One of the most common remarks I hear from my guys is the number of patients they see in the NHS.
They literally have patients queuing up to see them.
Such a comment is normally followed by the opposite when discussing a private practice.
This, for me, confirms the absolute difference between the public and private sectors.
In the NHS, a consultant surgeon does not have to do much in order for patients to be delivered to them.
In the private sector, the opposite applies.
In the private sector a consultant surgeon, because fundamentally a private practice is a business, MUST attract a patient.
He must engage in pro-active marketing.
He must ensure it is known his practice is there.
First of all, however, he must comprehensively understand WHY a patient is choosing to go private.
It is not merely the case of a patient wanting to be seen private because he or she has private medical insurance.
It is understanding WHY the patient has private medical insurance. I, for one, dispute it is because private care is better than NHS care.
More likely it is because the private patient wishes to be seen quicker.
Even so, a consultant surgeon MUST engage in marketing.
If the patient can be seen at the private practice quicker than at an NHS location but the patient is unaware the private practice exists then all bets are off.
Therefore a marketing plan of some description is an integral part of a private consultant surgeon’s business plan.
And therein lies the reference to the first and absolute cultural difference between an NHS practice and a private practice.
In an NHS practice, patients will be delivered to the consultant surgeon without him even asking.
In private practice, patients will not just be delivered. They have to be attracted to the practice or more accurately to the business.
Note the use of the word BUSINESS for a private practice is a business.
This is not the time to discuss which marketing strategies will and do work best for a private consultant surgeon.
This blog is more concerned with highlighting that due to the differences between the NHS and the private sector, a private consultant surgeon has no choice but to have a marketing strategy.
Just as a consultant must have a robust infrastructure to support the business (secretarial support, invoicing, banking, etc), it is equally as important to have a marketing strategy.
Look at it this way, if any business does not have a regular number of customers or clients (in the case of a medical practice PATIENTS) then inevitably the business will not succeed.
pete@medicalhealthcaremanagement.co.uk
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