Marketing of hospital services by non-governmental organisations

Abstract

The study entitled ‘Marketing of Hospital Services by Non – Governmental Organisations’ was undertaken to examine the marketing practices adopted by the non-governmental organizations rendering hospital services and to assess its effectiveness, and to study the attitude of patients, doctors and paramedicals towards the present hospital services.

Three hospitals from Thrissur district were selected for the study, one each from the voluntary, co-operative and private forms of health care service organisations. Controlling authority of the hospitals wwere interviewed to examine the marketing practices adopted by the hospitals. One hundred and fifty patients, 48 doctors and 30 paramedicals were drawn at random from the hospitals for gathering the primary data. Percentages, satisfaction index and confluence analysis comprised the methodology.

All the three hospitals were found to market their services along the four elements of marketing mix, the service, price, place and promotion, either knowingly or unknowingly. The caring and curing dimension aspects of health care service quality explained the services rendered by the hospitals and it was understood that the patients were satisfied with the service imparted by the hospitals. The pricing adopted by hospoital H1, the voluntary form of organization and hospital H3, the private hospital was acceptab;le to a vast majority of the patients. With hospital H2, the co – operative hospital, it was found that the patients were not satisfied with the charges levied upon them. Physical facilities of hospital H1 was almost satisfactory, but further improvements would make the hospital services even better. But for hospital H2, the patients expressed otherwise. However, patients of hospital H3 expressed their favourable attitude. The information network existing in all the three hospitals scored a very low satisfaction index value. The hospitals at present resorted to no direct promotional techniques except for hospital H2. However, the hospital authorities favoured the argument that promotional techniques would boost the image of the hospital and patient’s future preference towards the hospitals except with the case of hospital H1.

Along curing dimension, the characters influencing the patients attitude include service mindedness of the doctors, their timely attention and service mindedness of the nurses. The patient hearing of the complaints by doctors and the timely attention rendered by the doctors were found to be those characters influencing their attitude along caring dimension. Along the access dimension, it was the patients choice of pharmacy, and laboratoty that influenced their attitude. The facilities and maintenance in the rooms, and availability of medicines at all times from the pharmacy were found to be those characters influencing the attitude of patients from the physical dimension. From the financial dimension, the characters influencing the pations attitude included operation charges and room rent.

Doctors of all the three hospitals were dissatisfied with the pay provided to them. The infrastructural facilities in the consultation room, surgical equipments, casualty facilities etc. were found to be satisfactory with regard to hospital H1. For hospital H2, the infrastructural facilities and casualty facilities were found to be inadequate. The doctor overall attitude was influenced by the infrastructural facilities, and non – interference by management.

Paramedicals were dissatisfied with the working time considering it to be overloaded. Regarding all the other characters, they expressed their satisfaction. Supervision by doctors, the paramedicals’ cordial relation with the management and their overall attitude towards the hospital.

It can therefore be inferred that hospital H1 the voluntary from of health can organisation seem to be marketing their services in the best interest of the target market followed by hospital H3 the private hospital, and H2 the co – operative hospital.