ASSIGNMENT COVER PAGE

Course Code MKT 421

Course Title Service Marketing

Assignment Topic An Evaluation of Expanded Marketing of a Telemedicine Company

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Course Teacher’s Shahidur Rahman Khan
Name and Designation Assistant Professor

Department’s Name Business Administration

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Introduction:
Telemedicine refers to the use of information and communication technology to provide and
support health care mainly for the purpose of providing consultation. It is also a way to
provide medical procedures and examinations to remote locations. It has the potential to
improve the accessing to quality health care services and delivery while lowering costs even
in the places with scarcity of resources. Understanding the potentiality of telemedicine, many
developing countries are implementing it to provide health care facility to remote areas where
health care facilities are poor. Bangladesh is not an exception to this either. Internationally,
telemedicine has been the most controversial issue in healthcare fields. Although many
countries, especially developed countries, tend to pursue telemedicine services aiming to
improve healthcare accessibility and lower healthcare expenditures, telemedicine is not
utilized and developed actively due to lack of legal and policy support for responsibility of
services, absence of effective evidence, instability of information and communication
technology, and insufficient infrastructure for education and training systems.

Recent advances of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) have helped the
society to quickly access services for economic and social developments.
Telehealth/Telemedicine/E-health is the blessing of ICT and is possibly the most prominent
e-business service that can have a major visible effect on the development of healthcare
sector of the society. Telemedicine is the use of medical information exchanged from one site
to another via electronic communications to improve patients’ health status. The concept of
telemedicine is not new. It has been used since 1959, when a two way video conferencing
link was established using microwaves between university of nebraska medical school and
state mental hospital. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) also
played an important part in the early development of telemedicine. NASA’s effort in
telemedicine began in the early 1960s when human began flying in space. Since 1970s,
NASA has been in the forefront of research and demonstration in the field of telemedicine. In
the 1970s and 1980s, telemedicine experiments focused on the transmission of medical
images using television. In the 1990’s the rapid growth of computer and information
technology gave a rebirth to telemedicine. Innovation of new technologies enabled
telemedicine to grow up into more complex and feature-rich technology. In general sense
medical care relies on the face to face communication between patients and doctors, and in
telemedicine concept physicians treat a patient who is some distance away.

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The primary purpose of telemedicine is to reach health care service to patient who is isolated
from specialized care. Telemedicine can provide services for 24 hours a day and seven days a
week basis. The patient may be living in remote place like rural area or in a ship in Deep
Ocean and even in space craft. In countries where access to medical services is restricted by
distance and poor transportation and where health care services are inadequate, telemedicine
offers a great opportunity and possibilities to distribute medical services by utilizing ICTs.
Many developing countries can not provide minimal health service to their people due to
insufficient number of doctors, health care professionals and medical services. Sometimes it
is seen that there are clinics and hospitals but they are often ill-equipped. This is particularly
true for the health care systems outside urban area, which are normally beyond the reach of
general mode of communications. The inadequate infrastructure makes it more difficult to
provide health care in rural and remote areas at the right time. If travelling cost of a patient to
visit a medical specialist is higher than the cost of providing a telemedicine consultation, then
telemedicine might be an economically viable solution.

Telemedicine and Telehealth:

The terms telemedicine and telehealth tend to be used interchangeably, but there is general
convergence of opinion that telemedicine is a subset of telehealth. Both use "audio, video,
and other telecommunications and electronic information processing technologies to provide
health services or assist healthcare personnel at distant sites". However, while telemedicine
refers to remote clinical services, such as consultation, diagnosis, treatment, and transfer of
medical data, telehealth can refer to remote non-clinical services, such as administrative
procedures, training, and education, in addition to clinical services.

However, more studies and published documents on telemedicine are found than on
telehealth because the clinical practice of telemedicine services involves more obstacles and
barriers, such as licenses, reimbursement, etc. On the other hand, most success factors for
telemedicine service can be expanded to telehealth since both systems use much of the same
infrastructure of ICT equipment and networks, and they are used by the same types of
professionals and consumers. Therefore, this study mainly emphasizes clinical telemedicine
services for developing the factors of the evaluation framework.

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Telemedicine in Bangladesh:
Bangladesh is one of the most densely populated developing countries where most people are
living in villages. There is a huge disparity in health care distributions between rural and
urban areas. People are also suffering due to lack of medical expertise and health care
facilities. In this scenario utilizing the limited resources, telemedicine may be an easier and
cheaper way to disseminate healthcare facilities to the rural areas. Telemedicine activities
emerged in Bangladesh in mid of 1999. Providing medical care is the constitutional
obligation of the government. The second goal of national health policy stated “To develop a
system to ensure easy and sustained availability of health services for the people, especially
communities and urban areas”. In order to meet the requirements of the overall objectives of
the health sector, various programs were undertaken during the past decade. Strong
telecommunications connection between remote health centers and special hospitals can help
government to reach its goal easily.
In the last few years information and communication infrastructure of Bangladesh have been
experiencing huge booming in development. Bangladesh government has given immense
importance to ICT for development in economic growth and poverty reduction. In April 2007
Bangladesh got connected to the submarine cable network as a member of the South East
Asia-Middle East-West Europe (SEA-ME-WE-4) consortium. Internet facility is now
available in every district of Bangladesh. If Government and private organization take proper
initiatives, it would be not so far when a patient in remote place can consult the doctors over
internet.

Current Statistics & Projected Growth:

Telemedicine is a rapidly growing area of medicine. Within the first half of 2019 alone,
telemedicine was the second-highest funded digital health category in the entire world, with
$896 million in funds. When combined with the third-highest funded category, mobile
telemedicine applications ($627 million), telemedicine as a whole ($1.523 billion) topples the
#1-ranked category of analytics ($1.1 billion) in funding.

And it’s not slowing down in terms of predicted growth anytime soon. A Global Markets
Insights report states that by 2025, the telemedicine industry is projected to exceed $64.1
billion in the United States alone and $130.5 billion globally. Still, these are just predictions.
The growth in telemedicine patients is very real; Statistics found that the total number of

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telemedicine patients around the globe grew from 0.35 million in 2013 to a projected 7
million in 2018.

Roughly 9 out of 10 Americans over the age of 40 have said they would be comfortable using
telemedicine for themselves or a loved one, making them just as likely to use telemedicine as
Americans between the ages of 18 and 39. Given that the U.S. population of adults over the
age of 65 is expected to dramatically increase throughout the coming decade and the country
is likely to experience a shortage of care services, this statistic shows that telemedicine might
be part of the long-care service solution.

If you’ve only just started offering telemedicine options due to the COVID–19 outbreak, you
might want to consider sticking with these services. Telemedicine isn’t a one-and-done deal.
A Statista survey found that a third of U.S. healthcare executives and providers saw more
than half of their patients via telemedicine services following a patient’s initial visit, making
it ideal for follow-up appointments.

Marketing Strategies for Telemedicine Companies:

1. Update your website

Ideally you would include information about your new telemedicine or virtual health
service throughout your website, especially if you have multiple location and provider pages.

Because many patients search directly for their provider or look for their practice, many
patients go directly to the page on your website that is relevant to them, rather than travelling
through your homepage first. By including a message or button promoting “Telemedicine
Now Available” with a link to more information, you can reach a lot of your current patients
to let them know the doctor or practice they are used to seeing can now serve them this way.

2. Answer questions on your website about the new service.

Anticipate common questions. Here’s a short list of questions you may want to address in an
FAQ section about your new telemedicine service:

 Are you seeing new patients or just existing patients via telemedicine?

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  What specific health issues can you help with via telehealth? (For example, if you are
an urgent care, you likely can’t treat broken bones via telemedicine, but you can
probably handle a rash virtually.)
 Be transparent about cost if you can, including insurance information if applicable.
 What is the process? Are they immediately connected with a provider? Do they fill
something out and then hear back?
 What hours are you available?

3. Notify your patients via email.

If you have an email list and email platform, be sure to send a notification out to your patients
about this new service and direct them to the new page on your website explaining it. If your
staff has the bandwidth, you could also consider contacting them and leaving them a
voicemail letting them know you are here for them at this time and now offering telemedicine
if they have any needs. You may also consider notifying any close partners you have or
physicians who commonly refer.

4. Promote on social media.

Post about your new telemedicine service on your social media accounts. Be aware, however,
that posting on social media cannot be your only outreach strategy. Consider boosting your
posts or investing in ads on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, youtube or wherever your business
is. This will help you (a) reach more of your audience on those platforms, and (b) reach new
people in your community that don’t know about your business. On Facebook and Instagram,
also consider using the “Stories” features to reach more people about your telemedicine
offering.

5. Consider Google Search Ads.

Search ads are some of the most effective ways to generate patient volume because they get
you in front of patients when they are looking for you. With other forms of advertising, you
may be able to get in front of the right demographic or type of person, but you can’t
guarantee that they need or want your services at that time.

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For example, orthopedic doctors can’t target people who have knee pain on Facebook. But
they sure can target people who are looking up information about how to relieve knee pain on
Google Search.

6. Consider non-Search Ads.

During the COVID-19 outbreak, many patients are practicing social distancing and
potentially working from home. This means that the way that people use the Internet has
shifted enormously.

This data from Word Stream is showing that users are searching less, especially on a mobile
device, and in taking a lot more content than usual. The Google Display Network enables
advertisers to show ads on content throughout the web, like local and national news websites,
lifestyle blogs, YouTube videos, mobile apps and games, and more. People in every
community are logged into their computers – they just aren’t searching for services in the
same way as usual.

While video ads can be a heavy lift to create, the Google Display Network has a lot of easy
options to help you get up and running. Here are some tips to get some display ads up and
running quickly:

 Create simple ads and messaging. These ad sizes gain the most impressions on
Google Display Network.
 Use Google’s responsive display ad creator. With this, you simply upload some
images and your logo, and input your messaging. With these ads, you can be up and

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 running with a new Display campaign in about 30 minutes. Check out this video and
how-to with Google.

7. Update your local listings.

More than 50% of searches result in no clicks whatsoever to a website. It’s more important
than ever to tell people need-to-know information about your business right on the search
results pages.

Update your business description and services in Google, Bing and Yahoo! Maps - on Google
My Business. You can see an example below of one of these posts. Don't forget third party
listing services like Yelp, Healthgrades and ZocDoc.

8. Update Meta information on your website.

Similar to local listings, Meta information appears directly in the search results page
whenever patients are searching for your services, or directly for your organization. Consider
adding a simple addition to your Meta information, especially for key pages like your
homepage, provider pages and location pages. See an example below.

9. Setup a direct mail campaign.

While not as agile or easy to launch as a digital marketing campaign, we have found that our
clients get good results with direct mail. Whether you are simply updating your existing
patients about this new offering or trying to reach a broader group in your community, direct
mail can be an effective way to reach your audience. It may also be a good way to support
other local businesses, like printing companies, who are likely struggling right now too.

10. Consider incorporating a HIPAA-compliant chat feature.

Given that telehealth is new for you, and many other providers at this time, it’s challenging to
know exactly what may be holding patients back from reaching out. They may be wondering
if virtual care is right for them or their issue. They may be wondering if the cost would be
different. Patients have a lot of questions and concerns right now, add to that having to
communicate with their provider in a new way, and they may just avoid the problem entirely.

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By integrating a feature like chat, where patients can engage directly with your scheduler or
practice admin to get the answers to simple questions, you may find out what is holding
patients back and encourage them to feel comfortable with a less traditional path to care.

Many chat tools are very easy to integrate – they just require your developer to insert some
code, then everything else can be managed by your practice through a user-friendly online
platform. Just be sure that you select a tool that is HIPAA-compliant!

The Importance of Telemedicine Services:

Telemedicine is by no means the end of patients entering your office; at the very least, it can
reduce time in the waiting room and allow you to focus more energy and effort on more
serious cases. And that’s just the start of the benefits telemedicine has to offer:

I. Telemedicine Improves Access to Healthcare

Not everyone has access to a healthcare provider, but majority of people do have access to
the internet in some way or another, whether it be through broadband internet or through a
smartphone. Using telemedicine to bridge the gaps in healthcare provider access can ensure
that people are able to receive proper medical care, regardless of their location.

Location isn’t always the issue, though. For people with chronic conditions or disabilities, it
can be a difficult and sometimes painful experience to see a doctor in-person. Even for
certain aging populations, traveling by car is not always a safe option. Being able to receive
care or treatment from their home makes the entire experience an easier one for all parties
involved.

II. Telemedicine Saves Time & Money

Depending on a patient’s location, they may have live in rural areas. Telemedicine can be
performed on demand and be done based on the patient’s schedule. This flexibility, along
with how quickly telemedicine sessions are performed, lets patients continue to work without
worrying about losing an hour or two of pay that they need. Telemedicine is also becoming
increasingly affordable, as more states continue to write and enact laws that mandate private
insurers to cover telemedicine as part of their insurance plans.

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It doesn’t just save time and money for patients — telemedicine also saves time and money
for clinicians. Doctors don’t have to worry about whether or not a patient doesn’t show up
and if they can bring someone else in to fill the opening last-minute. In some cases, hiring
extra staff may not be necessary due to telemedicine services, which can certainly save some
money.

III.Telemedicine Saves Lives

Delaying routine care or care for what a patient perceives as a minor health issue often results
in more expensive treatments in the long run, and holding off on a serious health issue is
dangerous and often life-threatening. Due to its accessibility, lower cost, and shorter
appointment times and wait times, telemedicine makes it much easier for consumers to
undergo routine check-ups at costs they can afford. This means that “red flag” symptoms are
far more likely to be spotted by doctors or other healthcare professionals. Not only that, but
telemedicine can also help patients to develop healthier lifestyles and take preventative
measures to avoid future health problems.

Conclusion

Telemedicine and telehealth are explosive technological areas that appear to threaten
traditional healthcare delivery services while offering the potential to reform the healthcare
industry by reducing costs and increasing quality and patient satisfaction. Therefore, they are
rapidly progressing toward an essential core of healthcare delivery. However, there is still
controversy about the performance evaluation of telemedicine, for which enormous amounts
of money and information technology have been invested. Stakeholders who participate in
telemedicine have various conflicting opinions and ideas about outcomes and characteristics
of services. To bring consensus among their opinions, an evaluation framework is required to
verify the effectiveness and stability of telemedicine to provide services taking into account
behavioral, administrative, technological, social, and policy perspectives. However, it is not
easy to develop a monitoring and evaluation framework for any project concerned with
innovative services such as telemedicine and telehealth. This study organized a basic
evaluation framework generally applicable through articles and diverse cases of telemedicine
and telehealth. Evaluation factors concerning the aspects of information technology, the

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satisfaction of service providers and consumers, cost, quality, and information security were
organized using the fishbone diagram. To implement telemedicine services, stakeholders
should make decisions based on sufficient evidence of effectiveness and stability measured
by the comprehensive evaluation framework. Further work would be valuable in applying
more comprehensive evaluations to verify and improve the comprehensive framework across
a variety of context with more factors and participant group dimensions.

References
I. American Telemedicine Association, http://www.tmeda.org/news/definition.html.
II. Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulation Commission, http://www.btrc.gov.bd/.
III. Bauer J. and Marc R., Telemedicine and the Reinvention of Healthcare, McGraw Hill,
1999.
IV. Central Intelligence Agency, https:// www.cia.gov/library /publications /the-world-
factbook/geos/bg.html.
V. Country Health System profile,
http://www.searo.who.int/EN/Section313/Section1515_6922.htm.
VI. Growth and Development, http://www. emeraldinsight com/Insight/ ViewContent
Servlet?Filename=Published/EmeraldFullTextArticle/Articles/2630240203.html.
VII. Istiak M. and Shahriar K., “Telemedicine Services at the Diabetic Association
of Bangladesh with Technical Collaboration of Grameen Telecom,” in Proceedings of
1st Annual Conference on Prospect and Problem of Mobile and Land Phones,
Bangladesh, pp. 266-268, 2002.
VIII. Market Research, http://www.marketresearch.com.
IX. Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, http://www.mohfw.gov.bd /health
_policy.html
X. Pal A., “Telemedicine Diffusion in a Developing Country: The Case of India,” in
Proceedings of Information Technology in Biomedicine IEEE Transactions, India, pp.
59-65, 2005.

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