For those of you
reading this post I would like to start off by giving a brief description of my
idea for my project. The company I have chosen to research is Tewksbury
Hospital which was originally opened in 1854 as in asylum in Massachusetts but
now functions as a fully accredited hospital assisting patients with medical
and/or mental illnesses (Mass.gov, 2016). My idea for the hospital is to
open up a new department which offers virtual doctor’s appointments to patients
from the comfort of the patients own home. The service will target elders or
individuals who are in need of a little extra help on a daily basis but are not
too ill to have to be admitted into a nursing home. I think the virtual
doctor’s office is a great alternative for individuals who do not want to enter
a nursing home, have assisted living, and for adults who do not have the space
in their homes or patience to take care of their loved ones.
In order to evaluate the success of Tewksbury Hospital’s new service and its
branding several steps will have to be taken. Management at Tewksbury Hospital
should develop systems that analyze how well the product is doing in
coordination with the hospitals mission statement, in comparison to other
hospitals, and if the service is fairly priced and branded effectively. As an
internal measure the hospital should make sure there is a system in place in
which every defect from the service is reported. A simple email, phone call, or
other type of social media could be used to record customer satisfaction with
the service. Management must also decide the frequency in which these “test”
should be performed.
Communication is key to the success of any organization and a feedback loop is
no exception. An organization must be structured in a way that if marketing
receives information saying customers are dissatisfied with a portion of a
given service they can effectively communicate the issue to production. Every
department that takes part in making the virtual doctor’s office a reality
should be informed of customer satisfaction and defect reports so employees
have a chance to fix such problems. Generating a well-organized feedback and
refinement loop will increase the success of an organization.
References:
Reeves, L. (2016). How
to measure if branding is effective. Chron. Retrieved from
http://smallbusiness.chron.com/measure-branding-effective-10102.html
(2016). Tewksbury
Hospital. Mass.Gov. Retrieved from
http://www.mass.gov/eohhs/gov/departments/dph/programs/hospitals/tewksbury- hospital.html
PART 2
Self-funded health plans have started to become a viable option
for small to mid-size companies across the United States (Eyestone, Moore,
& Coddington, 2014). Since Benecon already has a wide variety of
self-funded health plans inside consortiums/captives, then it makes creating a
consortium based around construction companies an easier task. The key for this
product to be sustainable is evaluating the product without its implementation
and make any necessary adjustments to the product (Reeves).
The first step is to determine differences between Benecon’s
self-funded health plans and competitors fully insured plans. Benecon’s plans
offer an additional savings because of the ability to adjust pricing and save
on premiums while operating in a consortium (Eyestone, Moore, & Coddington,
2014). The next step in evaluating the product would be to check visibility of
the product in certain regions (Reeves). This will be a glaring factor for the
sales directors at Benecon because they are the ones who have to sell the product.
When attempting to sell this product in a different region the sales directors
will get a very good understanding of the marketability of their product.
Since health plans are not “advertised” per say, it is important
to judge the expense cost of selling the product compared to the increase in
revenue. By doing so, Benecon can accurately judge the success of the product
and the direct effect it has on the finances. Along with the financial impact
of the product, it is important for Benecon to understand the impact of these
self-funded health plans on their customers and their employees (Reeves). By
sending yearly surveys to the construction companies HR departments, Benecon
can get an understanding of the impact their plans have on these companies. All
of these combined factors will help Benecon understand the growth and success
of their product and make any changes where needed.
