Table of Contents

1.

Introduction....................................................................................................... 2

2.

Healthcare in Asia............................................................................................. 2

3.

E business in Healthcare................................................................................... 3

4.

B2B Markets for Healthcare and branding strategy..........................................4

5.

Competitive Intelligence for Healthcare Markets..............................................5

6.

Pricing Research................................................................................................ 6

7.

Medical Product Development Process and Value based marketing:................7

8.

Healthcare Segmentation Analysis Coverage:..................................................8

9.

Customer Satisfaction..................................................................................... 10
9.1. Study1: Customer satisfaction measurement in emergency medical
services:............................................................................................................. 11
9.2. Study 2: Postal survey methodology to assess patient satisfaction in a
suburban medical services system:...................................................................11

10.

Limitations:.................................................................................................. 12

11.

The Future of Healthcare............................................................................. 13

12.

References:.................................................................................................. 15

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1. Introduction
The health care industry, or medical industry, is a sector within the economic
system that provides goods and services to treat patients with curative, preventive,
rehabilitative, palliative, or, at times, unnecessary care.
For purposes of finance and management, the health care industry is typically
divided into several areas. As a basic framework for defining the sector, the United
Nations International Standard Industrial Classification (ISIC) categorizes the health
care industry as generally consisting of:
1. Hospital activities;
2. Medical and dental practice activities;
3. Other human health activities.
Other human health issues involves activities of, or under the supervision of,
nurses, midwives, physiotherapists, scientific or diagnostic laboratories, pathology
clinics, residential health facilities, or other allied health professions, e.g. in the field
of optometry, hydrotherapy, medical massage, yoga therapy, music therapy,
occupational therapy, speech therapy, chiropody, homeopathy, chiropractics,
acupuncture, etc.
The Global Industry Classification Standard and the Industry Classification
Benchmark further distinguish the industry as two main groups:
1. Health care equipment and services; and
2. Pharmaceuticals, biotechnology and related life sciences.
Health care equipment and services comprise companies and entities that provide
medical equipment, medical supplies, and health care services, such as hospitals,
home health care providers, and nursing homes. The second industry group
comprises sectors companies that produce biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, and
miscellaneous scientific services.
Other approaches to defining the scope of the health care industry tend to adopt a
broader definition, also including other key actions related to health, such as
education and training of health professionals, regulation and management of
health services delivery, provision of traditional and complementary medicines, and
administration of health insurance.
The global medical industry is one of the world's fastest growing industries,
absorbing over 10% of gross domestic product of most developed nations. The
medical and health care industry provides enormous employment opportunities to
choose from. Apart from using the services of medical professionals, this industry
also utilizes the expert services of public policy workers, medical writers, clinical
research lab workers, IT professionals, sales/marketing professionals and health
insurance providers.

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2. Healthcare in Asia
The healthcare industry in Asia is a fast developing sector and is no doubt the future
of the industry once the industry achieves maturity in Western countries. There are
similarities in healthcare practice in the Asian countries. Western medicine is
dominant in all health-care systems, while traditional medicine is still practiced in
some countries. Drug pricing and reimbursement are mostly controlled by the
government. No reference pricing system exists in any of the countries.
Every nation in the world faces healthcare challenges, and those in Asia are no
exception. For poor countries like Cambodia, the issues are about improving access
to basic health services, and tackling poverty-related problems such as contagious
disease and infant mortality, working against a backdrop of major financing
constraints, given low-income levels. For rich countries like Japan, the challenges of
development loom large, from battling rising diabetes, cancer and cardio-vascular
illness to caring for an ageing populationagain with severe financial constraints.
In between the rich and poor extremes lie middle-income countries such as China
that are facing a double burden: the diseases of development and ageing are
arriving before the problems of poverty have been fully addressed, and before
incomes have risen to match the resources available in the developed world. Given
that much of Asia still has low incomes, the healthcare challenges are greatest in
improving the availability and quality of health services for the poor.
Tackling these challenges demands innovation: to manage healthcare in new ways,
more effectively, with better quality and for lower cost. Its tempting to think of
innovation as being about new drugs and better machines. But innovation is just as
powerful when applied to financing, to regulation, to business models for delivering
health services, and to the nature of partnerships between different types of
healthcare organizations, be they private companies, government departments or
NGOs.

3. E business in Healthcare
Electronic business, commonly referred to as "e-business", or an internet
business, may be defined as the application of information and communication
technologies (ICT) in support of all the activities of business. Commerce constitutes
the exchange of products and services between businesses, groups and individuals
and can be seen as one of the essential activities of any business.
When speaking about e-Business as applied to the healthcare market two questions
arise immediately. Firstly, what is e-Business? Secondly, why is e-Business in
healthcare different from e-Business in other sectors? Within the arena of e-Business
in healthcare, the focus is on purchasing and selling online as the most advanced
application. E-Business in Healthcare raises awareness and interest in electronically
mediated business processes in healthcare to a large audience including healthcare
informaticians, medical business managers, clinicians, pharmacists and scientists.
E-HealthCare Systems, Inc. provides Web-based medical, dental, IPA/Managed care,
and health plan management application solutions using a software-as-a-service

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(SaaS) business model. E-HealthCare is committed to providing quality products for

the healthcare industry that improves the business process and overall patient care.
The benefits of e-business in healthcare are:

Improve quality of care

Provide operational savings
Reduction in fraudulent
Faster sharing of information
Searchable health information databases
Enhanced care delivery capabilities
Improved health outcomes

Market differentiation

4. B2B Markets for Healthcare and branding strategy

B2B markets for healthcare offers a multitude of different routes to participate in
the healthcare business-to-business marketplace whether one is on the receiving or
selling end of the spectrum. One can keep up with the latest advancements and
emerging technologies through expanded relationships in the healthcare vertical
marketplace while building on the markets for healthcare he/she already have
established.
The Medical services come under the four Is principle:
1.
Inventory: The services cannot be stored
2.
Inseparability: It cannot be separated from the service provider
3.
Inconsistency: Service varies from place to place as human factor is
involved
4.
Intangibility
In the past, hospital Brands used to rely heavily upon the patient's experience to
validate, define, and advance. There wasn't enough money in anyone's budget to
create a brand simply by advertising. So many hospitals used to skip this important
step.
Branding approaches in the healthcare have changed a lot over the past. Gone are
the days when you are required to merge in books and study hard to be successful
in the field. It has become a lot more social these days. The needs of the patient
come first now. Its important to be different and engage yourself. It is important to
gain peoples trust which comes when you are reliable and make it a delightful
experience for them.
In todays tough economic climate, the wellness of a healthcare organizations
brand is more critical than ever. This can mainly be attributed to the complex and
highly competitive nature of the industry. Awareness with strong identity and
messaging are a good start. But aside from basic marketing, successful branding
goes a lot further. It must start from inside a healthcare organizations core. From
that point, everything that the organization does from brand promise, to
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advertising, to employees working as brand ambassadors constitutes the branding

of the organization.
The industry follows 5 Ds of brand strategy creation that will put their organization
in the Brand-of-Choice position for those targeted critical service lines that will
generate the profits they will need to succeed in a reform era:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Discovery Phase
Design Phase
Development Phase
Deployment Phase
Display Phase

The industry has eschewed traditional forms of media marketing, and instead seems
to rely heavily on the good word of its customers to attract new clients - creating a
secret club-like atmosphere among them all. This field, perhaps more than any
other in the business world right now, is seeing a tremendous amount of change in
a tremendously short period of time. Product marketers are trying to keep up with
product developers, as demand for healthcare IT services increases as a result of
healthcare reform.
Over time, strong branding will reap very tangible rewards. People will pay more for
a brand name than a generic alternative as that will bring trust and an assurance of
reliable and delightful experience. This is especially true when it comes to ones
healthcare. People trust brands because of what those brands represent. Whatever
the brand distinction in the eyes of consumers, a branded healthcare organization is
worth more than a non-branded one. Successful branding will give an organization a
big advantage over its competitors. Making a promise known to customers, then
living up to it, is key.

5.

Competitive Intelligence for Healthcare Markets

Competitive intelligence is usually composed of five major areas of endeavor, and is

performed under three main approaches in the CI framework:

assessment of strategies
competitor perceptions
effectiveness of current operations
competitor capabilities
long-term market prospects

The Intelligence Cycle is described as "the process, by which raw information is

acquired, gathered, transmitted, evaluated, analyzed and made available as
finished intelligence for policymakers to use in decision-making and action." There
are five steps which constitute this cycle:

planning and direction

collection and research
processing and storage
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analysis and production

dissemination and delivery

Among the specific areas on which the competitive intelligence focuses are hospital
infrastructure, technology, and specialties, as well as unique factors that might
distinguish ones brand from their competitors. From an infrastructure standpoint,
how efficient is the delivery of care versus the competition? Do they have the
appropriate channels of communication established to facilitate the best quality of
care? Is the physical plant set up to optimally serve the patients and physicians
needs? As an example, hospitals can do a tremendous service to their patients,
physicians and themselves by offering extended hours for services such as lab or
diagnostic testing.
Hospital marketers should also be aware of new technology and facilities that are on
the horizon, for their own facility, as well as those planned by the competition.
Finally, they should not ignore population characteristics of their service area and
that of their competitors. After all, the basic principle of marketing is to satisfy the
wants and needs of the consumer. Understanding the demography of their
population is important to properly define those wants and needs.
Winning organizations under healthcare reform will not only be lean, efficient, and
have predicted quality outcomes, but they will also have strong, relevant,
recognized brands for those key profitable services placing themselves in a position
to demonstrate value and relevance directly to the insured consumer.

6.

Pricing Research

In this competitive environment, it helps to get ones offerings right the first time the right features and capabilities, the right combination of features to price, the
right pricing models for the healthcare practices and provider communities one
serve.
Major pain points that the healthcare industry seek to address via analytical
applications and information management solutions are:

Reduction in administrative costs

Discovery of new revenue opportunities
Supply cost optimization
Fraud identification
Detection of cost effective treatments vs. inefficient ones
Disease management targeting early prevention vs. expensive late stage
therapies

There are generally five primary methods of funding health care systems:
1. General taxation to the state, county or municipality
2. Social health insurance
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3. Voluntary or private health insurance

4. Out-of-pocket payments
5. Donations to health charities
In most countries, the financing of health care services features a mix of all five
models, but the exact distribution varies across countries and over time within
countries. In all countries and jurisdictions, there are many topics in the politics and
evidence that can influence the decision of a government, private sector business
or other group to adopt a specific health policy regarding the financing structure.
Pricing strategies are as complex and varied as the hospitals that employ them. The
science of developing a pricing strategy lies in determining how to meet a series of
competing objectives: balancing budgets while remaining competitive, complying
with regulatory standards, providing community benefit, and withstanding legal
scrutiny.
Although recent investigations into improper pricing practices are what really got
the ball rolling, the driving force of greater price transparency in health care
ultimately may be consumerism, as companies provide employees with financial
incentives to assume a greater role in managing their care.
Although every hospital has a pricing strategy, some are more sophisticated than
others. If a hospital's pricing strategy is driven solely by the desire to meet a
budget, without a more deliberate, fact-based assessment of costs, contracts, and
market conditions, that hospital will continue to be vulnerable to attack.
A sound pricing strategy needs to incorporate a range of complicating factors,
including the impact on the brand, payer contracting, compliance, competition, the
cost of education and research, and the implications of consumerism.

7.
Medical Product Development Process and Value
based marketing:
The process of bringing a new medical product to market has a number of important
milestones. In addition to designing a good product, it is important to anticipate
many of the requirements that will allow one to introduce it successfully.
1.
2.
3.
4.

Development Design and Prototype Stage

Device Validation and Verification Testing
Preclinical and Clinical Trial Project Management
Regulatory Clearance / Approval

5. Post market Activities

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1. Development Design and Prototype Stage

Basic steps involving the design phase:
a. Assess the impact of regulatory environment and FDA policies
b. Assess applicable Medical Device Directives and individual country
requirements
c. Determine product classification and essential requirements
d. Identify which FDA Center will have jurisdiction for drug-device and biologicdevice combination products
e. Design and review the pre-clinical test plans and clinical studies
f. Review and evaluate the technical and clinical data, including labeling
reviews and risk management determinations
g. Begin a collaborative dialog with the FDA through formal pre-IDE meetings or
informal communications
h. Define and assess the product labeling claims and associated clinical data
requirements
2. Validation and Verification Testing
Basic steps involved:
a. Develop and implement systems and procedures to effectively document the
medical device design history process
b. Implement risk management and design validation processes and procedures
c. Identify the most appropriate and
requirements as per market standards

relevant

testing

standards

and

3. Preclinical and Clinical Trial Project Management

Basic steps involved:
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
f.
g.

Define appropriate pre-clinical and bench studies

Develop a clinical trial design, prepare study protocols and study documents
Identify study sites
Obtain regulatory / IRB / Ethics Committee (EC) approvals
Collect, manage, and monitor clinical trial data
Perform statistical analysis
Prepare clinical study report

h. Further design and implement your quality system to meet FDA, QSR and ISO
13485 requirements
4. Regulatory Clearance / Approval
a.
b.
c.
d.

510(k) Premarket Notifications (traditional, special, abbreviated)

Premarket approval (PMA) applications, amendments and supplements
Design Dossiers and Technical Files for CE Marking
Manufacturing and software information for FDA
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e.
f.
g.
h.

Device reclassification petitions

Master files
Canadian Device License applications
Establishment Registration

i.

Device Listings

5. Post market Activities

This activity involves successfully managing your post market surveillance efforts.
a. Perform EU Vigilance Reporting
b. Respond to FDA and Warning Letters
c. Develop effective and competitive regulatory strategies to address future
product and labeling changes
d. Prepare Traditional or Special 510(k) submissions for new devices or existing
device modifications
e. Assess and
understand
any applicable European
Medical
Device
Directives and individual country requirements to support international
market introductions
f. Design, manage, and monitor any clinical studies you may need to support
future submissions or to meet any post-market requirements
g. Prepare your team for FDA inspections and registrar or Notified Body
assessments
h. Manage your post-marketing surveillance requirements; include complaint
handling, medical device reporting (MDR), vigilance reporting, failure
investigations, problem reporting and device tracking

8.

Healthcare Segmentation Analysis Coverage:

Healthcare Market Segmentation helps in understanding existing and potential

customers in terms of distinct groups (market segments) and also helps to gain vital
insights for promoting products and services to each segment most effectively.
The divisions are:
Size of practice / hospital: In the Asian context, there are a large number
of hospital chains as well as single specialized hospitals. Even the number of
medical practitioners employed in each varies with size. More people are thus
able to get facilities from these large hospitals in contrast to specialized ones.
Specialty: The scope of medical facility provided also varies according to
speciality of doctors and medical houses providing the services. As such there
marketing resources as well as marketing styles differ.
Technology adoption: Few hospitals have state of the art infrastructure
while few lag in such domain. Also the experience of medical practitioners
practising there is a vital difference.
Provider business strategy: Few clinics and hospitals focus more on
technologies while other on experience of doctors. Few others rely to put medical
facilities to remotest of part and gain first mover advantage.

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Ownership model (physician-owned practice, for-profit / non-profit

facility, etc.): The medical houses vary from single-owned businesses to that of
NGOs to chain of private and publicly held hospitals. Each targets customers
differently.
Provider / practice complexity: The organizational hierarchy or the
procedure to attain medical facilities from a specified location varies. For e.g.
Army hospitals provide only for army personnel. Also some treat only specified
diseases.

Practice affiliation: The medical centers differ in their affiliation to various

medical associations and boards. As such there reach and market strategy,
norms and regulations vary accordingly.

However, according to Prof. Jagdish N. Sheth, the Medical industry can be sub
divided into:
A) Resource Diversity:
1) Affordability: The Asian market comprises of many third world countries.
As such there is a huge difference in the wealth composition of individuals.
Here the medical industry varies from posh, state-of-the art infrastructure
related hospitals to government owned subsidized medical houses. India,
for one provides economical yet highly professional healthcare services as
in contrast to other nations.
2) Time: Many a households now-a-days are double earners and hence have
no time for day-to-day medical check-up except for week-ends. As such
many facilities provide extra doctors and other health personnel on
weekends.
3) Diseases: There are specialized hospitals and medical centers built to
deal with special diseases.
4) Psychosomatics: The society is getting more and more diversified in
terms of psychological diseases and emotional disturbances. Thus specific
segmentation of such practices is taking place.
B) Patient Characteristics:
1) Patient Demographics: The population can be divided on the basis of
age of individuals who require different treatment and medical resources.
For example cataract operation is seen mostly on ageing population
where-as obesity and other narcotics problem seen on young individuals.
2) Patient Psychographics: People differ in their views on the way, one
must undergo treatment. For e.g. Few people believe on home remedies,
while others in villages rely on quack doctors, so on and so forth. Thus the
industry is segmented from this point of view also.
3) Patient frequency of healthcare utilization: It is of no argument that
only few avail the utility served by the health industry. The frequency also
varies from patients to patients.
C) Marketing Practices:
1) Competitive Positioning: Based on quality-price variations different
healthcare organizations provide different facilities. For instance few
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medical facility chains like the Apollo are known for high prices and good
quality services whereas few others are known for economical utility.
2) Full line vs. Specialty: It is another way of segmentation. In Asian
market, now-a-days we find a huge deluge of integrated one-stop health
centers whereas at the same time specialty nursing home and hospital
houses are also growing
3) Payment Plans: The way the patients pay their bills is another way of
segmentation. Few like to pay on a pre-plan basis through insurance while
few others pay and then go for re-imbursement. There are other variations
also.
Apart from the above mentioned points, the medical industry can also be
subdivided into the following basic categories:

Health care equipment and supplies market: In 2010, the Asia-Pacific

health care equipment and supplies market is forecast to have a value of $43
billion. The segment of the market in Asia-Pacific has benefited massively
from overseas investment and the modernization of healthcare standards in
countries with developing economies. It is, by some distance, the fastestgrowing regional health care equipment and supplies market in the world.
Healthcare Services: The various services provided by the doctors, nurses
and all other who provide medical facilities, including testing centers come
under this head. Asia, and more importantly India is a leading provider of
these services at a very economical cost.
Drugs: There is still a huge scarcity of different life-saving drugs in this part
of the world. However slowly R&D and research work is picking up. Also most
of the drugs which are required to stop epidemic like T.B and leprosy are
found in abundant.
Medical Tourism: People of others countries, including developed ones are
now flocking towards the Asian market because of the combination of quality
as well as cost-effective medical services provided here. Also there is
availability of alternate medical facilities which is also an emerging market.
Also the Asian conditions are appropriate for a patient to recuperate post
medical trauma.
Wellness products: These products are sold to people who are fitness
fanatics, or else who need to take care of their dietary and other health
needs.

9.

Customer Satisfaction

Customer satisfaction is not merely a "smile and be nice" set of behaviors. It is a

philosophy that is founded in the concept that the patient's experience of care is
important and ultimately translates into their actual response to care. The improved
response to care that patients exhibit makes patient satisfaction important from a
clinical vantage point. That point alone is enough to justify implementation of and
commitment to a customer satisfaction program. There are, however, other
compelling reasons also.

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Customer satisfaction has profound ramifications for the financial status of the
institution and for its professional reputation in the community. The caregivers who
participate in a system of good customer satisfaction experience fewer malpractice
suits than their counterparts. And they enjoy a work environment that is more
stable and pleasant than other institutions. The implementation of a meaningful
customer service program is a huge task. It is a fundamental culture change that
requires vision, long-term commitment, and constant surveillance.
Below mentioned are some of the reports based on customer satisfaction in
different medical services.

9.1.
Study1: Customer satisfaction measurement in emergency medical
services:
BACKGROUND:
The annual patient volume in emergency medical services (EMS) systems is high
worldwide. However, there are no comprehensive studies on customer satisfaction
for EMS. The authors report how a customer satisfaction survey on EMS patients
was conducted, the results, and the possible causes for dissatisfaction.
METHODS:
Two prospective customer satisfactions surveys were conducted in an urban EMS
system. Consecutive patients treated by EMS received a postal questionnaire
approximately two weeks after service. Satisfaction was measured in a scale from 1
(very poor) to 5 (excellent). Neither EMS personnel nor patients were made aware
prospectively that patient satisfaction would be measured.
RESULTS:
Response rates to the surveys were 36.8% (432/1,175) in 2000 and 40.0%
(464/1,150) in 2002. The mean general grades for the service were 4.6 and 4.5,
respectively. Patients reported the highest degree of dissatisfaction when they were
not taken to their hospital of choice, when they perceived that the paramedics were
not able to meet their needs, and when paramedics did not introduce themselves or
communicate directly with the patient's relatives. In high-volume calls (i.e., frequent
chief complaints), the general satisfaction was highest in patients with arrhythmias,
breathing difficulties, and hypoglycemia. Patients with drug overdose included the
highest proportion of unsatisfied patients. None of the background variables (e.g.,
gender, transport decision, working shift) was statistically related to general patient
satisfaction.
CONCLUSIONS:
This study shows that customer satisfaction surveys can be successfully conducted
for EMS. EMS systems should consider routinely using customer satisfaction surveys
as a tool for quality measurement and improvement.
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9.2.
Study 2: Postal survey methodology to assess patient satisfaction in a
suburban medical services system:
BACKGROUND:
Patient satisfaction is of growing importance to providers of emergency medical
services (EMS). Prior reports of patient satisfaction have frequently used resourceintensive telephone follow-up to assess satisfaction. We determine the feasibility of
using a single mailing, anonymous postal survey methodology for collecting patient
satisfaction data from a suburban EMS system.
METHODS:
Patients transported between January 2009 and December 2011 were mailed a brief
satisfaction questionnaire. The questionnaire was printed on a pre-addressed,
postage paid postcard and consisted of five questions that used a five-point Likert
scale to assess satisfaction with EMS personnel and services provided. Three openended questions assessed concerns, the most important service provided, and
methods for improving service. Survey response rate was the primary outcome of
interest. The Chi-square test was used to compare rates between years.
RESULTS:
The survey required about 6 man hours and cost about $70 per month. Overall
response rate was 32.0% (857/2764; 95CI 30.3% - 33.9%). During the first year,
response rate was 42.6% (95CI 38.5% - 46.8%), but was significantly lower in
subsequent years (29.0% in year 2, 30.8% in year 3, and 27.6% in year 4, p < 0.05).
There were 847/851 respondents (99.5%) who were satisfied or very satisfied with
their EMS experience. Three patients felt the service was adequate and one was
very
unsatisfied.
Open-ended
questions
suggested
that
interpersonal
communications were the single most important contributor to patient satisfaction.
Patients also reported that response times and technical aspects of care were
important to them.
CONCLUSION:
Postal surveys for assessing patient satisfaction following EMS transport can
achieve comparable response rates to similar surveys in other health care settings.
Response rates did not decline after the second year of patient surveys, suggesting
some stability after the initial year. Interpersonal communication was determined to
be the single most important contributor to patient satisfaction.
Thus we see that the main attributes affecting the customer satisfaction are:
1. Safety: avoiding injuries to patients from the care that is intended to help
them.
2. Effective: providing services based on scientific knowledge to all who could
benefit and refraining from providing services to those not likely to benefit
(avoiding underuse and overuse, respectively).

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3. Patient-centered: providing care that is respectful of and responsive to

individual patient preferences, needs, and values and ensuring that patient
values guide all clinical decisions.
4. Timely: reducing waits and sometimes harmful delays for both those who
receive and those who give care
5. Efficient: avoiding waste, including waste of equipment, supplies, ideas, and
energy.
6. Equitable: providing care that does not vary in quality because of personal
characteristics such as gender, ethnicity, geographic location, and
socioeconomic status.

10.

Limitations:

The region is one of the emerging markets and provides huge impetus to the
economy in terms of GDP. However there are few problems which still holds this
region back in terms of providing superior facilities. Few of them are:
1. Unequal distribution of healthcare facilities: One of the most important
problems faced by the patients while availing medical facility is the unequal
distribution of health care services. While the large towns and capitals have
good quality medical facility, the remote villages are devoid of them. Also the
huge population of most of the countries in this region is another sense of
concern as it becomes a mammoth task to provide medical facilities to one
and all. Also the distribution of wealth plays a major role in getting medical
attention. The poor countries could not afford good facilities. The R&D
facilities are also ill-developed making it almost impossible to give full
medical facility to the lowest strata of the society. Many diseases also spread
like epidemic and there are not enough infrastructure to delve deeper into
their research
2. Shortage of man-power & infrastructure: The Asia-Pacific region is home
to a huge percentage of world population. However the number of medical
practitioners and staff required for providing them with such facility is not
appropriate. Medical colleges and other training institutes are also in small
number thus compounding the problems. Huge man power in this scenario is
thus required to provide healthcare services efficiently to one and all.
3. Rising health-care cost: The health care cost in this region is slowly rising,
thanks to steep inflation in this region. Also as the supply is less than the
demand in terms of medical facilities, the prices keep on piling up. The
private hospitals are more interested in self-benefit rather than on providing
healthcare services to poorer patients. Also as most of the countries are poor
ones, the budget allocated by government in this respect is not substantial.
The import cost of bringing in life-saving medicines and other drugs to stop
epidemic only adds to the cost of the service. As such the healthcare services
provided is moving up towards the uppermost starta making it almost difficult
for the base of the pyramid to avails quality healthcare services.

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11.

The Future of Healthcare

Growing population, increasing affordability, comparative cheaper treatment costs

as opposed to the west and medical tourism thereof, increased health insurance
penetration, increased patient awareness, out-of-the-box unconventional thinking
by the healthcare players for better operations, government opening up its arms to
PPP and even providing tax holidays will be the key factors to look out for which
would drive the future of healthcare in developing countries of Asian Market.
The condition in Asian market is ideal to build a world class healthcare industry. The
young population can offer trained healthcare workforce and the demand for quality
healthcare is very high. Further the increase in per capita income of the people
means more expenditure on hygiene and health. The technology usage in Asian
healthcare is very low and the services provided are not comparable to that
provided in western countries. Thus there is a lot of scope of improvement in this
sector.
Health IT is going to shape the health delivery process globally. Health IT can start
as simply as taking a phone call to a doctor, up to building a seamlessly integrated
healthcare workflow. On the one hand, IT functions as an enabler in delivering faster
and more accurate medical information to end users and at the same time reducing
the manual labor-intensive process. An example is the use of the Computer
Physicians Order Entry (CPOE) system that helps doctors to order different
laboratory tests and prescribe medication for patients. The convergence of
broadband penetration into homes and the emergence of more sophisticated
portable medical devices is creating an opportunity for harnessing innovative
technology to push the point of healthcare delivery to the home.
IT will re-define healthcare. Most of us are moving towards an electronic health
record (EHR) system that unifies patients records. But the new-era EHR will provide
the clinician with systems that could dispense the course of action through analysis
of the past history and the assessment of the present health issue. Doctors should
be able to focus on making real decisions that require human judgment aided by IT.
Technology will play a major role in bringing quality in healthcare, be it better
nursing communication systems, patient monitoring devices or telemedicine to
provide low cost diagnosis to remote patients etc.
Companies like HCL, HP and Microsoft are already investing heavily in healthcare
technology and Google trying to ambitiously woo the consumers for a centralized
healthcare database, what is in store for the future of healthcare is limitless.

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12.

References:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki

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http://www.directionsmag.com/articles/competitive-intelligence-in-thehealthcare-industry-150-part-two/123192
http://www.managementthinking.eiu.com/healthcare-asia-innovationimperative.html
http://www.slideshare.net

http://www.cbo.gov/sites/default/files/cbofiles/ftpdocs/88xx/doc8892/maintext.3.1.shtml
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1197
http://www.jagsheth.net/docs/Segmenting%20Healthcare%20market.pdf
http://www.asianhhm.com/Knowledge_bank/industryreports/equip_supplies_asiapac.htm

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