Statement of Confidentiality and Non Disclosure, Research Paper Example

Statement of Confidentiality and Non-Disclosure

This document’s contents are confidential and proprietary to Mayo Clinic. All data submitted to the institution is provided upon the reliance that it will not disclose the information unless it is in the course of business with Mayo clinic. The institution therefore, agrees to inform its current as well as future employees and partners who access the information that such information is confidential. The employees should be instructed that they should not disclose any information from this document to outsiders apart from in a situation where such information is usable by the public. The institution does agree that no duplication or distribution or authorized duplication will be granted without the express written authority from Mayo Clinic. In this regard, Mayo Clinic retains the ownership, title and intellectual property rights to the information in this document. By accepting this marketing plan the institution agrees to be bound by the above statement (Mayo Clinic, 2011).

Executive Summary

Mayo Clinic is a global nonprofit medical care leader that provides medical services and facilities where healthcare education and research programs are undertaken to offer patient care services. The clinic offers inpatient care experiences for trainees and students. The clinic headquarters is in Florida US. It has over 3,300 scientists, physicians and researchers and over 46,000 allied health staff. The clinic has branches in Arizona, Rochester, Florida, Minnesota, Jacksonville and Scottsdale (Mayo Clinic, 2011). The clinic continues to thrive in a challenging economy where the costs relating to healthcare provision continue to increase.

The mayo clinic is a common name for most households seeking medical treatment, and the clinic performance is positive going by previous records. The target of the clinic is households seeking medical attention and does not specifically differentiate its patients. The clinic has a number of strengths that include loyal patients, its culture, technological capability and a large market share. The weaknesses for the clinic are its remuneration formula that may discourage experts especially those motivated by monetary means. The clinic has significant potential for growth with the adoption of modern technology for undertaking its duties and serving the patients.

The company uses its website and social media to reach out to its patients. The website is interactive and user friendly. Products for the clinic are different and ranges from one particular patient to another. The clinic uses a toll free number and emails to assist its patients in case they do not find whatever they are looking for in the website. Research is used by the clinic to identify the needs of patients and find solutions to these needs.

The production of products is the responsibility of the research department where every employee is supposed to offer the best services to the patients irrespective of their walks of life. A database is maintained for all strains of ailments, and research is carried out to find their cures. All patients’ records are maintained in a secure way by the clinic, and repeat patients are properly studied to develop cures for their ailments.

Performance and monitoring will be carried out continuously to make sure that progress is being made, and any campaigns meet its objectives. Financial and other performance measures are monitored consistently by relevant authorities and rectifications done in case the intended objectives are not met (Fortenberry, 2009).

Situation Analysis

Mayo clinic does not specialize on a particular ailment, but it is capable of addressing most medical needs from ordinary illnesses to chronic diseases. The clinic is driven by three principles: continuous pursuit of the best services without the need for profits, continuous concern for the welfare and care of patients and continuing interest by all staff members in progressing their profession.  The clinic is among the top five rate hospitals getting an overall rating of 3.8. The first position was taken by Cincinnati Children’s Hospital with 4.3 followed by Mayo that tied with Children’s Hospital Boston with 3.8. Partners HealthCare came fourth with 3.7, and the last slot went Cleveland Clinic.

Customer analysis

Mayo Clinic is a common name for consumers looking for health information. The institution has employee with talent and employees are motivated to work hard. The clinic culture is to encourage teamwork and hard work. Patients’ needs come first in the clinic, and every employee is aware of this. The employees are guided by the vision of the clinic. The employees’ remunerations are aligned, and productivity of employees is not measured meaning that everyone is on salary. This policy ensures that the employees are motivated, not by the amount of money they get but by goals that are beyond the employees (Hillestad & Berkowitz, 2011).

By the year 2010, revenues for the clinic grew by 4.7% a fact attributed to cost reduction. For the last two years, the clinic has been trying to reduce costs through control of staffing growth and adoption of strategies that are aimed at waste. Revenues for the year 2010 in millions were $7,942.0 while for the previous year they were $7,582.9. Total expenses were 7,426.7 and $7,248.9 for year 2009 and 2010 respectively.

Mayo has a vast customer base ranging from children, youths and the elderly. The hospital is known for treating prominent personalities, and its brand is a household name in many homes. The hospital does not target a specific market segment. However, but customers choose it because of loyalty and the brand name they have developed.

SWOT Analysis

The clinic has a number of strengths ranging from team work, qualified workforce, a strong brand name, loyal customers and proper structures that make it among the best in the country. The clinic has an integrated system that makes it the choice of many and treats its patients equally. The clinic carries out adequate patient research to come up with conclusive results that help it in diagnosing illnesses. One weakness the hospital has is that it does not differentiate its customers making it difficult to develop strategies for the varied needs of the patients. The remuneration system may discourage experts from working in the clinic because their remunerations are not based on performance. The growth of technology is strength to the clinic because patients can inquire about diseases at the comfort of their homes. Good performance has enabled the clinic develop cutting edge innovations and research and development making its performance better. A number of threats are affecting the clinic. These threats include economic depressions that make it difficult to maintain operations of the clinic. There has been an increase in the wage bill making more costly for the clinic to operate properly.

Mission

The mission of the clinic is to provide tom every patient the best care each day through integrated research, education and clinical practice.

Marketing Strategy

The company does not use market segmentation nor does it target a specific market. The product lifecycle depends on the product itself, and this will be determined by the patients’ needs. The company has adopted the use of social media to market its services. The use of the internet has made it easy for the clinic to serve its patients conveniently.  The clinic practices brand marketing and Mayo has been developed a strong brand through brand defense.

Marketing programs

The clinic uses its website to offer programs that are not offered by other clinics in the United States. The programs are aimed at reaching other clinics around the world that could otherwise be expensive to reach. Market6ing mix involves the use of websites, publications, social media and publicity. Loyalty programs are designed to encourage patients to return to the clinic or refer others to it. The programs include reduced fees for a repeat patient and follow up on the progress of a patient.

The clinic maintains an elaborate patient database in order to be able to follow them up. The website is capable of supporting the patients searching for something from the clinic or if they are unable to get the assistance they can make a call to a toll free number or they can send an email to the clinic for assistance. Then clinic carries out market research to identify the needs of the patients. Market research involves personal interviews, mailed questionnaires and focus group discussions. At times, the use of snowballing is necessary if required data cannot be easily achieved. The clinic is aimed at developing trust and credibility and all its programs are aimed at ensuring equality of all patients.

Implementation Plan

Product design and development is the responsibility of the research department. They should develop products that are capable of treating specific patients’ illnesses. The clinic maintains a database of all the ailments and ensures that repeat patients are properly screened to make sure that they do not develop resistance to the treatment. The Mayo Clinic schools are responsible for carrying out further research on new ailments and develop drugs to cure them. The developed products are marketed in publications and on the clinic website. Products are distributed throughout the clinic branches and other clinics that may buy them.

Since the products need proper handling during distribution, the clinic uses exclusive distribution to avoid contamination and damage. This will also ensure that monitoring is easy and where need be recalls can be made more quickly. The distributors would be owned by the company, and this will need more funds to set up the right network.  In this case, the company would need its vans, warehouses and handling equipment. Distribution would be done four days in a week. This is to enable stock taking of Fridays and the replenishment of stocks.

Performance Evaluation And Monitoring

Any campaign aimed at promoting the products will be monitored consistently both in quantitative and qualitative means. This is to evaluate the effectiveness of the campaign and if it will be used in the future. Revenues will be analyzed on a weekly basis on the progress and to develop strategies that will improve or maintain the current level. Since the organization is a not for profit, income and expenditure account will be maintained together with a balance sheet. To avoid customer dissatisfaction and stock outs, the clinic will maintain optimum stock. Specialist and doctors work both day time and at night to avoid cases where the clinic does not have enough personnel. Patient’s records will be kept safely ensuring that access is restricted t6o authorized persons only.

Financial Information

Revenues gains and other supports

Net medical service revenue $7,426.7

Grants and contacts $383.24

Investment returns allocated to current activities  $150.4

Contribution available for current activities  $264.9

Premium revenue  $112.8

Others $476.6

$8814.64

Expenses

Salaries and benefits  $5346.9

Suppliers and services  $1973.4

Facilities  $639.2

Provision for uncollectible accounts $166.2

Finance and investment  $54.4   ($8180.1)

$634.54

Income from current activities

Contributions not available to for the current activities $62.5

Unallocated investment returns  $23

Income tax expenses   $(23.2)

Contribution received from affiliations  $16.8

Others  $ 1.1    $80.2

$717.74

In the above income and expenditure statement, it is assumed that all revenues for the clinic grow at a constant rate of 4%. Expenses are not expected to grow at a constant rate, but each component will grow at its own rate. Historical data was used to arrive at the above calculations.

Budget

Projected revenues  $8894.84

Research expenditures  $3257.74

Training  $865

Facility maintenance  $150

Provision of services  $1,490

Operational expenses  $2,500

Insurance costs  $165

Technical expenses  $315. 10

Administration fees  $152

$8894.84

Revenue Projections

2012    $8894.84

2013    $9321.8

2014    $976.24

2015    $10238.2

2016    $10729.6

2017    $11244.6

Contingency Plans

If the budget is not met and revenues targets are not met, these are symptoms for failure. Other symptoms include raising complaints, patient dissatisfaction and withdrawal by patients from the hospital. Where the above occurs, the clinic will its strategies and adopt short term measures aimed at reducing the effects of the failure.

References:

MAYO CLINIC (2011). 2011 Annual Online Report. Retrieved from http://www.mayoclinic.org/about/

Hillestad, S.G.,  Berkowitz, E. N., (2012) Health Care Market Strategy. Burlington: Jones & Bartlett Publishers

Fortenberry, L. (2009) Health Care Marketing: Tools and Techniques: Tools and Techniques. Burlington: Jones & Bartlett Learning