SERVICE MARKETING IN THE HEALTH INSTITUTIONS

Health institutions that constantly develop and implement viable and evidence-based strategies are one step ahead of their competitors. Thorough investigations of failed health institutions reveal that the main reasons for the failure in most of the cases are the wrong and inapplicable strategies. Therefore, rigorous design and careful execution of viable strategies are the key factors for health institutions to sustain their lives. Determining the service areas of health institutions also depends on implementing successful and applicable strategies. Such strategies enable health institutions to conduct comprehensive analyses of the health needs of the population in order to determine the prospective services and service areas. In this study, we employ the needs assessment process and use national and international sources to study how the health institutions should determine potential services and service areas. In addition, we provide a detailed analysis of the concept of health needs to set up a background for the discussion of service marketing determination process.