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Abstract
This healthcare organization was established way back in 1945. Its headquarters is in Oakland. Currently, this organization has been expanded to a level of catering for over 9 million members. It is also being run as a non-profit healthcare initiative. The healthcare organization has been divided into three main domains of operations.
Background
The first domain of this organization is the Permanente Medical groups. Secondly, the Kaiser Foundation Health Plan Inc. is also part and parcel of the healthcare organization and finally, the Kaiser Foundation Hospital also forms the larger part of the Kaiser Permanente. It is also vital to mention that there are several other subsidiaries that work alongside this healthcare organization in order to provide various healthcare needs to its clients.
Medical decisions are made by the physicians at this healthcare organization. In terms of functionality, the Kaiser Permanente members are usually given medical care by the Permanente Medical groups. The groups are also charged with the role of refining medical practices so that the various categories of medical care are offered in the most productive manner.
One of the most profound reasons why the Kaiser Permanente was incepted was the poor economic years that accompanied the Second World War as well as the Great Depression. During these tense years, quite a large number of patients were not able to cater for medical charges. Due to the establishment of this facility, several Americans found it quite affordable to meet important costs of medical cover because several healthcare charges were subsidized. For example, there were myriads of innovative healthcare services that were introduced in the medical field immediately after this healthcare organization was incepted. Some of these services include:
- Health plans for members that are already prepaid in order to lower the burden of medical costs especially during emergencies. The costs are made more affordable because they are spread over a reasonable period.
- The large numbers of patients are catered for because there is a well established physician group practice. This group of physicians is well trained as per the diverse medical needs of patients who visit this healthcare facility.
- Although there is a comprehensive plan for taking care of the patients, a lot of emphasis has been laid on preventive services in order to minimize the cost of medical charges especially when patients reach critical levels.
- Finally, multiple medical services have been integrated under common pools so that delivery of the most urgent and vital care can be enhanced.
This healthcare facility initially began from a humble beginning when it used to operate as an industrial healthcare plan. The targeted patients were employees who were working at the Kaiser Industrial factories. Most of them were steel mill workers, shipyard employees and construction workers who could hardly afford the costly medical services offered by other healthcare programs (Prue & Daniel, 2006).
Marketing challenges
There are myriads of challenges that face Kaiser Permanente when it comes to marketing its services. Firstly, the organization is not in a position to accurately estimate the marketing performance of its operations especially at the global level. Marketing needs are diverse and in the case of a healthcare organization like Kaiser Permanente, strategic planning is required. As it stands now, the organization has several units that deal with offering salient medical services to members. Unless the specific services are made known to the rest of the public, it may still be cumbersome for the organization to expand itself in terms profitability. However, it is vital to mention that this healthcare institution initially began as a non-profit making entity. Due to the growing need for efficient medical services, it has become necessary for Kaiser Permanente to invest heavily on the provision of healthcare services. Unless returns are made impressive, the organization may eventually fail to meet its budgetary needs. The inability to understand its local marketing platform has led to slow expansion for a long time.
The second challenge has been witnessed in media fragmentation. In order to reach the targeted market, Kaiser Permanente is obliged to use various available media outlets (Thomas, 2002). However, using media as a marketing platform has significantly changed with the passage of time. This healthcare organization is currently not well positioned in terms of media marketing. One of the reasons why the organization is still incapable of choosing the right media is the availability of vast choices of marketing platforms under this category (Powers & Jack, 2008). The management of the organization is apparently unable to decide the type of media to use. Choosing the right media channel for marketing can indeed make the entire difference (Rooney, 2009).
It has been a long term challenge for Kaiser Permanente to streamline its medical services delivery with the dynamic needs of the market. For example, patients need to understand the services offered as well as the costs of meeting the same services. In other words, unexpected changes in the cost of treating specific diseases should not take place at all. If proper streamlining is not done, then patients may be disappointed in several cases particularly when costs are not stable.
Conclusion
Lastly, people who work in non-profit making organizations may feel uneasy when it comes to marketing because it does not make sense to market such organizations whereas no profits are made. However, it is vital for them to adopt a marketing approach even if such entities are not interested in generating revenues. For example, it is crucial for the targeted audience to understand the services offered by an organization. Unless a marketing approach is adopted, the services offered will not be known to the targeted population.
References
Powers, T., & Jack, E. (2008). Using volume flexible strategies to improve customer satisfaction and performance in health care services. The Journal of Services Marketing. 22(3), 188-197.
Prue, C.E., & Daniel, K.L. (2006). Social Marketing: Planning Before Conceiving Preconception Care. Maternal and Child Health Journal,10, S79-S84.
Rooney, K. (2009). Consumer-Driven Healthcare Marketing: Using the Web to Get Up Close and Personal. Journal of Healthcare Management, 54(4), 241-251.
Thomas, R. K. (2002). How far have we come? Marketing Health Services, 22(4), 36.
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