Sustained Delivery of Medical Services to Large Numbers of Patients

Management of medical centers operates in a difficult environment in which limited medical resources must be used effectively and efficiently while paying attention to medical policies and trends of patients. Many medical centers struggle with these issues. Japanese Red Cross Tokushima Hospital provides medical services to a large number of patients in need of treatment by achieving short hospitalization stays and admitting new inpatients. Internal marketing that motivates staff to be patient-oriented and a service environment (artifacts, systems, structure, etc.) are used such that service processes can be implemented effectively and efficiently. Internal marketing is not limited to “inside” the hospital, but is extended to “outside” the hospital, such as local medical centers, ambulance teams, and patients as customers. In addition to improvement of services within the hospital, this approach improves services through regional cooperation. The case of Japanese Red Cross Tokushima Hospital has important implications for the medical industry and for other industries.