Marketing Health Care Products
Health care products are non-prescription products that physicians sell to patients. Physicians often receive a monetary incentive for endorsing these products. Although these sales are convenient, ethical and legal issues can arise. For example, there are concerns about financial conflict of interest. Furthermore, this practice threatens to undermine the physician’s obligation to serve his or her patients. In many cases, such products are not even approved for sale. However, a physician may still make an ethical decision about recommending a product to a patient.
Marketing health care products is a challenging endeavor for many reasons. Government intervention is widespread, and the demand for medical services is highly price-inelastic. There are several inherent uncertainties affecting the market, and consumers and producers have widely asymmetric information. There are also multiple barriers to entry to the health care industry, such as regulatory burdens, specialized expertise, and research and development costs. Finally, there are significant externalities resulting from the production and consumption of health care products.
Healthcare providers are constantly trying to provide better health care products. While the term “health care product” is sometimes loosely defined as a service, the authors develop a more precise definition and present a bundle of elements model of a health care product. Though the focus of this book is hospitals, the concepts and methods presented here are applicable to other health care organizations. So, if you’re thinking about the next big business, it’s worth reading this book! You’ll learn a lot about healthcare and its marketing.
Marketers are faced with numerous challenges in marketing healthcare goods and services. While the supply of health care products is high, the demand for these products is very low. Moreover, the health care market is highly price-inelastic. This means that companies must tailor their marketing strategies to different consumer groups in order to keep pace with these demographic shifts. So, as to remain competitive, healthcare marketers must develop customized marketing strategies. So, the goal is to provide the best service possible.
The marketing of health care products and services is very different from other sectors. There is a wide range of government intervention, and people’s needs and preferences change rapidly. Changing demographics and lifestyles have also changed the nature of the market. The market for health care products and services is highly price inelastic. As a result, the products and services of a healthcare product or service must be tailored to fit the needs of the customer.
The healthcare market includes several distinct sectors. The International Standard Industrial Classification (ISIC) categorizes health care as medical practice and hospital activities, while the Global Industry Classification Standard categorizes health services as “other human health activities.” Other sectors include pharmaceuticals and biotechnology. The healthcare sector is highly regulated, and it involves high transactions costs. But, the benefits and drawbacks of healthcare are generally the same. The industry is also characterized by a variety of factors.
