Strategic marketing and clinical management in health care: a possible way forward

Abstract

This article examines and comments on the role of clinical directors in the NHS (UK), with specific reference to the relevance of a strategic marketing emphasis. It utilises qualitative methodologies to collect data from stakeholders--in particular, clinical directors and other managers--from two NHS trust hospitals. It examines the extent to which a marketing approach is applicable to clinical managers working in these two hospitals. It utilises a conceptual framework devised by Kottler and Andreason, to highlight whether a marketing approach is, in fact, utilised by these managers. It suggests that a strategic marketing approach (based upon relationships), remains relevant to clinical management, notwithstanding recent changes in government policy.

Antecedents and outcomes of service recovery performance in a public health‐care environment

“…Healthcare marketing emerged in the late 1970s and its acceptance as a legitimate part of healthcare operations was not without debate, within the context of marketing's applicability to profit and non‐profit services (Kotler, 1969). More recent debate continues, particularly regarding the transferability of traditional product marketing approaches to a public, or non‐profit health system (Willcocks and Conway, 1998). Although a degree of acceptance of marketing's appropriateness in healthcare followed any initial resistance, until recently, the great proportion of hospital governance and management has been the domain of clinicians, who had little expertise in conventional management practices or marketing applications in services.…”

Converging patterns in hospital organization: beyond the professional bureaucracy

“…In hospital where disciplines-based units are grouped for the first time in departments, a new managerial position emerges. 13 As a matter of fact, a "strong" management role must be played by the department's clinical director [59,78]. As hospital organizational design evolves, a more managerial role is required.…”

Collaborative working within UK NHS secondary care and across sectors for COPD and the impact of peer review: qualitative findings from the UK National COPD Resources and Outcomes Project

“…This was said to be exacerbated by NHS reforms [25] that brought to the fore unresolved issues of authority and accountability. Clinicians were generally described as defensive [26] ‘custodians of clinical care’, fending off managerial encroachment onto their patch (see for example Kitchener et al [27, p. 224]).…”