
increase in competition between them. Every hospital will want to perform
better than the other. Therefore Advertising is becoming really popular among
the hospitals.
Hospitals in India hardly advertise. Most of them look at advertising as an
unnecessary expense and keep it minimal. This really need not be so. Looked
from another angle, advertising for a hospital can be a critical investment,
which allows it to differentiate its services, educate customers about its core
beliefs, introduce new products and services and help gain new customers.
Unfortunately, in India hospitals believe that customers do not appreciate
hospital advertising and may even be put off by it. Many hospitals, who are
doing well do not see the need for advertising. With occupancy rates high, the
hospitals feel they are wasting money by advertising. Little do they realise that
advertising quite often is not only about getting more patients.
To make matters worse, whatever little advertising one sees is
mostly inane and dull. The communication usually bears the imprint of too
many cooks adding different flavours to the advertising, making it a weird
medley of pictures, long copy and a strange layouts. The marketing teams in
the hospital are forced to accommodate various view opinions (that of the
hospital COO/CEO, the heads of medical departments, other leading
physicians, the sales head, and sometimes the owner of the hospital ) arrive at a
piece of communication, which is usually a disaster from a marketing
communications point of view. While, this piece assuaged inflated egos,
ensures gory pictures (usually reflecting some landmark surgery) in the ads,
highlights achievements of some or the other doctors, it fails in its primary
purpose of connecting with the end-user.
Here are a few reasons, why hospitals should look at their advertising a lot
more seriously and spend money wisely in connecting with their customers.



Core Beliefs and Positioning?
Medison hospital advertises its core beliefs through a well thought of brand
campaign. It is imperative for customers to know what their hospital stands for,
what its core values are and how does it strive to stay true to those beliefs.
Thus, if a hospital professes to provide Total Patient Careas a consumer we
would love to know, what it means and what all can we expect from Medison
hospital. Similarly if any otherhospital is positioned as a cutting edge
technology centre we would like to know what that means to me as a
customer. A hospital must stand for something in the consumers mind.




Products and Services
A hospital offers a multitude of services. Customers need to know about them
and hence advertising is a good way of keeping customers informed. New
services keep getting added from time to time and the hospitals need to keep
their customers updated. Recently Max Healthcare started its cancer services.
All that they did was release a solitary advertisement, welcoming the new
Chairman of Cancer services!!! The ad was also supposed to serve the purpose
of informing the customers about the commencement of cancer care services at
the hospital. Wouldnt it make greater sense to announce the commencement
of a service with a nice campaign and if needed also feature
the medicalleader/team in the ads?


Hospital Launch:
A new hospital commencing operations needs high decibel advertising.
Artemis did this well, when we Medison hospital was launched. They had
large bill boards in Lucknow, a fairly heavy presence in the local print media
and local community engagement through fam visits to the hospital.
However, many hospitals too try to save money by launching quietly and
hoping the customers will come through the word of mouth or through doctors
pulling in their existing customers. I believe, these are sub-optimal ways of
launching the hospitals services and an old-fashioned media blitzkrieg works
the best.


Renewing Existing Services:

Medison believes Sometimes it is necessary that a hospital renew its existing
services.
FOR EXAMPLE :These days, we see some bill boards near my residence
advertising Apollos new Knee Clinic. The communication is targeted at the
elderly, informs about the new Knee Clinic, which offers Knee Replacement
services at the hospital. Now, Apollo hospital has been doing knees for a long
time, however the communication is trying to repackage the service and
relaunch it. Unfortunately, There are just two bill boards and, while the intent
is laudable, the hospital is being very stingy.. Other hospitals too need to often
renew and repackage their services smartly.


Driving Traffic
Medison Hospital drives traffic to their OPDs through innovative offers. In
fact the bulk of hospital advertising today focuses here. A free Cardiac Camp
around the World Heart Day is routine. Similar camps and offers in other
specialities help drive traffic to the hospital OPDs. The problem here is that
hospital do these sporadically, without adequate planning and often as band-aid
solutions to transient OPD traffic related issues. Tactical campaigns need to be
more consistent and better planned to yield optimal results.


Educating Customers
Wouldnt it be wonderful if a hospital did an educational campaign about let us
say heart disease or diabetes or any other lifestyle diseases. Medison does
that.The campaign aims to educate customers about the disease, its symptoms,
treatment options, success rates, technology available and
the medical expertise available to treat the disease. The objective is to inform
the customers, help them ask the right questions and thus make the right
choices. Unfortunately, Medison hospital os not willing to invest alot in
patient education simply because the returns are relatively long-term.

Medison hospital has been advertising its services. The marketing department
has made various efforts to advertise the hospital. Some of the following
methods of advertising used were the following :
1. Banner of Medison hospital near roads : The banner of medison
hospital can be seen near many roads of Lucknow. The banner shows
the address of the hospital, the services which are provided there.

2. Distribution of calenders with Medison Hospital printed on it : In
new years, Medison hospital prints calendars which are distributed over
a large a area. This makes public aware about the hospital. During the
month of Ramadan, Medison hospital prints the timings of every prayer
and distributes it.

3. Distributing Gift samples : Medison hospitals have appointed many
salesmen that distribute gift samples my medison hospital. These gift
samples mainly include a wall clock with medison hospital printed on it.
The salesmen go to every house and make them aware of the hospital
and the services they provide and distributes the gifts.

4. Advertising in Rural Areas by contacting the respected dotor there :
We all are aware of the fact that healthservices in Rural Areas are not
satisfactory. Normally in Village areas there are only few doctors.
Medison Hospital has contacted those doctors and in case theres any
patient who cannot be cured in the village itself, the doctor over there
consults the patient of medison hospital. That respected doctor in the
village receive cuts.



Public Relation


The Public Relations Department:
Works cooperatively with media to provide the public with newsworthy
information while ensuring that the basic rights of each patient are
adequately protected.

Provides publicity for all newsworthy events, or events in the public
interest, which involve the Hospital

Manages the Hospital's special events.

Works cooperatively with the public to provide information on request
about the Hospital, its services and other resources as required.

Provides a professional publication, editing and design service for all
Hospital departments.

Manages Bandaged Bear appearances.

Organises functions and visits to the Hospital (or involving the Hospital)
where they have a publicity or promotions aspect eg. book launch,
conference, VIP visit, Special functions on independence day, republic
day etc.

Provides publicity for Hospital-initiated fundraising events and for other
fundraising events where appropriate.

Coordinates Hospital visits for donors, the public and health
professionals as required.

Produces the staff newsletter.

Organises the monthly staff morning teas.

Organises tours of the Hospital.

Manages all liaison between the Hospital and schools for fundraising
and information and education.

Is involved with the Staff Social Club

Advertisement of Hospital Equipments :
It is important to explain the public or make them to aware that the hospital is
equipped with modern equipments and technology in order to ensure that they
are better than the competitors and on par with the International standards and
quality consciousness. Advertisement of Hospital Equipments.
Medison Hospital believes that the public should be aware of the latest
equipments of the hospital. For example, when Medison hospital started their
own pathology (June 2009), they made a scheme that on July 15
th
certain check
ups/tests are going to be cost free. And as a result many people gathered for
their free check ups. This was a strategy of marketing of the hospital newly
opened pathology too make people aware of their new equipments.
Similary, when the hospital started its ICU ward, the marketers approached
certain famous doctors and asked them to consult their patient (If in need) to
Medison hospital.

Doctors Profile :
Only in the medical profession the name and the fame of the doctors profile is
considered as equivalency of the Gods grace. Medison hospital believes that
Doctors are the ones who attract patients more than the hospital itself.

Media interview on hospital and healthcare :
Are the primary concern about the medical cares marketing system and
technique. Involves large number of people and clarifying their doubts
irrespective of the doctors and the patients especially Media interview on
hospital and healthcare
The economic conditions of any organization depends largely on the system of
marketing techniques. Proper marketing techniques and management systems
are like an engine to an hospital what so ever the medications and
infrastructure that the hospital have. Therefore it is important and inevitable for
revenue generation, the various techniques to be followed for the successful
process of a hospital.


IMPLICATIONS OF TPA

The existing ill-structured system is being replaced by a reformed but
organized structure called the TPA. An individual doctor through his
attachment to a nursing home or a hospital is able to offer his
professional services via the provider network extending to almost
majority of the nursing homes & hospitals. In an ideal situation the
clinician is assured of a steady stream of patients, the nursing home is assured
of a steady revenue flow and so the upkeep and facilities of the nursing
home & hospital tend to be upgraded. The clinician finds himself in
a better equipped set-up, luxurious clinics (which satisfy ones
patient also), and there is no constant need to
proveo n e s c a p a b i l i t i e s b y t h e n u mb e r o f p a t i e n t s o n e b r i
n g s t o t h e h o s p i t a l n o r i s o n e o b l i g e d t o b r i n g s u f f i c i e n t
b u s i n e s s t o t h e hospital. A favourable work atmosphere creates a
healthy and quality practice, which gives better bargaining power to the
provider with the TPA. This is the brighter but achievable picture of
Third party administration of healthcare. The flip side is the managed care
crisis o c c u r r i n g i n U. S . Th e r e a s o n s f o r t h e c r i s i s
t h o u g h h a v e t o b e studied in context with the American system of
healthcare. It surely cannot be applied to the Indian scenario. We have
to wait & watch how many more years it will take for managed care to arrive
just as Health Insurance for all (Health for all!) reforms has taken 50 years
post-independence! It is long overdue for the clinician to undergo
performance scrutiny and objective assessment of ones treatment
outcomes. Before a third party evaluates performance and decides the
efficiency of acl i ni ci an based on cut t i ng cost s r at her t han
qual i t y, i t woul d be prudent for the clinician to submit for continuous
voluntary evaluation through clinical audits, update ones arm ory by
continuous medical education and compete with each other on the
quality criteria, to secure contracts with TPA. This would be possible if the
clinicians lay down code of conduct and regulate themselves by an
autonomous body of clinicians. This will suitably dissuade the
TPA t o demand cost - cut t i ng measur es causi ng poor
t r eat ment out comes as a whol e. The seal of qual i t y car e by
t he heal t hcar e providers is going to be their bargaining power in long run,
be it with the insurance companies or the managed care.
T h e c l i n i c i a n s w o u l d r a t h e r b e r e w a r d e d f o r b e i n g
p a r t o f a n organized, accountable faculty, by the patient. Further the
clinician will retain the supreme authority of the patients treatment.


In the reformed system, the Provider (the treating doctor, hospitals,
di agnost i c l abor at or y, r adi ol ogy and i magi ng cent er s et c. ) , wi
l l always be the vital link of the healthcare chain.It is this fact that the
present clinician must utilize optimally. Wha to n e c a n d o i s
a c c e p t t h e c h a n g e o c c u r r i n g a n d u t i l i z e i t t o o u r benefit
with collective efforts. The issues of concern, the doubts can be tackled if
viewed with a common eye. The arrival of a third party since time
immemorial has been constructive. So shall it be in our country with
diverse practice of medicine and varying population density and their
unique disease patterns.






TPAS


The hospi t al s shoul d di spl ay a l i st of TPA s on t he panel
sothat there is no confusion for the patient.
The hospitalaut hor i t i es shoul d not hi de any i nf or mat i on, whi ch
may goagainst the patient or delay the issue of his or her authorization letter.


The hospitals need to employ an extra staff and should train them to
various aspects of TPAs running. The hospitals
needt o b e t o l e r a n t wh e n d e a l i n g wi t h d i s s a t i s f i e d c u s t o me
r s / p a t i e n t s wh o h a v e b e e n a s k e d t o wa i t , t i l l a n aut hor i za
t i on i s sent by t he TPA. Hospi t al s even can have
abookl et , hi ghl i ght i ng t he t er ms & condi t i ons of Medi cl ai mpol
icies, which could be used to educate the patient, beforethings go out
of hand. The hospitals also should not insist
ona u t h o r i z a t i o n e v e r y t i me & s h o u l d p r o v i d e f i r s t a i d t o
t h e p a t i e n t & e v e n s h o u l d g o a h e a d i n d o i n g a l i f e
s a v i n g pr ocedur e, i n an emer gency. The hospi t al s may or may
not extend discount, commissions to the TPAs depending
upont h e i r p o l i c i e s & p r o c e d u r e s b u t i t s h o u l d d e f i n i t e l y
n o t b e unethical.


Hospital being satisfied with the concept of TPA would like
tof u r t h e r i ns ur e t he i r o wn s t a f f t h r o ugh a TPA, a s t
h e y f e e l satisfied with the services provided to them.


TPAs feel that it is a good business & a profitable one.
They f eel t hat t he hospi t al aut hori t i es shoul d not hi de
any f act s from them & should inform them within 24 hrs of
admission.T h e y s h o u l d a d mi t a p a t i e n t o n i t s o n
me r i t & n o t f a k e emergenci es and gi ve unnecessary
t reat ment . They t r y t o make t he payment s t o t he
net work hospi t al but end up nor doing so. They do feel
that at times both patients & net work hospitals use legal
influence to get work out of them, but they seldom do so. They
also share our concern that the patients consumers are not
aware of the various terms & conditions and it is a collective
responsibility of all three to make it more transparent & educative.
People have high expectations from TPAs & when an authorization
is denied to them they scream & c r e a t e a s c e n e . T h e y
f e e l t h a t t h e y s h o u l d b e g i v e n a discount/commission
but seldom insist for it.

The IRDA shoul d pl ay a mor e act i ve rol e i n
regul ari zi ng t he number of TPAs in the market. There may
be more than 23TPAs on t he panel of IRDA but t here
are act ual l y very f ew around 7 TPAs, which are functioning
smoothly.


I feel it is the collective duty of IRDA, Insurance
companies,TPAs, agent s and f i nal l y hospi t al s t o make t
he consumer more aware of the various terms & conditions
mentioned in t he Medi cl ai m pol i cy. It i s al so t he dut y of
t he consumer/patient to go into the details of the policy which onei s about
t o buy or had al r eady bought . I RDA has t o act as
ap o l i c e ma n i n ma k i n g s u r e t h a t t h e s e TP A s ma k e r e g u l
a r p a y me n t t o Ne t wo r k h o s p i t a l s o r o t h e r wi s e t h e y wi l l s
t o p entertaining the TPAs and ultimately it is the consumer who will
suffer.


I RDA s h o u l d a l s o f i n d me a n s t o l o we r t h e wa i t i n g t i me
o f p a t i e n t s a n d ma k e Me d i c l a i m f r i e n d l i e r t o t h e c o n s u
me r . Though the consumer has welcomed the cashless facility but it is
not that simple to access it.

At t he end t he concer ns, whi ch have emer ged i s t hat , t helevel
of awareness of terms & condition of Mediclaim needs tobe enlarged, and
IRDA role should be more proactive to make Mediclaim more consumers
friendly







Questionnaire

Dear respondent this questionnaire is a part of my thesis study in my
BBA cour se f or f i ndi ngs of my t hesi s t opi c
Study on Hospital Marketing A case of Medison Hospital, Lucknow
. Pl ease cooper at e with for this exercise.



Name of the Patient: ----------------------------------------------------

Q.1: How did come to know about this hospital
A) f r i e n d B) Re f e r r e d C) Me d i a D) Ot h e r




Q.2: Are you the resident of Delhi?

A) Yes B) No

Q.3: For what treatment have you come here?
A) Spi nal B) Opt hal mol ogy C) Gast r oent er ol ogy D) Ot her


Q.4: How are the doctors?
A) Excellent B) Best C) Good D) Satisfactory



Q.5: Are the doctors available when required?
A ) Y e s B ) N o



Q.6: The staffs of this hospital are:
A) Excellent B) Best C) Good D) Satisfactory

Q.7: Do TPAS network hospitals entertain you?
A ) Y e s B ) N o

Q.8: Do the network hospitals fill in the pre-authorization formhonestly
without hiding some facts. A ) Y e s B ) N o

Q.9: Do you pay the hospitals as per your tariff?
A ) Y e s B ) N o


Q.10: Any suggestions regarding the improvement of
HospitalServices?________________________ ________________________ ______
__________________ ________________________




Thanks for your kind cooperation. I wish you a good recovery


Collection of Data Analysis

80% of the patients in the hospital are from Lucknow while 20% are not.
65% of the patients strongly agree that the staff is highly coorperative
and 10% highly disagree.
Need to improve interaction with patient and their attendee
70% people prefer private hospitals and 30% prefer govt.
85% say that doctors are available when theyre required.
80% of the patients prefer medical treatment and 30% prefer surgical
treatment.
Almost 80% people said they came to know about the hospital with
means of other patients

Analysis:
Ge n e r a l l y o t h e r wh o h a s b e e n g o n e t h r o u g h t h e t r e a t m
e n t h a s better experience of the hospital for specific diseasesVery less
through advertising and the least through visual media

CONCLUSION


The objective is to examine the marketing strategies of the Medison
Hospital and finding the level of customer satisfaction and the
research work regardi ng t he areas of hospi t al management
I have st udded t he
f u nc t i on a l i t y of d i f f e r e nt de p a r t me n t s a nd o n t h e
b a s i s of my experience at Medison Hospital. I have given some
suggestions that I f eel woul d work f or bet t er managi ng t he
depart ment al act i vi t i es . Apart from this I have suggested
some marketing strategies that may increase the customers
awareness and their level of satisfaction. The suggestions are with
regard to the services that hospital offers to their customers and
are on the basis of research that is carried out to know the
level of customer satisfaction.The objective of the study is
achieved with in the given time frame
a nd a pp r e c i a t e d b y my p r o j e c t g ui d e a s we l l
a s b y t h e t op management.