Healthcare systems and policy frameworks

Healthcare management (Strategic operations plan)

Several studies, including Kelly Barnes, show that healthcare generally moves from "costly settings" such as hospitals into cheaper and more flexible options, such as retail clinics and mobile health

What this actually shows as a future trend is that the global recession has played an important role in defining the customer profile. Clients are no longer interested solely in the best available services, but in low-cost services. For this, they look at flexible options and, in the same context of flexibility, they look more and more towards customization. Customization includes customized treatments and customized location (home, hospital, clinics, mobile)

At the same time, the demand for innovation remains key. The Harvard Business Review points to the demand for innovation in emerging markets, such as China and India, but this is also true, to a different degree, for the U.S. market

. Innovation can take different forms, but it aims to provide better services for lower costs, so it will fit the previously identified trends as well.

Taking all these elements into consideration, what I propose is a fertilization clinic. There are several elements to motivate this decision. First, a fertilization clinic addresses a certain category of consumers, namely those with high revenue and, usually, higher education. A focus such as this on the respective segment of clients will ensure that the clinic will have a constant cash flow that will keep it away from any financial difficulties.

Second, fertility rates in the United States have significantly decreased since the 1950s and 1960s, despite a period of stabilization during the 1980s, and are now at the lowest values in history, with 63 birth per 1,000 women in 2012

. A wide variety of factors likely contribute to this decrease in fertility, but this also means that women are more likely to turn to fertilization clinics in order to be able to have children.

Finally, this type of clinic offers the flexibility and dynamism that the industry seems to require. The clinic can devise customized approaches for each patient, depending on their needs, and ensure that their treatment takes into consideration a wide array of factors, including biological or socioeconomic factors. A fertilization clinic will fit the existing trend and benefit from a lot of opportunities, including in terms of innovation.

Location is important because it will likely affect the business. First of all, a fertilization clinic is an urban clinic, so the center (or centers, once the business expands) will need to be located in cities, preferably large cities to ensure a larger mass of potential customers. The fertilization clinic will also need to be located in a good neighborhood within the city. As previously discussed, the clinic targets a particular socioeconomic category of customers, and these are likely to want to move between neighborhoods to which they are accustomed. The location should also offer different facilities, such as parking spaces.

This plan has also alluded to the fact that the company could potentially expand into foreign markets as well. The research showed that the Indian and Chinese markets are markets of continuous expansion, where innovation is required. However, a fertilization clinic is not likely to function well in these countries with fertility rates that are already quite high. Other external markets could be considered, including in Central and Eastern Europe.

The customer type that this business targets is well educated and has a high income. This latter aspect cannot be emphasized enough: fertilization treatments are usually very expensive. He or she (the fertilization applies to couples as well) is the type of busy individual who spends a lot of time working, the dedicated professional who finds himself/herself with no time for personal life. Usually, the customer is in the 30 to 40 age group.

A smaller category of potential customers are couples who cannot have children, who have been married for several years and who do not necessarily belong to the age group previously identified. From a psychological perspective, this is the category of individuals who want children and who want to expand their family. They are likely to spend more time with their family and less at work.

There are several stakeholders involved. The first category of stakeholders is represented by the customers, previously described. The second category is the suppliers, with which the clinic works. The category of suppliers is quite complex, because fertilization is an area of the medical science that involves high technology and innovation. The clinic will work with different laboratories, but also with hospitals and other clinics, which will recommend the services of this fertilization clinic for their own clients, in this particular area of interest. Other suppliers will include the suppliers of medical equipment.