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Understanding Intangible Products
[By Staff Writers]
Concierge medicine (also known as direct care) is a relationship between a patient and a PCP in which the patient pays an annual fee or retainer. This may or may not be in addition to other charges.
In exchange for the retainer, doctors provide enhanced care. Other terms in use include boutique medicine, retainer-based medicine, and innovative medical practice design.
The practice is also referred to as membership medicine, concierge health care, cash-only practice, direct care, direct primary care, and direct practice medicine. While all concierge medicine practices share similarities, they vary widely in their structure, payment requirements, and form of operation. In particular, they differ in the level of service provided and the fee charged.
Intangibles
Concierge practice and related medical services are intangible products; even though most marketing theories that apply to products apply equally to services. Yet, medical services do have some differences.
For example, medical services are:
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Intangible,
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Highly perishable,
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Variable quality,
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Inseparable from medical provider, and,
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Difficult to quality-assess.
Perishability
Of what value to an airline is an empty seat on an airplane, once the airplane leaves the runway? This level of perishability creates unique problems for doctors that marketers of tangible products do not have. And, it is an appointment scheduling capacity issue, as well.
Quality Issues
Did your favorite hair stylist ever give you a bad haircut? Assessing the quality of a hair cut is something that is not difficult for most of us to do; however, it is not that easy for most patients to asses the quality of the medical care they receive. Is s/he a good physician only because we are still alive?
Assessment
The average patient has a difficult time assessing quality for highly specialized medical services and must rely on surrogates to help determine quality levels. These proxies have been mentioned in the Medical Executive-Post, and elsewhere, as consumer quality and related transparency issues are growing.
Thus, patients consider their physician a good one if he has a nice bedside manor, and a friendly staff; when in reality these factors have no direct relationship to the physician’s level of expertise.
Conclusion
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Criticizing Marcinko
Is Concierge medicine dangerous to the fabric of medicine?
“Many critics argue that concierge medicine merely reflects physician greed and unconcern over the needs of the community.
Indeed, a recent book by David Marcinko, Business of Medical Practice: [Advanced Profit Maximization Techniques for Savvy Doctors], includes a chapter on “The Case for Concierge Medicine” (Ch. 24) as one of the ways ‘savvy’ physicians can maximize their profit, as if that is what medicine is all about.
While the image of physicians may retain some Marcus Welby elements of their rushing to the hospital or a patient’s home in the middle of the night, most physicians would rather stay home and leave the job to someone else, it is argued.”
Read: Objections to concierge medicine focus on both its causes and its effects.
http://goliath.ecnext.com/coms2/gi_0199-4625605/Market-memo-is-there-a.html
In, Healthcare Strategic Management; July 2005.
What do our ME-P readers think?
Now, recall that the second edition of this successful book was released in 2004. And so, with this time-lag consideration in mind; does your opinion change? Are there more, or fewer critics of CM, in 2009?
Stanford
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What you should know about concierge care
Stanford – Contrary to some misunderstandings about how they operate, concierge practices can actually be a safer, gentler option than traditional models.
http://www.medicalpracticeinsider.com/best-practices/debunking-6-myths-and-misunderstandings-about-hybrid-concierge-care?email=MARCINKOADVISORS@MSN.COM&GroupID=116654
Ann Miller RN MHA
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