Developing Sustainable Medical Tourism Industry †Free Samples

Question: Discuss about the Developing Sustainable Medical Tourism Industry. Answer: Introduction In todays competitive business environment, innovation and entrepreneurship are two essential components for the success and growth of an industry. Entrepreneurial innovation is the process of introducing something new or enhancing the quality of existing products (Crumpton, 2012). For this report, the innovation in Australian Medical Technologies and Pharmaceuticals industry is taken into consideration. Health care, Medical and Pharmaceutical are emerging sectors in Australia. There are various technology innovations, which are assisting in delivering effective care to the Australian people. In the 2016, the Medical Technology industry has been facilitated with the introduction of Point-of-Care Testing (PoCT) technology. This report includes the discussion about various aspects about this innovation in Australia. It comprises of the value proposition of this innovation in the country. There is the discussion about its target market and competitors. Moreover, it includes knowledge and capability development and business model canvas for the firm that has been implemented this innovation in the country. These technologies in medical and pharmaceuticals industry are meeting the current trends and building the future of Australian medical industry. For this report, the Point-of-Care Testing is considered as a recent innovation in Medical Technology and Pharmaceutical industry in Australia. Point-of-Care Testing is a testing that is performed at the time of consultation which enables the results to be utilized to make quick and informed decisions about the health and patient care. The year 2016 has been called as the year of Point-of-Care testing with two organizations such as Alere and Roche Diagnostics. By the end of the year 2016, the Australian patients are able to visit their health professionals, get tested and leave after ten minutes taking their test results (Australian Ethical Investment Ltd., 2018). This innovation is used to offer convenient, immediate and easy to use diagnostic testing to the people in Australia. PoCT is diagnostic testing, which is executed at the site of patient care. This testing is performed outside the labs. Some of 4Ps for this innovation is stated below; The organization is implementing a new innovation in its products and services. Under this innovation i.e. Point-of-Care, it will offer various services like testing for blood, urine and other analyses. It includes blood gas, blood glucose testing, urine testing, drug abuse testing, hemoglobin diagnosis, pregnancy testing etc. This innovation can be used to generate quick results of the above tests and examinations (Stephard, 2013). To offer this service, the organization incorporated different equipment and machine to deliver quick results of above-mentioned tests. In addition to this, it has hired the expert and technical expert employees to deliver the value of its innovation. It has designed the test in the nearby areas of patient and it does not require being permanent. For this innovation, the target market is the patients who are very ill and old and they cannot travel to in-office laboratory and hospital. Moreover, it focuses on the business professionals who are busy due to their work and they cannot go for testing. Point-of-Care Testing is transforming to the innovations in biosensors, smartphones, wearable devices and lab-on-a chip. The organization is entering into innovations by using updated technologies and equipment (Drucker, 2014). Technology advancement has made POC an integral part of health care. It was an incremental type of innovation as it has improved the delivery of health care and medical services. It was an improvement in the existing services and business. By the use of this new technology, people are able to take quick results of testing. Value Proposition The value proposition of a firm includes all the services that are offered to meet the needs and expectations of customers. There are several elements through which this innovation can create value to targeted population (Shalley, Hitt, Zhou, 2015). These elements are such as pricing of services, availability of Point-of-Care testing services etc. The value proposition of this innovation and competitive analysis of innovation is stated below: The target market for this innovation is the patients who cannot travel to hospital and in-office laboratory. In addition to this, it has targeted the rural people who cannot reach to the hospitals easily. This innovation is good for the market segment that wants to save money on their care testing and travelling expenses to reach hospitals. This target market is segmented by considering the needs and wants of these people. In the country, there are various hospitals which are located in distant location where rural people cannot be reached. Business professionals are also included in the target market as they do not have much time to visit the hospital for testing. Thus, it is good to adopt this innovation by targeting them (Gallagher, Ignatieva, McCulloch, 2015). The value proposition of this innovation is very effective as it has been implemented to generate immediate results so that required treatment can be provided leading to an enhanced economic and clinical outcome. To enhance the health outcomes through PoCT, it is essential to perform this with a quality framework. This innovation has offered value to physicians as well. Due to this, they are able to make clinical management decisions quickly and it can be led to enhanced safety and satisfaction to patients. By offering effective care and testing services, this innovation will be able to communicate its value to the targeted population (Osterwalder, et al, 2014). It will communicate its value to the customer by establishing different care centers in nearby areas of targeted customers. There are various other organizations, which have introduced this type of innovation in Australian Medical Technology and Pharmaceutical industry. One of the major competitors of Point-of-Care Testing is Multiplex Immunoassays that is cheaper than PoCT. Inclusion of molecular diagnosis in Point-of-Care has increased the cost of this testing. In the case of routine testing, cost of testing is the major consideration over its performance. There are various people who prefer to avail the traditional testing for their diseases. Indirect competitor of Point-of-Care setting is the traditional care, in which people prefer to visit hospital and consult with the doctors about their disease. This innovation is different from its direct or indirect competitors as the firm has developed various bionic devices. These devices are very small and matchbox sized that can provide on-the-sport testing and results (Drucker, 2014). They can monitor the adverse impact of medications also. Thus, there are various things which differentiate this innovation over competitors. This innovation may have threat of substitutions as people can visit health care professionals for testing and consultation. Proposal to Enhance Value Proposition For Point-of-Care Testing, competition is one of the serious threats as it can affect the operations and revenue generation of this setting in Medical Technology industry. In this industry, there are various other settings and services which are available to patients at cheaper rates. It is affecting services and labor at Point-of-Care settings (Webb, Dayal, 2017). This issue can become serious in the future, if new innovations will be entering in the medical industry for assisting the Australian patients. Historical pattern of testing is the biggest substitute for Point-of-Care testing. There are various people in the country which are unaware about this innovation. So, they prefer to go for this testing that is restricted to medical laboratory that involved in sending the samples from labs. Patients have to wait for hours and days for the test results. The organization should prepare its services by considering these facts and provide quick report for the tests. The organization should focus on availability of resources and pricing of care at Point-of-Care testing. The organizations can leverage on its value proposition to enhance competitive advantage. It can enhance its value proposition by engaging in effective promotion and advertising activities. To approach the targeted audiences, the organization needs to take the assistance of social media sites. The pricing of testing services should be affordable that will assist the innovation in gaining more competitive advantage over its competitors (Leutner, et al, 2014). It is hereby recommended that the organization should consider the changing trends and needs of customers for implementing its next innovation. In todays environment, the needs and demands of customers are changing with the trends and technology. The people will be seeking for more comfortable diagnosis and treatment. There are various children who are afraid of doctors and treatment. To deal with these issues, the organization should implement a new innovation i.e. Virtual Reality medical care. Virtual reality is generally considered as new form of entertainment so it can be used in different medical applications such as treatments, diagnosis and doctors training. It can enhance the medial and health care experience for the people. To treat the post traumatic stressed patients, virtual reality will be very good. The organization should develop different equipment such as 3D glasses, headsets, video screens etc. It can assist the doctors to treat the children with fun and entertainme nt (Ramlogan, Mina, 2007). No, it will not be incremental innovation as it is a new thing that will be implemented by the organization. The organization does not need anything new or creative that moves away it from current innovation. Both innovations are different and play different role in the medical technology and pharmaceutical industry. So, it does not need to destroy the Point-of-Care setting from its operations. Knowledge and Capability Development Knowledge exploitation is an important process for implementing any innovation and making it up to this point. The increased need for Point-of-Care and use of different technologies shows that the use of external knowledge has contributed to the innovativeness of this new invention and firm. To sustain this competitiveness, the organization needs to enhance the capability to make innovation effectively. This innovation has used both internal and external sources of knowledge. This capability can be increased by the use of IT resources which will assist in knowledge and information transfer and co-operation (Han, Lee, 2008). The organization has used updated technology resources to exploit the external knowledge and information to take positive outcome of this innovation. It has developed an effective communication process among all the employees and levels of management. In addition to this, the organization has conducted a market research to understand the innovations done by its c ompetitors. To exploit the internal knowledge and skills of its staff, the organization has conducted effective training and development program so that they can use their internal knowledge in the interest of innovation and organization. In this way, Furthermore, the company should develop a knowledge management system to exploit the external and internal knowledge for further innovation. Networking process in this system will enable the communication system and knowledge communities which assist the organizational units to discuss the new ideas and new medical services. By doing this, the firm will be able to enhance the effectiveness of Point-of-Care testing system. It will assist the organization in implementing incremental innovation in the industry of Medical technologies and Pharmaceutical. It should use the techniques and skills which are required to deliver the medical services and information to patients effectively (Ramlogan, Consoli, 2008). It will help the innovating firm to gain competitive position in the Australian industry. Business Model Business Model Canvas is the business model that is created by a firm, when it introduces new product or innovation. It assists the organization in generating significant revenues and profits from its innovating activities (Carayannis, Sindakis, Walter, 2015). For Point-of-Care testing, the organization has created an appropriate business model. It includes all the components which are necessary for the success of this innovation. This business model helped the organization in creating and capturing the value for this innovation of Point-of-Care testing. The below-table shows the business model for this innovation. It includes different blocks of business model. Key Partners Medical devices and therapeutic firms Government and public institutions Suppliers Innovation Partners Pharmaceutical development companies Equipment and devices suppliers Key Activities Encouraging people to avail the Point-of-care testing and services Establishing point-of-care settings in different areas of Australia Installing modern and small devices for testing and treatment Generating quick result for the diagnosis and tests Reducing the travelling time and money of patients. Value Proposition Use of updated technology and equipment To generate immediate results of medical diagnosis and testing To provide appropriate treatment to patients according to the test report To provide safety and overall satisfaction to patients Immediate clinical management decisions Customer Relationships Effective delivery of health care to patients Utilization of innovative techniques and machines for testing Good behaviour with the patients at Point-of-Care centre Pleasant procedure Time and money saving services Offering services without any complication Trained staff at centres Personal Contacts with the patients after testing and diagnosis Customer Segments People who want to save money on travelling Business professionals Older people, who cannot travel to hospital in distant location Rural people in Australia Both males and females Hospitals and clinics to get the details about patients Key Resources Fully trained and experienced staff at Point-of-care centre Testing equipment Machines Other technologies Funds received from public, institutions and government. Channels Advertisement and social media marketing Advertisement on website of organization Promotional Campaigns Sponsorships and events Ads in hospitals and clinics (Tideman, Simpso Tirimacco, 2010) Cost Structure Software and website developers for point of care setting Marketing and promotional costs Cost of purchasing equipment and required resources Technology installation costs Administrative and management expenses Advertising and promotional campaigns Staff salaries Costs of hiring and training of nurses and other staff members. Revenue Streams Public and government funds Subsidies and grants Small and medium Enterprises Hospitals and clinics Donations Profits and revenues from targeted market customers. Value Capture Value capture is the process of retaining the value that is provided in each and every transaction. It is very important for creating a positive image of innovation among targeted population. There are different components of business models which can be used by organization to capture value (Kohler, 2015). To implement this innovation, the organization will partner with different agencies and institutions (Galindo, Mndez, 2014). The major partners for Point-of-Care testing are medical devices and therapeutic firms, government and public institutions, suppliers, innovation partners, pharmaceutical development companies, equipment and devices suppliers etc. These key partners will help the organization in delivering point of care testing services to the patients. It will enable the organization in reducing the travelling time of patients. There are some key activities of this innovation which are performed for the implementation of value proposition and capturing significant value over it competitors. The key activities of Point-of-Care include motivating people to avail the Point-of-care testing and services, adopting new technologies for testing and diagnosis and generating quick result for the diagnosis and tests. In addition to this, the organization is engaged in reducing the travelling time of patients and saving their money. The organization aims to make the medical industry more advanced and innovative. This idea will assist the organization to grab the attention of people and capture the value for innovation (Dijkman, et al, 2015). The major resources for this innovation are fully trained and experienced staff at Point-of-care center, testing equipment, machines and other technological resources. The company has some financial resources which are received from public, institutions and government. It has managed all the resources in an effective way so that it can deliver a significant value to the customers. Cost structure of organization incudes all the monetary concerns while implementing any innovation. For the introduction of Point-of-Care, the major costs include; Costs of hiring and training of nurses and other staff members Software and website developers for point of care setting Marketing and promotional costs Cost of purchasing equipment and required resources Technology costs Administrative and management expenses Advertising and promotional campaigns Staff salaries In this way, this cost structure of organization includes different expenses and costs that it spent on introducing and implementing this innovation in Australia. Revenue Streams Revenue streams refer to the different ways, through which an organization can generate revenues and income. First, the company has made this innovation and promoted it by the use of effective advertising and marketing strategies. This assisted the organization in creating value among funders and public fund agencies. For this innovation, the organization is planning to generate revenues and value from public and government funds, subsidies and grants, small and medium Enterprises, hospitals and clinics, donations and profits and revenues from targeted market customers (Medhekar, 2017). The market segment for this innovation is wide so revenue generation will be good in this industry. The captured value can be used by the organization to generate the revenues from hospital and other clinical firms. It will be a loss for the firm, if this innovation did not capture any value. Without capturing value it will be unable to generate funds from banks and other fund providers. Conclusion Thus, the above report concludes that Point-of-Care is a significant and profitable innovation in Australian Medical and Pharmaceutical industry. The industry has become very innovative with the use of advanced technology. This innovation has assisted the people in getting quick results of their medical tests. 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