Healthcare Distribution Channels and Analyze

Healthcare Distribution Channels and Analyze Their Effect on the Following:

The brand image of healthcare providers

Some new, larger healthcare providers insist that they can offer the same quality of care as smaller healthcare organizations did before -- while others stress the benefits of expanded services when a healthcare consumer becomes part of a large healthcare network. No matter how large the organization, quality of care as well as low cost to the consumer must be a factor in the image presented to the public, to foster a sense of trust.

The type of marketing communication required

One way for large organizations to make the dissemination of information through the Internet is to provide additional online services not provided by healthcare organizations in the past. To "enhance communication," some use Internet services to give more "personalized, branded" services, such as notifying patients about appointments, and to provide other healthcare reminder, enable easier access to scheduling, billing, and insurance information ("About Soundbite," 2007, Soundbite Official Website).

The scale of shopping experience for consumers (patients) with these new, large retail chain healthcare channels

For some customers, the increased ease of 'shopping' online and finding information about healthcare providers in their area can be useful and time-efficient, as they can find out about various aspects of their plan while surfing online, at work, and not have to make lengthy phone calls to individuals at call centers. For others, the scale of shopping at a large venue for healthcare can be overwhelming and impersonal, regardless of what added value the services attempt to provide, particularly for older consumers used to more personalized forms of healthcare service.

The demand at traditional healthcare facilities, such as hospitals and doctor's offices

For traditional doctors and hospitals, some new venues, like the Internet, which can speed up billing and scheduling notification, can be helpful, and can take over some of the administrative burden of finding whether certain procedures are covered, as the consumer can accomplish this on his or her own time. However, the use of the Internet can also result in more patient self-diagnosis and greater exposure to healthcare advertising, which can increase consumer demand for visits for imagined illnesses, or for new, advertised but untested or unnecessary drugs.

The target market for these new healthcare distribution channels

Consumers who use the Internet frequently who wish to find a provider in the area, providers seeking to reduce their administrative costs, consumer wishing to see if a particular provider is in-network, are all potential ways for using the Internet to access information about their healthcare plans and increase this medium's usefulness for consumers accessing data through larger channels and venues.

The way technology is used to offer services at these new channels