The Five I’s

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Feb 20, 2024

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1 The Five I's Kaitlyn Kemp Bellevue University BHMC 353 Marketing Healthcare Services Adj. Professor Quick Feb 2 nd , 2024

2 The Five I's The provision of quality healthcare services has become a key concern for patients. Similarly, the delivery of superior quality services to their patients has become critical for healthcare providers. (Swathi et al., 2023) The Five I's are a framework that provides an understanding for healthcare marketers that helps distinguish services from tangible products to ensure quality patient care and organizational success. Each "I" stands for Intangibility, Inseparability, Inconsistence, Inventory (Perishability), and Interaction and presents challenges in healthcare service marketing. Family Medical Group (FMG) is a primary care office located in Dallas, Texas, with a large patient population. Drawing from examples within FMG, such as the diabetes health education program, strategies of how managers can influence each of the Five I's to enhance service delivery and customer satisfaction will be explored. Intangibility The first of the Five I's is intangibility, which focuses on the non-physical nature of services. The intangible nature of services is a challenge in marketing. Unlike physical products, services lack tangible characteristics that customers can touch, feel, or experience before purchase. This makes it challenging for organizations to communicate the value of their services effectively. For example, FMG offers a diabetes health education program for all diabetes patients at the clinic. This program provides comprehensive information and support to patients seen by FMG who need counseling, education material, and learning about diabetes and how to manage blood sugar, make healthy dietary choices, and incorporate exercise into their routines. In the case of a diabetes education program, the service involves imparting knowledge, guidance, and support to individuals managing diabetes, which is intangible but valuable in helping them better understand and manage their condition. Customers often find it difficult to evaluate service quality before consumption, increasing the importance of building trust and credibility in the service provider. As a manager, marketing efforts must focus on creating a perception of value through branding, testimonials, and other intangible cues to create a sense of value for the patient. Inconsistency Inconsistency is another essential aspect within the Five I's of service marketing. Due to the human production element, services may fluctuate in quality, making standardization and consistency difficult. Unlike manufacturing, where products can be standardized, services often involve human elements, leading to variations in performance and quality. Consistency is vital, especially when dealing with a fully staffed workforce or multiple service locations. For example, FMG experiences an inconsistency in the timeliness of care. Patients often sit in the waiting room waiting for appointments and end up waiting past their actual appointment times, causing delays for the patient and the practice, disrupting the continuity of care, and impacting the patient's health outcomes. As a manager, standardization of clinical protocols is vital and can provide consistency in care delivery. A suggestion could be made to implement quality assurance measures such as patient surveys and performance data to monitor and evaluate the practice's quality of care. Patient satisfaction as a metric provides improvement opportunities in selected aspects of healthcare services through quality assurance and outcome assessment. (Dhakate & Joshi, 2023) Investing in training and development programs for staff is also a notable suggestion that can enhance healthcare providers' skills, experiences, and communication abilities. Inseparability

3 The second of the Five I's is inseparability. As described by (Berkowitz 2022), "Services cannot be separated from the individuals who deliver them." In other words, the production and utilization of services often happen simultaneously and in the same place, creating a dynamic where customer satisfaction is highly dependent on the interactions with service personnel. Inseparability poses several challenges for service providers, specifically in customer interactions. Patients often switch providers when they feel there is poor communication and a lack of bedside manner when seen by physicians. This requires effective communication, empathy, and interpersonal skills to meet customer needs and expectations. FMG had a high patient turnover rate and recently implemented a complementary meet and greet with physicians. This enables clear communication between the patients and the physicians to ensure health goals are understood and patients are comfortable establishing a relationship with the physician. Inventory (Perishability) Inventory refers to the availability of resources such as hospital beds, medical equipment, healthcare professionals' time, and appointment slots. Inventory management in healthcare is crucial for ensuring that resources are efficiently utilized and able to meet patient demand while maintaining quality. However, managing inventory in healthcare presents challenges, such as patient preferences and scheduling constraints, which can complicate inventory management. For example, patients may have specific preferences regarding appointment times, healthcare providers, or treatment options. FMG has a large patient population, which results in the schedule being filled most of the time. Patients see a delay in scheduling, leading to poor continuity of care and quality of care. A way to manage this limitation could be to implement flexible scheduling options by offering online appointment scheduling, telehealth services, or extended hours to provide patients convenient access. For physicians, telehealth offers streamlined practice operations, greater flexibility in scheduling, and access to a broader patient base - which can reduce costs and improve healthcare for all. (Phull, 2023) Interaction Interaction refers to the direct encounter and communication between healthcare professionals and patients. This can become challenging due to diverse patient populations and time constraints. Healthcare providers must interact with patients from diverse cultural, linguistic, and socioeconomic backgrounds. Tailoring communication and care delivery to meet the needs and preferences of diverse patient populations can be challenging. Balancing the need for efficient care delivery with personalized attention and support can be challenging. Healthcare providers also face time constraints during patient encounters, limiting meaningful interaction and engagement opportunities. FMG has experienced increased negative reviews on Google and could implement workshops or seminars to practice effective communication strategies to enhance patient experiences. Training and development programs can also be beneficial for healthcare providers to enhance their communication, interpersonal, and teamwork skills. Continuous monitoring of patient satisfaction can be managed by implementing surveys or focus groups completed by patients, caregivers, and healthcare providers to identify areas for improvement in communication and interaction. Conclusion In conclusion, the Five I's provide valuable information on services and the challenges they present in healthcare marketing. Intangibility details the difficulty in communicating the value of services due to intangibility. Emphasis should be on building trust and credibility through branding

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4 and testimonials. Inconsistency details the inconsistency in service quality, requiring standardization and quality assurance measures to ensure consistent quality patient care. Inseparability details the significance of customer interactions and their role in influencing patient satisfaction, requiring effective communication and interpersonal skills from healthcare providers. Inventory is crucial for optimizing resource utilization and meeting patient demand, which can be achieved by implementing flexible scheduling options and efficient allocation of resources. Lastly, interaction details the importance of direct engagement between healthcare professionals and patients, requiring personalized communication strategies and continuous training and development programs to enhance patient experiences. By addressing these challenges and implementing strategies to influence each aspect of the Five I's, healthcare managers can improve service delivery and patient satisfaction in their organizations. References Berkowitz, E. N. (2022). Essentials of Healthcare Marketing, (5th e.d.). Jones & Bartlett Learning. Dhakate, N., & Joshi, R. (2023). Classification of reviews of e-healthcare services to improve patient satisfaction: Insights from an emerging economy. Journal of Business Research , 164 , 114015. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2023.114015 Phull, A.,M.D. (2023). The Transformative Impact of Telehealth and Point of Care on Healthcare Marketing. Medical Marketing and Media, 58(8), 42. http://ezproxy.bellevue.edu/login? url=https://www.proquest.com/trade-journals/transformative-impact-telehealth-point-care- on/docview/2878102383/se-2 Swathi, K. S., Barkur, G., & Somu, G. (2023). Assessment of healthcare service quality effect on patient satisfaction and care outcomes: A case study in India. Cogent Business & Management , 10 (3). https://doi.org/10.1080/23311975.2023.2264579

The Five I’s

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