Health Service Marketing Management in Africa

Robert Hinson, Kofi Osei-Frimpong, Ogechi Adeola, Lydia Aziato, Robert Hinson, Kofi Osei-Frimpong, Ogechi Adeola, Lydia Aziato

• Publisher: Productivity Press
• Year: 2019
• ISBN:
  9780429683930
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Medicina
• Subtopic: Sanità, amministrazione e assistenza pubblica

Health Service Marketing Management in Africa (978-0-429-40085-8, K402492)

Shelving Guide: Business & Management / Marketing Management

The application of marketing to healthcare is a fascinating field that will likely have more impact on society than any other field of marketing. It's been theorized that an intrinsically unstable environment characterizes this very relevant emerging field, hence raising new questions. Changing regulations, discoveries, and new health treatments continuously appear and give rise to such questions. Advancements in technology not only improve healthcare delivery systems but also provide avenues for customers to seek information regarding their health conditions and influence their participatory behaviors or changing roles in the service delivery. Increasingly, there is a shift from a doctor-led approach to a more patient-centered approach.

In Africa, the importance of marketing-driven practices in improving the delivery of healthcare services cannot be overemphasized. The issue of healthcare delivery and management is significant for policymakers, private sector players, and consumers of health-related services in developing economy contexts. Scholars have strongly argued in favor of marketing and value creation in healthcare service delivery in Africa. Each country in Africa has its own issues. For example, long waiting times, unavailable medications, and unfriendly staff are just a sampling of issues affecting the acceptability of healthcare services. These examples highlight the need to utilize marketing and value creation tools in the delivery of healthcare services. Furthermore, there is a need for the integration of service marketing and management principles to enhance the delivery of quality healthcare across Africa and other developing economies which is the critical focus of this book.

This book responds to calls for quality healthcare service management practices or processes from developing economy perspectives. Focusing primarily on African and other developing economy contexts, this book covers seven thematic areas: strategy in healthcare; marketing imperatives in healthcare management; product and pricing management in healthcare; distribution and marketing communications in healthcare; managing people in healthcare; physical evidence and service quality management in healthcare; and process management in healthcare.

1 Introduction to Healthcare Service Marketing Management

Building Customer-Driven Health Organisations

Robert Ebo Hinson, Kofi Osei-Frimpong, Ogechi Adeola, Lydia Aziato

INTRODUCTION

Healthcare services are considered the backbone of society and human wellness. The recent institutional transformations in the healthcare services have enormous potential for research and the sector is fast becoming an exciting field of inquiry for marketing and management scholars. Given that marketers are concerned about the creation of value for customers, one of the latest trends in the healthcare sector in Africa is the application of tested and established principles of value creation in mainstream marketing to the healthcare sector. However, this remains a grey area which requires a comprehensive understanding and application of mainstream marketing and management principles. As a result, this book presents contemporary and thoughtful insights to address marketing and management related principles in healthcare delivery within the African context.

Healthcare services are considered the backbone of society and human wellness. In recent times, these services have undergone extensive institutional transformation (Danaher and Gallan, 2016). Within the context of this transformation, marketing, service quality and value creation enhance the service experience of healthcare customers (Osei-Frimpong, 2016). For example, Sahoo and Ghosh (2016) identified service delivery, amongst others, as a significant contributor to enhancing customer satisfaction in private healthcare delivery. It is notable that the healthcare industry has enormous potential and is fast becoming an exciting field of endeavour for marketing practitioners. Given that marketers are concerned about the creation of value for customers, one of the latest trends in the healthcare sector is the application of tested and established principles of value creation in mainstream marketing to the healthcare sector.

Stremersch (2008) notes that the application of marketing to healthcare is a fascinating field that will likely have more impact on society than any field of marketing. He further states that an intrinsically unstable environment characterises this very relevant emerging field, hence raising new questions. Changing regulations, discoveries and new health treatments continuously appear and give rise to these questions. Furthermore, advancements in technology not only improve the healthcare delivery systems but also provide avenues for customers to seek information regarding their health conditions and influence their participatory behaviours or changing roles in the service delivery (Osei-Frimpong, Wilson and Lemke, 2018). Increasingly, there is a shift from the doctor-led approach to a more patient-centred approach. About a decade ago, Kay (2007) argued that healthcare organisations need to utilise marketing tools more effectively for customer information and assistance in their healthcare decisions. This effort can only be achieved by healthcare organisations that promote increased accessibility of care and improved quality of service. Kay (2007) argued these points from the perspective of the US-based healthcare system described as “market-based”.

In Africa, the importance of marketing-driven practices in improving the delivery of healthcare services cannot be overemphasised. The issue of healthcare delivery and management is significant for policymakers, private sector players and consumers of health-related services in developing economy contexts. Scholars have strongly argued in favour of marketing and value creation in healthcare service delivery in Africa (i.e. Wanjau, Muiruri and Ayodo, 2012; Mahmoud, 2016; Osei-Frimpong 2016). For instance, in Ghana, Osei-Frimpong (2016) advocated for healthcare service providers to understand patient needs or goals and adopt a holistic engagement approach that would result in positive experiences. Customer experience affects the perception of service quality and acceptability of healthcare services. In South Africa, Hasumi and Jacobsen (2014) found that long waiting times, unavailable medications and staff who are perceived as being unfriendly affected the acceptability of healthcare services. In Egypt, Shafei, Walburg and Taher (2015) identified areas of shortfall in service quality as including physician reliability, physician assurance, nursing reliability and nursing assurance. In the Nigerian context, Adepoju, Opafunso and Ajayi (2018) found that patients were not satisfied with the quality of service in most of the dimensions assessed (i.e. assurance, reliability, tangibles, empathy and responsiveness). In a study on factors affecting service quality in the public health sector in Kenya, Wanjau, Muiruri and Ayodo (2012) found that low employee capacity, low technology adoption, ineffective communication channels and insufficient funding affect service quality delivery to patients, thus influencing healthcare service quality perceptions, patient satisfaction and loyalty. These examples of healthcare service marketing research, in the present contexts, highlight the need to utilise marketing and value creation tools in the delivery of healthcare services. Furthermore, there is a need for the integration of service marketing and management principles to enhance the delivery of quality healthcare across Africa and other developing economies. Therein lies the critical importance of this book.

Drawing on the above discussions, this new book on Health Service Marketing Management responds to calls for quality healthcare service management practices or processes from developing economy perspectives. Focusing primarily on Africa, this book covers seven thematic areas, namely: Strategy in Healthcare; Marketing Imperatives in Healthcare Management; Product and Pricing Management in Healthcare; Distribution, Marketing Communications and Branding in Healthcare; People, Physical Evidence and Service Quality Management in Healthcare; Process Management in Healthcare; and Technology in Healthcare.

BOOK THEMATIC AREAS

This book takes a holistic view of the healthcare service delivery by integrating key concepts that could enhance the performance of the sector from the perspective of the healthcare organisation, professionals and customers. In particular, the book advocates for a need for healthcare organisations and professionals to reorient to understand the changing customer better. This also suggests a need for healthcare organisations to improve on their engagement with customers to ensure a holistic experience. In contributing to the growth and development of the healthcare industry in Africa, this book offers a comprehensive understanding of how the healthcare service sector could be managed to ensure sustainability, competitiveness and overall value creation.

The book is divided into seven parts as summarised in the following sections:

STRATEGY IN HEALTHCARE

The first part of this book discusses two important topics, namely, the societal and healthcare context, and strategic planning and healthcare services. In Chapter 2, Aziato, Ohene and Adjei discuss the societal and healthcare context. This chapter sheds light on the integrated literature of healthcare and positions healthcare in the context of changing societal factors such as globalisation, economic factors, technological factors, cultural revolution, the consumerist customer and some key healthcare developments. The authors argue that despite the milieu of challenges in African healthcare, healthcare professionals should improve their orientation toward the changing societal context, in particular the cultural diversity within the continent, and promote services that will enhance customer satisfaction. Chapter 3, by Adeola and Adisa, addresses the issue of strategic planning and healthcare services. This chapter examines the nature of the market and how a strategic planning process can be used to solve the challenges associated with marketing healthcare delivery in Africa. The authors affirm the importance of strategic plans in improving healthcare delivery and call for a need for healthcare organisations to develop strategic plans that respond to the changing dynamics of the environment in order to create a healthcare sector that understands the needs of the people. The chapter further sheds light on the relevance of integrating intensive research in assessing the internal/external environments of the healthcare organisation to guide the development of strategic plans and their effective implementation.

MARKETING IMPERATIVES IN HEALTHCARE MANAGEMENT

The second part of the book addresses some key marketing concepts as applied in healthcare management. Anning-Dorson, Tackie and Nyamekye explore marketing in healthcare management in Chapter 4. They explain the critical role of marketing in healthcare management and offer some considerations of the strategic value of marketing to healthcare and how it could be adopted by entities operating in the healthcare space. The chapter argues that while the marketing concept was not a priority of healthcare organisations in the past, the changing market conditions and growing competition have made the adoption of marketing principles and philosophies relevant in today’s healthcare environment. Chapter 5, by Adeola, Ehira and Nworie, discusses segmentation, targeting and positioning (STP) in the healthcare sector by clearly explaining the approaches to the market segmentation process for healthcare services and the factors to be considered in selecting a healthcare target market. The chapter contends that STP informs the identification of needed healthcare niches and as a result contributes to the proper management of expectations, increased patient satisfaction and proper allocation of limited resources. The final section of this chapter discusses consumers and consumer behaviour in healthcare services management. Hence, Chapter 6, by Puplampu, Fenny and Mensah, describes the major features of consumers and consumer behaviour in healthcare delivery and the factors and models associated with consumers and consumer behaviour. They argue that while consumers’ behaviour is influenced by a number of factors, the decision to purchase healthcare services or equipment is becoming a complex phenomenon due to the changing nature of healthcare consumers as they become more knowledgeable and enlightened and have increased expectations. In light of this, the chapter offers some recommendations to guide healthcare professionals in the discharge of their duties.

PRODUCT AND PRICING MANAGEMENT IN HEALTHCARE

The third part of the book discusses healthcare products and pricing management. Muriithi, Kinoti, Okunga and Kinoti discuss healthcare product management in Chapter 7. The chapter explicates the complex nature of the healthcare product and evaluates related marketing issues. The chapter addresses two broad categories of the healthcare product: (1) pharmaceutical products as well as medical technology devices; (2) marketing of healthcare services by hospitals and healthcare providers. In Chapter 8, Acheampong and Agyeman-Boaten provide an in-depth discussion on the utilisation and pricing of healthcare services. This chapter deliberates on the demand for healthcare services, its prediction and factors that influence this demand, and explores the various pricing strategies being used in healthcare services. The authors acknowledge the significant improvements in healthcare demand and supply in recent years in developing countries, but stress that more work needs to be done to improve upon all aspects of healthcare in developing countries.

DISTRIBUTION, MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS AND BRANDING IN HEALTHCARE

This part of the book also focuses on the distribution of healthcare products, marketing communications strategies in healthcare services and branding strategies in healthcare management. Chapter 9, by Mahmoud, presents an extensive literature review on distribution in healthcare markets. The chapter reveals multiple healthcare distribution systems in the healthcare markets. Among the different distribution systems are centralised and decentralised systems, supply chain arrangements, public and private participation arrangements, producers, purchasers and providers. The chapter also highlights a number of recommendations to improve the efficient and effective distribution of healthcare markets in Africa. Application of integrated marketing communications in the healthcare sector, with insights from sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), is the focus of Anambane and Hinson’s contribution in Chapter 10. The chapter explores how healthcare providers, particularly hospitals in SSA, use the various marketing communication mixes of advertising, public relations, sales promotion, direct/digital marketing and personal selling. The chapter argues that while marketing communication tools like public relations, direct/digital marketing and advertising have been fairly well used by hospitals in the context under consideration, sales promotion and personal selling are yet to be widely embraced in the sector. The authors provide insights into the application of the marketing communication mix elements as a strategic tool in healthcare management. The effectiveness of the communication of healthcare institutions is likely to contribute to the branding of healthcare organisations. Following this, Chapter 11 by Olomo and Otubanjo sheds light on the concept of healthcare branding, which is increasingly becoming important in the light of competing health choices for consumers and emerging socio-economic trends across the African continent. The chapter adopts the theoretical perspective of social constructionism and provides detailed insights into how co-creation of knowledge occurs between various parties in the health brand promise. Effectively, the authors explicate the brand-building process, the benefits of branding and its relevance to sub-Saharan Africa healthcare. Further, Chapter 12 examines the importance of branding in small and medium-sized healthcare institutions. In this chapter, Odoom and Agyeman contend that branding is not an exclusive preserve of large healthcare institutions only, but also a crucial function for small healthcare service providers, especially in sub-Saharan Africa, to build their brand and boost their market performance. The authors focus on Gelb’s brand trust model and present four brand-building strategies for small healthcare organisations to include consistent experience, competitive differences, customer value and familiarity.

PEOPLE, PHYSICAL EVIDENCE AND SERVICE QUALITY MANAGEMENT IN HEALTHCARE

The fifth part of the book discusses in detail both the healthcare employee and management of the physical evidence and service quality in healthcare to create a unique customer experience. Chapter 13, by Yalley, discusses a need to consider managing healthcare employees as a strategic tool for healthcare organisations in building customer-driven service. The chapter highlights managing healthcare employees as a key challenge for African healthcare organisations. A number of human resource management (HRM) challenges facing African healthcare organisations, as well as some strategic interventions, are discussed in detail. Further, Hinson and Nkrumah discuss the physical eviden...