Looking Back At The Healthcare Organization You Identified

Looking Back At The Health Care Organization You Identified In The Fir

Looking back at the health care organization you identified in the first assignment, choose a specific product offered by that organization. Then, create an exploratory perceptual map for that product. In the discussion, share both your perceptual map (or a detailed description of your map) and what the map might mean for your chosen health care organization. Discuss whether would use a perceptual map in your current or desired profession. Explain why or why not. The health care organization identified in the first assignment was Memorial Hospital of Gardena.

Paper For Above instruction

The Memorial Hospital of Gardena is a community-centered healthcare facility that offers a wide array of medical services, including outpatient care, emergency services, surgical procedures, and specialized clinics. For this assignment, I will focus on its outpatient primary care services, specifically its preventive health screenings and wellness checkup packages. These services are fundamental to the hospital's mission of promoting community health and early disease detection.

To develop an exploratory perceptual map for Memorial Hospital of Gardena's outpatient primary care services, I first identify key attributes that influence patients' perceptions of primary care providers. Common attributes include 'Quality of Care' and 'Accessibility.' 'Quality of Care' relates to the perceived competence of healthcare providers, accuracy of diagnosis, and effectiveness of treatment. 'Accessibility' encompasses factors such as appointment availability, location convenience, wait times, and ease of getting services.

Based on these attributes, I conceptualize a two-dimensional perceptual map with 'Quality of Care' on the X-axis and 'Accessibility' on the Y-axis. I visualize the position of Memorial Hospital of Gardena’s outpatient services relative to other local clinics and healthcare providers. The hospital's outpatient primary care services are perceived as high in quality due to their certified healthcare professionals and patient satisfaction ratings, though accessibility might be moderate owing to potential limited appointment slots compared to urgent care clinics or walk-in centers.

The map would likely show Memorial Hospital of Gardena placed toward the upper right quadrant if both attributes are high, but perhaps closer to the middle in terms of accessibility. Competing clinics might be positioned high on accessibility but lower on perceived quality, such as urgent care centers. Conversely, large hospital systems might rank high on both attributes, while standalone clinics could vary widely.

This perceptual map provides valuable insights for Memorial Hospital of Gardena. For instance, if the hospital’s location or schedule limits accessibility, they could implement strategies like extending hours or increasing the number of primary care providers to move closer to the upper right quadrant—high quality and high accessibility—thus attracting more patients. Additionally, marketing efforts could emphasize their high-quality standards to differentiate from competitors with lower perceived quality.

In my current or desired profession, I believe perceptual maps are invaluable tools for strategic planning, marketing, and service improvement. In healthcare management, understanding how patients perceive different providers aids in identifying gaps and opportunities for enhancing service delivery. Perceptual mapping allows for visualizing complex customer perceptions and aligning services with patient expectations efficiently. It can help in decision-making regarding resource allocation, service expansion, and branding strategies.

Thus, I would definitely utilize perceptual maps in healthcare management or marketing roles, as they provide an easily interpretable visual framework to analyze competitive positioning and patient perceptions. They support data-driven decisions that improve service quality, patient satisfaction, and organizational competitiveness.

References

  • Kaplan, R. S., & Norton, D. P. (2001). The Strategy-Focused Organization: How Balanced Scorecard Companies Thrive in the New Business Environment. Harvard Business Review Press.
  • Kotler, P., & Keller, K. L. (2016). Marketing Management (15th ed.). Pearson Education.
  • Rosenbaum, M. S., & Frisson, C. (2017). Service quality in health care: A patient's perception perspective. Journal of Health Management, 19(4), 585-603.
  • Berry, L. L. (1980). Services marketing is different. Business, 28(3), 24-29.
  • Andaleeb, S. S. (2001). Customer satisfaction in hospitals: a benchmark study. Hospital Topics, 79(2), 3-9.
  • Zeithaml, V. A., Parasuraman, A., & Malhotra, A. (2002). Service Quality Delivery: Findings and Future Directions. Journal of Service Research, 5(2), 173–175.
  • Fitzsimmons, J. A., & Fitzsimmons, M. J. (2008). Service Management: Operations, Strategy, and Technology. McGraw-Hill Education.
  • Hoffman, K. D., & Bateson, J. E. G. (2017). Services Marketing: Concepts, Strategies, & Cases (6th ed.). Cengage Learning.
  • Gronroos, C. (1994). From Marketing Mix to Relationship Marketing: Towards a Customer-Centered Approach. Journal of Business Research, 30(3), 3-12.
  • Lovelock, C., & Wirtz, J. (2016). Services Marketing: People, Technology, Strategy. Pearson Education.