The role of Medical Equipment in Healthcare Marketing

Every practitioner knows the value of medical equipment in healthcare as a whole. Every hospital owner realizes this early on such that they establish their own laboratories and x-ray departments even prior they start the operation of their facility. Later, when their hospitals were able to increase their patient base, they purchase more expensive diagnostic equipment such as ultrasound machines and CT Scanners. The leading tertiary hospitals invest on the even more expensive equipment such as the latest MRIs, Gamma Cameras and Linear Accelarators (LINACs).

Even individual physicians are increasingly becoming more dependent on medical technology to provide them more information in the course of their evaluation of their patients. Where doctors only use to have their own stethoscopes and sphygmomanometers, it is now common to see them with their own ECG machines, Spirometers and Dopplers. Many obstetricians now have their own ultrasound machines and fetal monitors which they use as part of their maternal healthcare. Aside from ECG machines, internists and cardiologists now have their own Holter recorders and ambulatory blood pressure monitors (ABP).

Unfortunately, this “Equipping” of hospitals and practitioners led to a general increase in the costs of healthcare. As a result, the healthcare service market has become more competitive with direct pressure on costs. Without doubt, medical equipment are necessary and major investments. A healthcare facility simply cannot do without them.

Medical equipment as part of marketing.

Not only does medical equipment help practitioners do their clinical diagnoses better. Medical Equipment also help the healthcare facility earn prestige in the eyes of their target markets. Paying patients would surely go to a hospital who can help them, and they believe that those with the right and better equipment are those that can help them better. It is therefore learned that medical equipment can be part of a marketing campaign by the hospital. Nowadays, it is very common to see hospitals advertising their latest acquisition. And if a nearby hospital bought a certain equipment, a hospital owner would surely be forced to consider buying the same or something better.

One hospital that has proven the value of medical equipment in marketing is St. Luke’s Medical Center (SLMC). Not only is SLMC known as the best equipped hospital in the Philippines, they are also known to have invested heavily in advertising this fact. I have seen one of their advertisements in the past where they claim to be better equipped than the majority of hospitals even in the USA.

As a result, SLMC has surpassed Makati Medical Center (MMC) as the leading hospital in the country in terms of both revenues and profits, although the latter also has the latest gadgets but do not have the same focussed advertising campaign. The new entrant, Asian Hospital, even while also having the latest gizmos available, cannot come close to the success of SLMC. SLMC has successfully occupied the number one spot in the customer’s mind as far as healthcare technology is concerned.

It is not only SLMC that has benefited much from marketing their medical equipment. Many other medical practitioners have long ago advertised their available technologies and met success from them. Dr. Vicky Belo for example is known to have the latest in lasers and techniques in dermatology and aesthetic surgery. The American Eye Center is known for the latest technology (also lasers) in ophthalmology. The Healthway Medical Clinics boasts that they have all brand new equipment when they started operation. Leading hospitals in some provinces, such as the Mary Mediatrix in Lipa City, Lorma Hospital (St. Luke's of the north) in San Fernando, La Union, and the De La Salle University Medical Center in Dasmarinas, Cavite, are just few of the examples who benefit from the market perception on availability of the latest equipment.

Meanwhile, in Cebu City, there is an exciting three-way competition going on among Chong Hua Hospital, Perpetual Succour Medical Center and Cebu Doctors Hospital, each of them feeling the others on what is the next technology they would compete on and no one giving up the title of being the best equipped. In Davao City, Davao Doctors’ Hospital has seemingly already occupied the slot. The next vibrant City to Cebu and Davao, Iloilo City now seems to have been occupied by Iloilo Doctors’ Hospital in terms of perception by the public as with the best equipment.

Should marketing be based on the equipment only?

Sometimes, the mere availability of the equipment is marketing in itself. In some cases, a brand new equipment has more marketing value than refurbished equipment. Still some others believe that some brands are marketable than another. But this is a case of over-simplifying things. Marketing of equipment should not be based on the equipment only, rather it should be based on the clinical capabilities that these equipment can do.

As the leader in healthcare marketing, SLMC has now shifted from advertising the equipment to advertising the people behind the equipment. Their recent advertisements show the training that the practitioners have undergone to operate the technology. They are now marketing the capabilities rather than just the equipment. Similarly, although Vicky Belo’s Belo Medical Center is known to have the latest equipment, they advertise the results using beautiful and sexy celebrity endorsers.

The reason here is obvious. Marketing the equipment only could result in the dangerous perception that the facility are for and by robots. Marketers should keep in mind that the technology is used in adjunct to healthcare services provided by people. Their campaign must therefore give technology a human face. After all, healthcare facilities exists for people to care for people.