Strategies & Solutions is the monthly electronic newsletter published by
Health Strategies & Solutions, Inc., which provides cutting-edge strategies,
innovative solutions, and practical ideas for health care professionals. We welcome
your comments and feedback. To subscribe, unsubscribe, or change your subscriber information, click on the links at the bottom of this page. |
Ambulatory Care Competitive Strategy - One Size Does Not Fit All
|
“Competitive strategy is about being different. It is about choosing
a different set of activities to deliver a unique mix of value.”
(Michael E. Porter, 1996)
|
Ambulatory care is a large, growing, and diverse business that attracts a myriad of competitors. Continued ambulatory growth is clearly on the horizon for most health care organizations, but is no guarantee for a bigger piece of the pie, and can be a significant source of competitive tension between physicians and hospitals. For some organizations, the mix of services may change dramatically due to competitor encroachment. Large blocks of hospital-based ambulatory business can shift overnight when physician-sponsored ventures or niche providers enter a market. Competitive strategy helps hospitals be more entrepreneurial to preempt competitor encroachment.
|
 |
Ambulatory services contribute both financially and strategically, as feeder networks and components of robust services lines, so hospital leaders often react in haste when they find themselves under siege from freestanding competitors. The resulting shotgun strategies too often simply mimic competitor offerings and are rarely effective. The most successful ambulatory competitors carefully select ambulatory strategies that play to their strengths.
|
|
Choosing Leading Competitive Strategies
|
Organizational type, location, culture and strengths all factor into which competitive strategies will be most effective for a particular organization. Successful organizations choose one or two leading strategies as the principal means of differentiating themselves from the competition.
|
|
If you would like a free subscription to Strategies & Solutions, please click here.
©2005 by Health Strategies & Solutions, Inc.
8 Penn Center
1628 John F. Kennedy Boulevard, Suite 200
Philadelphia, PA 19103
(215) 636-3500
Healthcare Consulting
Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission is prohibited.
|
