The Healthcare Industry

According to the American Marketing Association, marketing is the “activity, set of institutions and process for creating, communicating, delivering, and exchanging offers that have value for customers, clients, partners, and society at large” (2014). Marketing is a relatively new concept that was first introduced in 1910 and referred to as sales. Although the 1950’s is considered to be the beginning of the marketing era, it was not until the 1980’s that marketing was considered to have begun in healthcare, other than the pharmaceutical industry (Thomas, 2005).

The change to value based purchasing has bought many challenges to the healthcare industry. With the change to value-based purchasing for payments, it has changed how healthcare organization receive payment and delivery care. The advantage of have value based purchasing is that it improves the quality of care while reducing cost in an effort of aligning patient’s with the right provider and treatment plan (Minemyer, Jun 29, 2016). However, there are many disadvantages, such as it increases the patient volume as counteracting the reduction of procedure volume (Brown, B. & Crapo, 2016). Also it makes providers more responsible for care that is beyond the expected treatment of care needed (Minemyer, Jun 29, 2016). With quality measures tied

The care delivery enterprise must be re-tooled so that it functions in a fee-for-value reimbursement environment as is has in a fee-for-service reimbursement environment. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) is leading the

Universities stemmed some of the biggest medical advances in the health care industry amongst the world. The educational platform for the United States spells long term success for health care, by growing the next generation of top health care providers. In comparison Germany and Canada also are represented amongst the top 50 medical schools in the world, but lack any representation of the top 10 prestige rankings. On top of that, both other countries lack volume and opportunity to receive a valued medical education when compared to the United States.

Continuous and life-long learning- Unlike other professions in healthcare field one has to keep in pace with the updates going on, know the new technology,

One major trend in the healthcare environment is the shift from volume based reimbursement towards value based reimbursement. Many provider practices remain on a volume based or fee for service reimbursement plan. This system tends to reward high quantity of services with less regard for the quality or performance of the service. However, with a renewed focus on value, reimbursement plans

Besides, the financial incentives for hospitals and physicians that belong to ACOs, Jaffery & Golden 2013, asked and then answered the question “why would providers join this program? One reason is to prepare for the future”. Fee-for-service reimbursement, which has been how hospitals get paid for their services rely solely on the volume of patient seen without taking into consideration the quality of care provided. Payers today, such as government, commercial insurers, employers, and individual consumers are now requesting on value -based-payment, which consist of delivering the highest level of care at a lower cost. The volume based system even though the traditional way of how payments are made is not a viable long-term option (Jaffery and Golden, 2013, p.98).

In recent years, emphasis has been placed on improving the quality of health care services and the overall patient experience. Innovative measures are needed to meet these expectations, while also containing the rising costs of health care. The government has enacted new laws in attempts to provide incentives that base Medicare payments in part on quality. In fact, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010, requires the implementation of value-based purchasing (VBP), which bases Medicare reimbursement rates on the quality of care (Kennedy, Wetzel & Wright, 2013). Hospitals may experience a decrease in revenue initially, however, it is theorized that the increase of transparency and accountability will serve as an incentive for improvements in the overall quality of care provided in the United States.

Transitioning to this model is not as easy as it seems. Businesses such as hospitals will have to educate all health care workers on the foundations of a value based care system so that the highest quality of care is obtained for each patient and a satisfactory rate of patient outcomes are optimized. Health care providers may have trouble transitioning because there not used to being rewarded off patients outcomes, but rather off increasing revenue by preforming as many procedures as possible, some not even under the scope of evidenced based practice and medicine. Smaller

This article is about today’s healthcare marketplace have broad demand for greater value in healthcare face two obligations according to HFMA survey. Those obligations consist of reducing costs for existing services, optimizing the efficiency with which those services are delivered and develop the infrastructure and capabilities required to thrive in the emerging value-based payment and care delivery environment (HFMA 2015). HFMA research seeks to understand the challenge organizations face today is not simply to contain costs, but rather to reconfigure cost structure so that spending reductions in one area can free up resources needed for new investments in another (HFMA 2015). Dan Piro, president of MedAssets Advisory Solutions, notes:

Marketing has become so prominent in health care today because the health care system is more and more resembling a business. There are many functions to be performed and many complex and sophisticated skills involved. There has been so much growth and competition that health care is advertised and marketed like any other product.

Under payment, an ideal healthcare system will have the challenge of delivering higher quality for lower costs. The system’s payment reform will involve a transition from fee-for-service to global from systems that are value-based important for the achievement of the overall healthcare goals. An ideal healthcare payment system will give a great deal of support to value-driven system of healthcare delivery (Kent, 2013). The fee-for-service payment system will be of great importance to the healthcare system as it will help control the costs of health care.

The central concept of marketing is the exchange of something of value between the provider and the purchaser. Determining what the consumer need, want and desire and delivering it better than the competitors is the goal of marketing (Longest, Rakich and Darr, 2000). Healthcare is becoming more business oriented and using marketing tactics to increase consumer use of the services and products the health care system offers. Ensuring marketing of the right products and services is successful the organization’s mission and marketing need to be in alignment. This alignment begins with the strategic planning process, which

The positive outcomes that have resulted due to value base programs have caused the model to gain traction and ignite one of the largest changes in history in the health care marketplace. By linking reimbursements to service quality, insurers such as the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services have facilitated a massive leap forward in the performance of United States health care providers. This achievement is a considerable accomplishment in the face of an institution that has received reimbursement from insurers via a fee-for-service model during the last 75 years. Soon, valued based payment models will represent the norm as more insurers support initiatives such as shared savings program, integrated clinical care, and accountable care payment models.

Hospitals and health systems in the U.S. are experiencing a remarkable transformation in their business models directed from numerous influences that are projected to ultimately turn the industry around. Pressures include providers troubled with the quantity of services they are responsible for, to providers who concentrate on presenting high-cost services that give emphasis to sustaining healthy populations (Dunn & Becker, 2013).