Retail Strategy - Session One
Retail Strategy is a proven, effective way to capture market share in owned or affiliated primary care practices. It is based on the understanding that women, who make the majority of health care decisions for the family, will seek access to health care services from among the four primary care specialties - namely family medicine, general internal medicine, pediatrics and obstetrics. “She” will frequently select a health care provider within a ten-minute drive of her home in an urban or suburban setting. Unlike hospitals and invasive specialists, each affiliated or employed PCP captures and retains between 2,000 and 4,000 patients, which can be directed to the specialists and hospital services preferred by the primary care physician.

Demand Chain Management - Session Two
The relationships between primary care providers, specialists, hospitals and hospital-based specialists (the Demand Chain members) are frequently left to chance. Both hospitals and specialists routinely develop a “build it and they will come” mentality, anticipating that if they “hang out a shingle” the world will flock to their door or their service line. This mental model does work, but only as long as there are no significant competitive alternatives in the market place. As soon as viable alternatives appear on the horizon, this previously successful passive strategy melts under the heat of real competitive behavior. Alternatively, some hospitals and their affiliated physicians recognize that they must unite their efforts to meet the needs, wants, and priorities of “Mrs. Smith” and every member of the demand chain in order to attract and retain customers within their integrated network. Demand Chain Management is the process of understanding and uniting to meet the needs, wants and priorities of patients and each demand chain member, developing the strategies and tactics to build successful long-term business relationships.

Becoming the Hospital of Choice - Session Three
Today, having a great workshop and one or more significant service lines has become the minimum ante to stay in the competitive game. Maintaining an efficient and updated physical plant, an excellent nursing staff, the latest technology and accessible operating rooms have been among the common workshop strategies employed for decades. Hospital executives have long understood the importance of maintaining an excellent workshop for members of their medical staff to practice their profession. Partnering with specialists to develop centers of excellence in cardiology, oncology, orthopedics, women and children’s services and the like has also proven essential to the success of acute care facilities in an increasingly competitive industry. Neither of these approaches, however, has yielded a sustainable competitive advantage in many communities. Becoming the Hospital of Choice is critical to achieving a sustainable competitive advantage and is increasingly critical to survival in many markets.

Becoming the Specialist of Choice - Session Four
Hospitals around the country are anxiously engaged in developing the ranks of affiliated specialty physicians. In an effort to secure their market share, many hospitals are considering or are actively employing specialists to strengthen key service lines. Like the hospital, however, most specialty physicians, especially invasive specialists, are heavily dependent upon primary care referrals for their survival. Becoming the Specialist of Choice for referring physicians in a competitive market is the key to success for individual specialty physicians, for their related service lines, and, ultimately, for their affiliated hospitals.