Developing a marketing function in public healthcare systems: a framework for action

The scope of this paper is to analyse the contribution that a marketing function can bring to the wide variety of healthcare organizations operating in public health systems (PHSs). While extensive research on marketing applied to healthcare services has been elaborated in competitive and managed care contexts, marketing is a rather new issue in PHSs and little research has been conducted to assess its relevance and benefits in these environments. This study tackles that gap and is based on a review of the current literature in order to provide answers to the following points: - definition of the scopes of marketing and of the elements that affect its incorporation in the healthcare sector; - conceptualization of the possible approaches to marketing by health organizations operating in PHSs; - discussion of the resulting framework for action.