Strategies to meet increased competition for outpatients

The aim of marketing is to make selling superfluous. The aim of marketing is to know and understand the consumer so well that the product or service fits him and sells itself," said P. F. Drucker in Management: Tasks, Practices, Responsibilities. For hospitals that are directly competing with surgicenters for patients and physicians, the competition will intensify. Hospitals in those environments must develop streamlined ambulatory surgery programs that are attuned to consumers' changing demands. The winners in capturing the ambulatory surgery market will be organizations with the following: current market knowledge, facilities that serve the consumer's needs and demands, creative leadership, a formalized marketing plan, and a commitment to excellence.