Akron Children’s Hospital’s Service Quality Essay

Introduction to Akron Children’s Hospital Case

• need for reform in management and brand
• lack of attention to internal issues
• need for identifying the perceptions of patients
• the necessity of quality increase

In conditions of a highly competitive health-care market, Akron Children’s Hospital, similarly to other health care facilities, needs to implement change to both its management and brand. This intervention is expected to create some distinction features able to differentiate the hospital from other clinics in the area. There is also a need for the identification of internal issues and determination of its patients’ perceptions. The case study under consideration utilizes observational research thus contributing to developing the positioning and key metrics that can enhance the quality of Akron Children’s Hospital.

Hospital and Scenario Background

• High competition due to location in Northeastern Ohio
• Rainbow Babies & Children’s Hospital and the Cleveland Clinic as main competitors
• 253 beds
• More than 30 areas of practice and expertise
• Low patient visitation rates
• Lack of available bed space

The Akron Children’s Hospital is located in Northeastern Ohio, which is a highly competitive health-care market for children’s hospitals. An area is a place for some other large hospitals that provide high-quality care. The major competitors of Akron’s are Rainbow Babies & Children’s Hospital and the Cleveland Clinic. The first one is nationally ranked in 8 pediatric specialties and has a capacity of admitting 155 children daily (U.S. News, n.d.).

Still, Akron’s Children’s Hospital positions itself as a leading pediatric healthcare provider in Northeastern Ohio. It has about 253 beds that are used to provide care in over 30 areas of practice and expertise, including medical and surgical care for children. It possesses innovative medical equipment that enables providing care for children of all ages. For example, the hospital can execute skin transfers and intra-operative MRI for brain tumor removal. Despite positioning itself as a leader in child care, Akron is still losing out to its competitors in the market. Consequently, there is a need for an effective reform to upgrade the hospital’s brand and develop features that distinguish Akron’s Children’s Hospital from competitors.

Management-Research Question

• management dilemma
• management question
• research questions
• investigative questions
• measurement questions
• management decisions (Cooper & Schindler, 2013).

To identify and address the issues in business research, a management-research question hierarchy can be applied. It involves six specific stages such as management dilemma, management question, research questions, investigative questions, measurement questions, and management decisions. The research process is launched by the demand for a solution or decision created by the management dilemma. This sequence of question formulation empowers a comprehensive investigation of diverse aspects of the case.

Management Dilemma

• High competition of healthcare market in Northeastern Ohio
• The decrease in number of patients
• Financial losses
• Unclear strategies or management decisions of competitors
• A search of reasons for patients’ choice

The Akron Children’s Hospital faces a challenge related to a drop in the number of patients and the related financial losses that are caused by a highly competitive healthcare market in the area. The strategies and management decisions of competitors that make them more successful are not evident and thus need a careful study. Moreover, a dilemma to solve is the complex of reasons that make patients prefer other health care facilities and not selecting Akron.

Management Questions

• How can Akron Children’s Hospital set itself apart from the competition?
• What characteristics of the hospital impact patient decision-making and selection of medical services?
• How can Akron promote its advanced technology and high-quality medical service to the market?
• How can a higher number of patients be attracted to the hospital?

The stage of management questions is expected to investigate the hospital and reveal the specific characteristics and benefits it possesses.

Research Questions

• Do consumer choices correlate with emotional drivers and perceptions of parents about the hospital?
• What are the index perceptions of Akron Children’s Hospital in the healthcare market?
• What is the satisfaction rate of patients and families at the hospital and what factors are impacting it?

The stage of research questions involves the exploration of the general market sentiments and their influence on patient rates of Akron Children’s Hospital.

Investigative Questions

• How do parents decide which hospital to select when children are in need of acute care?
• Are there quality, financial, or any other influential factors at play during this decision-making?
• What primary services or activities attract patients in the process of diagnosis and treatment?

Investigative questions provide an opportunity to conduct in-depth research of patient needs and develop tools for tracking these needs.

Measurement Questions

• What differentiates Akron Children’s Hospitals from other facilities?
• How can emotional reactions be observed from parents and patients during visits?
• Patient satisfaction should be assessed in correlation with treatment.

Some aspects of hospital functioning that can influence patients’ choices should be measured. They include waiting time, discharge time, and financial costs of care and services. These issues can cause certain problems for the hospital in case patients are not satisfied with them.

Management Decisions

• Need for a unique and compelling brand
• Need to inform about the services provided
• Consideration of diverse channels of advertising
• Enlargement of the range of specialists in the hospital

The Akron Children’s Hospital demands weighted management decisions to stay competitive in the market. First of all, there is a need for a unique and compelling brand with distinctive features. Also, it is important to inform parents or caregivers of the prospective patients that the hospital provides a high quality of care. To make the promotion effective, diverse channels of advertising should be utilized. Finally, to enhance the improvement of treatment for certain groups of children, the hospital can initiate the expansion of the number of specialties.

Observation Study Advantages

• informative understanding of patient needs and perspectives
• formulation of a rational and logical explanation of the managerial issue of Akron Children’s Hospital
• extraction of valuable information to empower decision-making of hospital management
• identification of the focus group features
• opportunity to target this group on the market through advertising and promotion.

Observation study has both advantages and disadvantages. For the hospital under analysis, this study will provide an informative understanding of patient needs and perspectives, such as emotional and behavioral factors. Also, the research will contribute to the formulation of a rational and logical explanation of the managerial problems typical of Akron Children’s Hospital. Moreover, it will help to elicit information that empowers the activity of hospital management and stimulates their decision-making. Finally, investigation of a focus group allows targeting it on the market due to advertisements and attracting attention to promotions.

Observation Study Disadvantages

• focus on commercialization rather than quality improvement
• focus on parental perceptions
• much attention to the hospital’s position on the market and its branding value proposition
• lack of attention to enhancing treatment.

The evident disadvantages of the observational study applied to the hospital include the following. First of all, it is focused on commercialization more than on the improvement of the quality of medical care and service. Also, it considers parental perceptions and the hospital’s position on the market instead of shifting the focus on patients’ needs and enhancement of treatment rather than commercialization.

Directing Researchers

• determination of hospital specializations and services
• comparison of specializations and services to market demand
• identification of hospital selection process and its criteria
• analysis of parents’ emotions and perceptions
• identification of perceptions of the hospital’s history, services, and advertising

The major tasks of researchers are to observe hospital services and patient emotional reactions. To achieve them, it is important to take the following steps in this research. First of all, it is necessary to determine hospital specializations and services and compare them to market demands. Next, it is important to identify the hospital selection process as well as its criteria. Also, parent’s emotions and perceptions should be analyzed. Finally, focus group surveys can be used to reveal the perceptions of the hospital’s history, services, and advertising.

Brand Promise

• significance of trust and respect for a brand
• defining reason for choosing a hospital
• need for comprehensive and long-term marketing strategy
• focus on such aspects of brand value as differentiation, credibility, compelling, exclusivity, and comprehension (Kemp, Jillapalli, & Becerra, 2014).
• Importance of high-level medical technology and capabilities for the patients’ choice

Branding is a significant component of the healthcare industry. It allows creating an image of a facility that makes it recognizable for patients. For healthcare and treatment, it is critical for patients to respect the brand as they entrust their health to the hospital. In healthcare, the brand name provides guarantees to clients and forms their expectations related to the quality of care and services (Inkwell Global Marketing, 2017).

Consequently, branding in healthcare is expected to lead a patent to answer a question about the choice of a facility. Still, it differs from business branding that relies on new products. Healthcare facilities should utilize a different marketing strategy, which is comprehensive and long-term. Some issues of brand value applicable to healthcare include differentiation, credibility, compelling, exclusivity, and comprehension (Kemp, Jillapalli, & Becerra, 2014).

The observation study research of Akron Children’s Hospital disclosed the following facts. First of all, it revealed that patient’s hospital-choice decisions were grounded on the accessibility of high-level medical technology and capabilities suggested by a facility. Also, acute care was considered a significant aspect in decision-making during the choice of a hospital.

Ethical Issues

• Full transparency maintenance
• Avoidance of possible violation of patient rights
• Focus on treatment rather than on commercial issues
• No preferences to patients depending on their income
• No discrediting of competitors

The task of the hospital is to preserve full transparency in the process of reformation to avoid any potential violation of patient rights. It is particularly important since children are involved. More attention should be given to treatment issues instead of commercial ones. Also, patients with higher income or those who make donations should not have any preferences in treatment. Finally, it is vital to preserve a decent reputation and avoid discrediting other high-quality hospitals in the area.

Discussion

• Interventions to achieve higher profits and greater efficiency
• Enhancement of the quality of care and service
• Adherence to the mission statement
• Creating value for the hospital’s core patients

The Akron Children’s Hospital case study presents an attempt of the hospital to achieve higher profit and increase efficiency. Still, it is crucial not to decrease the quality of care or provide any inconveniences in the process of reformation that can have a negative impact on patients. On the contrary, the primary task of the hospital is to find solutions to enhance its quality of care thus improving its competitive ability in the market.

Even in the process of change, the hospital is expected to follow its mission statement, “whether it’s investing in new research, designing our facilities, or simply making our equipment kid-sized, everything we do is for our kids and their families” (Akron Children’s Hospital, n.d.). The mentioned interventions are expected to make Akron Children’s Hospital a leading children care provider in the area.

Conclusion

• Akron Children’s Hospital needed the analysis of its failures on the market
• The benefits of management-research question hierarchy
• Opportunity for a comprehensive overview of the perceptions of patients
• Development of recommendations

The hospital analyzed the case required to discover the issues that led to his low performance in the healthcare market. The utilization of the management-research question hierarchy allowed identifying and resolving the business management problem due to step by step approach.it also empowered the investigation of the patients’ perceptions, which revealed the areas for improvement. Finally, recommendations were developed. They include the creation of an effective marketing plan, the improvement of service delivery, and the implementation of highly innovative medical technologies and procedures.