write a 4 page essay (This does not include the cover sheet or
the reference page.) in which you evaluate the existing wellness and prevention marketing
program of the health care organization.
Part A) Assess the marketing strategy of the health care organization with respect to
wellness and prevention. What are the limitations to the current approach?
Part B) Describe how you would improve the wellness and prevention marketing program.
If your selected organization does not currently have a wellness and prevention program,
then describe instead how you would market it.
SLP Assignment Expectations
Marketing in Healthcare
Part A
Veterans Affair Hospital (VA) in Salisbury, North Carolina uses a wellness and
prevention program as a marketing tool, as a health risk management program, and for
continuum expansion (VA Health Care, 2013). The organization believes that it can increase its
customer base by promoting wellness and disease prevention among populations while at the
same time delivering acute care. In order to motivate military veterans and their families to
engage in wellness and prevention activities, VA Salisbury, NC utilizes a unique wellness and
MARKETING IN HEALTHCARE 2
prevention marketing program that has helped it to inform its customers about the types of care
that it offers (Civilian Health and Medical Program of the Department of Veteran Affairs, 1998).
The marketing strategy that VA Salisbury, NC uses on wellness and prevention is the
establishment of military-based clinics in all military centers across the country (VA Health
Care, 2013). This marketing program allows the organization to reach veterans with varied
healthcare needs, but who lack the knowledge on how they can maximize wellness. The
marketing program also enables the healthcare organization to reach veterans who may be at
risk, and who may need guidance on how they can develop long-term care plans to promote
positive health outcomes (Glied and Oellerich, 2014). VA Salisbury, NC has employed highly
competent healthcare providers in the military-based clinics to provide health-related information
to military veterans, their spouses, and children based on their wellness and prevention needs.
The key drivers which motivate VA Salisbury, NC to utilize military-based clinics to
market its wellness and prevention programs are the need to promote wellness of veterans and
the need to inform its target market about the available prevention programs that they can use to
improve their health. Through its military-based clinics, the organization sells powerful ideas
about health and wellness as it appertains to various healthcare needs of veterans and their
families (VA Health Care, 2013). Moreover, the organization relies on its military-based clinics
to communicate ideas on some health prevention categories including nutritional care, personal
care, and healthcare. The company understands that offering fair care prices alone is not enough
to make its target customers improve their health and wellness. Instead, it can keep its customers
informed about wellness and prevention by using a marketing strategy that integrates the right
mix of health care needs (Horwitz, Kelly and DiNardo, 2013).
MARKETING IN HEALTHCARE 3
The strategy that VA Salisbury, NC currently utilizes to market its wellness and
prevention program has got some advantages and limitations. The main advantage of the strategy
is that it has helped the organization to successfully market its healthcare services and to expand
continuum care to across military centers in North Carolina. Additionally, VA’s wellness and
prevention marketing strategy has helped military veterans and their family to manage their
health problems by providing them with knowledge on how they can design long-term healthcare
plans. Through its military-based clinics, VA Salisbury, NC finds a good setting and
environment where it can motivate individuals to make appropriate behavior change that is
geared towards health promotion (VA Health Care, 2013). As Hancher-Rauch, Hicks, Mayol,
and Casselman, 2013) explain, successful implementation of wellness and prevention marketing
program largely depends on the application of good marketing skills and integration of
experiential knowledge into practice. The company takes pride in its highly qualified staff that
possesses the right marketing skills to needed to influence the target population to engage in
activities that promote wellness and prevention.
However, the wellness and prevention marketing program used by VA Salisbury, NC has
one major limitation that the company needs to address to achieve positive results in future.
According to CHMPDVA (1998), limiting the clinics to military centers alone may not generate
the demand that the healthcare organization may need to remain competitive in the healthcare
industry. This disadvantage emanated from the choice of the company’s target market. VA
Salisbury, NC serves a small group of clients that may not help it to generate enough revenue to
drive future operations. A similar problem translates to its restriction of military-based clinics to
military centers alone to market its prevention and wellness program. The organization should
take appropriate steps to improve its current wellness and prevention marketing programs. It
MARKETING IN HEALTHCARE 4
should do so by considering changes in wellness and prevention marketing trends as well as
variations in healthcare needs of today’s population (CHMPDVA, 1998).
Part B
There is a great need to improve the wellness and prevention marketing program that is
currently used by VA Salisbury, NC to reach its customers. As mentioned above, the company’s
current wellness and prevention marketing program cannot help it to increase demand that would
assist it to generate enough revenue as expected. Since the company cannot attract many
customers by concentrating its clinics in military centers alone, the company should implement a
marketing program that also targets non-veteran populations. Instead of building wellness and
prevention clinics in military centers only, VA Salisbury, NC should open additional clinics in
the community to reach a wide range of customers with varied healthcare needs. By basing its
wellness and prevention clinics in the military centers as well as in the community, VA
Salisbury, NC will generate the demand needed to make reasonable profits (Hancher-Rauch et.
al., 2013).
Expanding its clinics to the community will mean that VA Salisbury, NC will require
additional employees to market its wellness and prevention program. For this reason, the
company will have to recruit additional experienced staff that can convince customers to engage
in wellness and prevention behaviors (Horwitz, Kelly and DiNardo, 2013). When selecting its
staff to market the wellness and prevention program, VA Salisbury, NC will have to ensure that
the selected individual possess the right marketing skills that can help it to generate demand
needed to remain competitive in the healthcare industry. As CHMPDVA (1998) highlights, VA
Salisbury, NC can broaden its patient base if it utilizes a wellness and prevention marketing
MARKETING IN HEALTHCARE 5
strategy that targets non-veterans such as community-based clinics. Expanding clinics to the
community will help VA Salisbury, NC to reap maximum benefits from its wellness and
prevention marketing program.
Before building additional clinics in the community, VA Salisbury, NC should conduct a
comprehensive market research to find out how other organizations have benefited from the
community-based clinic as their wellness and prevention marketing strategy. Conducting a
market research will enable the company to gain insights on the best approach that it should take
to successfully implement community-based clinics (CHMPDVA, 1998). Consequently, it will
have a wellness and prevention marketing strategy that is strategically aligned with its business
goals and objectives. VA Salisbury, NC should implement a wellness and prevention marketing
program that will allow it to market the types of care that it offers effectively, to expand
continuum care, and improve the degree at which its clients can easily manage health risks (VA
Health Care, 2013).
References
Civilian Health and Medical Program of the Department of Veteran Affairs (CHMPDVA).
(1998). VA Hospitals: Issues and challenges for the future. Retrieved from
http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/GAOREPORTS-HEHS-98-32/html/GAOREPORTS-
HEHS-98-32.htm
Glied, S., & Oellerich, D. (2014). Two-generation programs and health. The Future of Children,
24(1).
MARKETING IN HEALTHCARE 6
Hancher-Rauch, H., Hicks, L., Mayol, M. H., & Casselman, K. (2013). Saving your wellness
program. Journal of Physical Education, Recreation & Dance, 84(6), 29-34.
Horwitz, J. R., Kelly, B. D., & DiNardo, J. E. (2013). Wellness incentives in the workplace: Cost
savings through cost shifting to unhealthy workers. Health Affairs, 32(3), 468-76.
VA Health Care. (2013). Veterans Health Administration marketing plan.