Customer Activity Cycle

in the case of
the Medical Corporation Jin-i Association Ueda Eye Clinic
(Aichi, JAPAN)

Yoshihito NAKAYAMA
 Profile:
the Medical Corporation Jin-i Association

• Established in 1975
(Jin-i = benevolence)
• Specified in Eye clinic (ophthalmological
clinic)
• General eye diseases
(e.g. trichiasis, epidemic ophthalmia,
glaucoma, cataract)
• Community medicine
• Strength = Cataract day operation:
main patients => the aged www.jin-i.com

3/2/2009 Medical Corporation Ueda Eye Clinic 2

 Traditional Business Model/Environment
• Sustainable National Health care system
=> For patients: high quality medicine with low costs
(universal health-insurance coverage)
=> For hospitals/clinics: high economic returns
guaranteed by the national health care system
• Doctors-patients unbalanced power: An asymmetric
medical knowledge or information

PASSIVE/REACTIVE response
(waiting for patients, then diagnose and prescribe, little
necessity to introduce management theory or business
mind)
3/2/2009 Medical Corporation Ueda Eye Clinic 3
 Socio-economical Environment
• An aging society: a society with an aging population (long
life expectancy) due to a low birth rate
[life expectancy (2007) F: 85.99, M:79.19, birthrate (2007):
1.34]
• Highly advanced medical technology
=> increased national health care costs
• Financial crisis (reducing medical/national health care
budget)
• Reforming national medical/health care system
• High demands toward quality of medicine/health care
among people
• Hard working environments for medical staff
=> leaving work places => shortage of staff => medical crisis
3/2/2009 Medical Corporation Ueda Eye Clinic 4
 Patient/Customer Problems
• Lack of ownership toward own health
• Insufficient access to knowledge, concrete
action for managing and promoting health care
• Doctors tend to see not patients but diseases
* Eye clinic (ophthalmologist)
= medical specialist => lack of holistic approach
• Lack of liaison to express their needs,
satisfaction and claims
3/2/2009 Medical Corporation Ueda Eye Clinic 5
 Demanded New Business Model
ACTIVE/PRO-ACTIVE
communication, medical treatment, health care,
consultation, information provision

• More patient-centred or customer-focused

• Holistic healthcare approach (medical collaboration)
• Constructing Market Spaces from …
Now: Existing (diagnose and prescribe)
=> Emerging (predict, prevent)
=> Imagined (prolong, preserve)
• Extending Customer Activity Cycle (pre, during, post)
3/2/2009 Medical Corporation Ueda Eye Clinic 6
 Market Spaces
Wellbeing Promotion
Imagined Main target: the youth,
schoolchildren & who may
never get eye diseases
Emerging
Eye Care Management
Main target: the middle aged

Existing
Eye Disease Management
Main target: the aged

3/2/2009 Medical Corporation Ueda Eye Clinic 7

 Customer Activity Cycle
1. Existing
Eye Disease Management => the aged
Pre
Consult with family, friends etc. about eye problems

Gather information about eye clinics

During
Communicate with receptionists

Fill in disease history interviewed by nurses

Take ophthalmological examinations

Communicate with, diagnosed and prescribed by a doctor

Pay at a reception
Post •Undergo treatment
•Measure results
•Attend the clinic
•Feel difference of eye conditions (before and after)
•Feedback/review satisfaction/claim to the clinic, other medical/public
organisations, website
•Look for second opinions
3/2/2009 Medical Corporation Ueda Eye Clinic 8
 Customer Activity Cycle
2. Emerging
Eye Care Management => the middle aged
Pre
Realise warning signals in the dairy life or for example, through regular
medical check-up

Look for information (books, internet etc.)about causes

Consult with family, friends etc.

Contact to hospitals/clinics
During
Visit the clinic or website homepage

Fill in disease history interviewed by nurses or on the website

Visit ophthalmological examinations to know more details about the current
eye status

Learn preventive care by the clinic visit or website

Purchase preventive medicine or any other necessary eye care tools

Pay at a reception or on the website
Post •Undergo preventive care
•Measure results
•Attend the clinic or visit the website for the feedback/review
•Update knowledge (education & seminar)
3/2/2009 Medical Corporation Ueda Eye Clinic 9
 Customer Activity Cycle
3. Imagined
Wellbeing Promotion
=> the youth, schoolchildren & disease-free people
Pre
Realise the current health status (not only eye)

Discuss with family, friends etc.
During
Self-Learning about common (eye) diseases, especially relating to aging
by books/website

Attend seminars/lectures

Set own health promotion targets

Make action plan for health promotion

Join community network (e.g. sports/healthy food club activities)

Join virtual health promotion and wellbeing networks (e.g. SNS: Social
Network Service)

Use health management/promotion game software (e.g. Wii Fit)
Post •Measure results
•Update knowledge

3/2/2009 Medical Corporation Ueda Eye Clinic 10

 Analysis for Next Steps
- Action List, Gaps, Alliance, Operation -
Action List 1. Building:

screening system of predisposed people;

Online system for eye care management and self health promotion;

Preventive activity result measurement tools;

Knowledge management system (for updating).
2. Setting up, being there and assisting:
•Actual/virtual community for health care and promotion;
•Target setting;
•Assessing results of health care and promotion activities.
Gaps
Insufficient research, ICT , consulting and promoting customer service capacity

Alliance •Government (Ministry of Health and Welfare)

•Health care research institutions or other medical organisations (e.g. General
Practitioner) in the area
•IT system development firm
•Game software firm
Operation •Online doctor (consultation, second opinions)
•Online education and information centre
•Health care/promotion community
3/2/2009 •Communication centre for patients and their family (marketing, satisfaction/claim)
 Thank you
for your kind attention