Today’s healthcare industry is going through dramatic growth. Consequently, healthcare facilities require new approaches, partnerships as well as strategies. This is the reason why a consultancy company has been selected as the business venture of choice. Through such a firm, healthcare facilities can receive assistance concerning innovative solutions, maintenance of healthcare standards and how to keep up with new quality of practice
Description of the opportunity
All medical professionals irrespective of their experiences and skills require some help in providing quality healthcare. These facilities must cope with rising patient numbers, meet the needs of an ever-demanding and well-informed consumer base and ensure that cases of medical malfunctions do not arise. All these issues cannot be handled by the healthcare professional alone as this necessitates some assistance from a healthcare consultant. Although there are numerous businesses of this nature in the healthcare industry already, what makes this opportunity worthwhile is the fact that it is focusing on the quality of care rather than other aspects of healthcare management.
Various professionals are interested in starting up their own healthcare facilities but have no idea how to meet Joint Commission standards or how to offer quality care. There is therefore an opportunity to guide such persons in the process of carving out their new business path. Additionally, certain medical professionals may already be in business but may not be operating profitably owing to poor service delivery. A consultation firm would therefore be critical in offering staff members from such facilities training on how they can be able to turn the tides in their businesses. Additionally, certain healthcare providers may be so busy handling their day to day encounters that they may run short of time to update themselves on recent changes in evidence based practiced of quality standards. Therefore a consultancy firm can step in and provide regular updates and training on what is new in healthcare quality or healthcare standards.
The opportunity is different from an idea because it is driven by consumer need for better healthcare. Also, a set of consumers have been identified (healthcare facilities) who will need this service. The economics of this business is very favorable and huge cash flows may be generated in a short time. Knowledge and relationships can also be leveraged in this case to gain competitive advantage since the opportunity has not been tapped by many individuals. (Bhide, 2007)
Concept statement
Product or service
The business under consideration will be offering a service. This firm will be assisting health facilities in the process of building and improving their practice. It will offer them a tangible plan of action against which they can follow in the future. Since healthcare standards keep changing from time to time then this company will be offering its clients an opportunity to keep up with such trends through seminars, regular services, training and in services.
Various healthcare professionals often keep complaining about the fact that they have to spend a lot of time on administrative aspects of their business rather than on patient care. Therefore, this consulting firm will be offering a service that allows healthcare professionals to concentrate on what they do best while the consultants take the time to monitor changes in quality of practice. In this regard, all the healthcare professionals will have to do is to participate in training offered by the institution.
Target market
Almost all types of healthcare facilities need to keep up with their respective standards on care. The types of consumers chosen for this particular review will mostly be hospitals as these are the kind of facilities that have the potential to bring out the best in a certain market. Aside from the latter, it will also focus on those consumers who offer treatment facilities for outpatient care. Community health care centers will also be another important part of this firm’s consumer base as they all operate under very strict standards of care. Those who also specialize in offering care in residential homes will also be part of this market. The latter healthcare facilities have been chosen because they offer general treatment services and care and they all require evidence based practice and their healthcare quality standards frequently undergo changes thus necessitating the need for up to date information on those standards or expectations in the workplace. (Vogt, 2006)
Common approaches to be used to assess that the opportunity meets needs of the target market.There are five major parameters that will be critical in assessing whether this opportunity will meet the needs of the target market. The first is assessment of the skills prevalent within the organization. In order for the consultancy firm to offer its services to healthcare facilities, it must have an ability to execute the idea. This can be done by ensuring that there is a team of dedicated consultants who have experience in the healthcare industry. The second aspect that will be analyzed is the degree of passion prevalent in the firm for this idea. If there is a lot of creativity and enthusiasm behind the idea then chances are that customers will be inspired to buy it. Thirdly, financial goals must be set and met by the opportunity. In other words, it will not just be enough to love the idea, but it must have capital needs that the firm can handle and it must also generate revenue to meet the firm’s needs. Fourthly, this opportunity must be able to satisfy genuine consumer needs. Lastly the business should be able to run by itself and be sold to another party in the future if its entrepreneur decides to leave.
Benefits of the service
The service will be offering expertise help on quality care. Those who approach the business will benefit by allowing an expert to manage the quality of their care. Besides this, the clients will also benefit by identifying problems prior to their occurrence and preventing them. Sometimes, employees or professionals may be so close to their organization that they may not get a chance to gain a wider perspective of their facility; by hiring a consultancy firm, they can get a neutral view on potential problems and thus prevent their occurrence. The hospitals and healthcare facilities that choose this line of work may also benefit by saving money. The concerned clients need not hire full time employees to enact quality management and this saves them from spending money on a range of employee benefits given to full timers. Also they will be more profitable by providing better services. (Mc Grath & McMillan, 2010)
Positioning of the service
In this context, positioning refers to the process by which the company’s marketers try to create identities or images in the minds of target consumers. In order to establish one’s positioning, it is critical to define one’s market; which in this case are primary care givers. Secondly one must identify attributes of the product and they are: helping facilities keep up with quality standards and assisting them to implement evidence based practice. One must then determine the product’s mind share and the ideal mind share. In this care, people may assume that offering such a service is not out the ordinary but this particular service will market itself on the basis of its functionality. (Trout & Rivkin, 1996) The consultancy service will assist in problem solving. Here, quality issues will be identified and solutions sought for them. Additionally, it will provide the consumers with benefits such as increased revenue and improved customer satisfaction because of better quality. Also, investors and lenders in the respective health institutions will be targeted in marketing the product so as to present a favorable image.
Evaluation of the opportunity
This opportunity is likely to yield a return on investment because the revenues generated are likely to outweigh its expenses. It will therefore take around one year to break even and minimal investments in equipment are needed. Also, there are several advantages in such businesses. First of all, the barriers to entry are not as much- it requires minimal capital, minimal regulations and little need for patents. Distribution channels for this opportunity are quite simple as well. Direct selling and the internet will be used. The potential of the business is also great since its rewards outweigh its risks. The team involved does not need much expertise and the timing is quite right as the health industry is growing thus implying that it is not saturated.
Evidence that supports the need for the opportunity. The opportunity is a societal need because everyone longs for high quality care and this can only be achieved through the efforts of healthcare facilities. (New York Office of Mental Health, 2010)Also, the healthcare industry is quite diverse and its needs are also huge. A consultancy business will contribute towards solving such a problem. Although this business idea is not entirely new, it will differentiate itself by offering greater value than its competitors.
Conclusion
Almost all types of ideas worth their salt have been thought of before; however, what makes the difference between a successful enterprise and a failed one is the ability to execute that idea profitably. The consultancy firm mentioned above will differentiate itself through its functionality and ability to meet healthcare needs in the best way possible.
References
Bhide, A. (2007). Evolution and origins of new businesses. Chicago: Allyn and Bacon.
Mc Grath, R. & McMillan, I. (2010). The entreprenual mindset. NY: Routledge.
Office of Mental Health New York. (2010). Creating a quality environment. Web.
Trout, J & Rivkin, S. (1996). The new positioning. NY: McGraw-Hill
Vogt, K. (2006). Healthcare consulting is booming. American medical Association. Web.