Marketing planning for ambulatory care: twelve key steps

Effective health care marketing begins with an excellent product that addresses the needs and preferences of key consumers of services. Sophisticated marketing proceeds from an understanding that healthcare "markets" now include physician, payer, and patient components. An ambulatory cancer center can meet the needs of all three of these crucial components. This article describes key characteristics of an ambulatory cancer center and shows how the ambulatory center addresses important concerns of physicians, payers, and patients.