Recent changes in the health care marketplace are causing many Minnesota long-term care providers to become more aware of the markets in which they operate and to re-evaluate their marketing strategies. Demographic shifts, sociological phenomena, medical advances, new government influences and competition are impacting the manner in which care is provided to the elderly and subsequently creating changes in consumer expectations and demands for long-term care services. As with any industry in a period of transition, changes will create new business opportunities for those who understand and capitalize on changing market conditions.
Market Forces Affecting The Long-Term Care Industry
As stated above, the market forces affecting the long-term care industry include demographic shifts, sociological phenomena, medical advances, governmental influences and competition. The extent to which a long-term care provider effectively anticipates and responds to these market challenges will ultimately have a direct impact on bottom line profitability. Although the degree of influence these factors have may differ according to a facility's location in a rural or metropolitan area, each factor must be evaluated to develop marketing strategies.
Demographics - According to the National Planning Data Corporation, more than 515,700 persons 65 and older are estimated to reside within Minnesota in 1987. This is projected to increase to a level of 531,700 by 1992. The largest growth is shown in those elderly above the age of 75, the population segment which comprises the majority of nursing' home demand. Further analysis of Minnesota elderly demographics reflects a shift in the number of elderly households with annual incomes of more than $25,...
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...tor analysis can identify market opportunities, particularly when combined with an overall demographic analysis.
Planning For The Future
The nature of the long-term care industry is changing rapidly. Alternative programs that reach out into the community and into individual homes are becoming an attractive approach to meet the growing demands of the marketplace. The strategic marketing response of an organization to these environmental forces should mesh the needs of the marketplace with its business mission, goals and capabilities.
A marketing plan that clearly identifies tactical responses to these forces should be developed and communicated throughout the organization. The responses should increase the community involvement of the nursing home and work to attract these portions of the growing elderly population within the facility's market area.
The purpose of this report is to summarize the findings of an interview with Rusty Metcalfe, Chief Information Officer of Fundamental Administrative Services, LLC, and analyze the competitive and strategic positioning of the firm within the long-term, post-acute senior care industry. I interviewed Mr. Metcalfe on Wednesday November 15, 2016 and covered a broad array of topics including the department’s history and structure, risks and opportunities, strategic alignment and near and long-term goals.
To guarantee that its members receive appropriate, high level quality care in a cost-effective manner, each managed care organization (MCO) tailors its networks according to the characteristics of the providers, consumers, and competitors in a specific market. Other considerations for creating the network are the managed care organization's own goals for quality, accessibility, cost savings, and member satisfaction. Strategic planning for networks is a continuing process. In addition to an initial evaluation of its markets and goals, the managed care organization must periodically reevaluate its target markets and objectives. After reviewing the markets, then the organization must modify its network strategies accordingly to remain competitive in the rapidly changing healthcare industry. Coventry Health Care, Inc and its affiliated companies recognize the importance of developing and managing an adequate network of qualified providers to serve the need of customers and enrolled members (Coventry Health Care Intranet, Creasy and Spath, http://cvtynet/ ). "A central goal of managed care is containing the costs of delivering care, but the wide variety of organizations typically lumped together under the umbrella of managed care pursue this goal using combination of numerous strategies that vary from market to market and from organization to organization" (Baker , 2000, p.2).
As a nursing home model, Green Houses are obviously providers of long-term care services, including basic nursing and medical services. According to Kane et al., “A group of GHs on a campus or scattered in a residential neighborhood operates under a nursing home license and within a state’s usual Medicaid reimbursement amounts, although a redistribution of expenditures could occur (2007). Researchers of healthcare management (and healthcare managers themselves) have an interest in studying the differences healthcare management variables that arise between different nursing home models. Healthcare management factors of interest include a model’s financial feasibility (especially for nursing home services covered by some public funds, like Medicaid),
University of California (2006). An Aging U.S. Population and the Health Care Workforce: Factors Affecting the Need for Geriatric Care Workers. University of California, San Francisco, Center for California Health Workforce Studies.
Jacobsen, L. A., Kent, M., Lee, M., & Mather, M. (2001). America's aging population. Population Bulletin, 66(1).
...nd assisted living facilities risk financial losses if the financial exploitation of the elderly begins to focus on the considerable cost of providing care to the elderly.
Formed in 1998, the Managed Care Executive Group (MCEG) is a national organization of U.S. senior health executives who provide an open exchange of shared resources by discussing issues which are currently faced by health care organizations. In the fall of 2011, 61 organizations, which represented 90 responders, ranked the top ten strategic issues for 2012. Although the issues were ranked according to their priority, this report discusses the top three issues which I believe to be the most significant due to the need for competitive and inter-related products, quality care and cost containment.
Taking care of the individuals that are getting older takes many different needs. Most of these needs cannot be given from the help of a family. This causes the need of having to put your love one into a home and causing for the worry of how they will be treated. It is important for the family and also the soon to be client to feel at home in their new environment. This has been an issue with the care being provided for each individual, which has lead to the need of making sure individuals have their own health care plan.
With the aging population growing faster every year many families must make a difficult decision whether their loved ones should live in assisted living or nursing home facilities. I can relate because I made the decision to care for my mother at my home. Some people do not have the money or resources to care for their parent so they must live in a facility for health and safety reasons.
African American senior citizens face a health care crisis too. They have worked all of their lives to secure retirement, but their retirement has been threatened because of the rising cost of long-term medical care. Insurance companies have failed to provide affordable long-term care, protection that most senior citizens need. This lack of long term care and affordability has been a serious problem for the health care system. In some cities, the shortage of hospital beds is so serious that it is common for patients to stay in emergency rooms before they can be admitted to an inpatient room (Drake 109). More than one thousand hospital beds are occupied by people who could be better care for in nursing homes or through home health care (Drake 110). Of the disabled elderly 1.3 million reside in nursing homes (Drake 10). These patients are unable to perform two or more of the basic activities of daily living without assistance.
Miller, S. C., Lima, J., Gozalo, P. L., & Mor, V. (2010). The Growth of Hospice Care in U.S. Nursing Homes. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 58(8), 1481-1488. doi:10.1111/j.1532-5415.2010.02968.x
As the population of the United States ages and lifespan increases, the U.S. is being faced with challenges that could either hurt the country or benefit it if plans are executed correctly. By the year 2050, more than thirty-two million Americans will be over the age eighty and the share of the 80-plus generation will have doubled to 7.4 percent. Health care and aging population has become a great deal considering the impact it is having on the U.S. The United States is heading into another century with an outstanding percentage of people within the aging population. Today’s challenges involving health care and the aging populations are the employees of health professions being a major percentage of the aging population, the drive into debt, and prevention and postponement of disease and disability.
Healthcare organizations are designed to meet the healthcare needs of individuals and promote a healthy community. The three healthcare organizations that interest me are: The Heart Hospital Baylor of Plano, Texas Health Center for Diagnostics & Surgery Plan, and Parkland Health and Hospital System. Due to evolving healthcare industry, focusing on just patients and physicians is no longer a marketing strategy. According to Mycek (2015), “Marketing teams need to expand their consideration set and focus on the new 5 P’s of Healthcare Marketing” (p. 1). The new 5 P’s of marketing now impact the marketing potential of healthcare organizations by offering changes in sales rep – physician access, purchasing, formulary decision making, and growing patient empowerment. The new 5 P’s of marketing are: Physicians, Patients, Payers, Public, and The Presence of Politics.
Uhlenberg, Peter. 1992. “Population Aging and Social Policy.” Annual Review, Sociology, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.
Household and personal care product companies are making efforts to stimulate sales in a variety of ways, such as entering new markets, creating new product categories, adding new distribution channels, and acquiring (and divesting) businesses to be able to compete in this highly competitive industry.