Medical Practice Marketing: Case Study

Ms. Marcy T. Rogers, M.Ed. President/Chief Executive Officer SpineMark Corporation San Diego, California, USA

XI. Case Study One
This Case Study is based on a practice of 10 orthopaedic surgeons in the southeast U.S. with several locations within the same demographic area.

1. Why should you market your practice?
   The Practice decided to begin their marketing effort in October 1998. The goals of the marketing department were to increase the overall revenue of the practice by 20% by year-end as well as creating exposure for the practice by establishing a positive public image within the community.
   
   
2. What is the difference between “good marketing” and “advertising”?
   The Practice decided to hire a full-time Marketing Director to oversee all aspects of the marketing effort. A Strategic Marketing Plan was developed in approximately eight months, in which a mission, goals, objectives, action plans and a budget were developed and implemented.
   
   
3. Internal Analysis
   First, all ten physicians agreed to support the marketing effort and understood that things would not happen overnight. They accepted that it would be a long-term process that would require their participation and assistance. They decided on a mission statement for the practice as a whole. A SWOT Analysis was performed exposing the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. A major strength of the practice was its’ existing workers’ compensation department. The practice had designated employees to servicing workers’ compensation representatives only to ensure they were providing the highest levels of service and developing relationships. Workers’ compensation reimbursement rate is high for this area and it was decided that workers’ compensation would be the target market for the marketing efforts. A weakness of the practice was a poor public image within the community. A threat for the practice was a larger orthopaedic practice within the area that was considered the “good old boys” network. An opportunity for the practice was the workers’ compensation market. No other orthopaedic practice in the area was aggressively marketing to employers, self-insurers and other workers’ compensation representatives. All marketing efforts that were done in the past were discussed at length. In meeting with the office managers, it was determined that the practice would be able to handle the anticipated increase in patient volume in the physician’s daily appointment schedules as well as with the current amount of employees.

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