Assessment of the factors influencing profitability within refractive Dissertation

Assessment of the factors influencing profitability within refractive clinics and recommendations for best practice management - Dissertation Example The purpose of this study is to describe the factors that affect profitability within refractive clinics and to examine the relationship between these factors and best practice in refractive care. The study is done in two settings the first being an online platform with 40 participants (n=40) and the second being closed door, eight interview sessions involving 28 participants (n=28) at two private clinics in north one in Turin and the other in Milan. The study was qualitative in nature, and it utilized a survey method to collect the necessary data. The survey involved the use of instruments such as online questionnaires and semistructured interview questions. Online questionnaires were prepared with the help of SurveyMonkey, and sent to the 40 participants who were refractive care patients identified from clinical databases. The questionnaires were designed in line with the research objectives. Overall, questionnaires were chosen as they heightened the validity and reliability of the research through the collection of quantitative, objective data. Semi structured interviews were chosen in order to gain context and detail. They were conducted under 8 sessions at the two private clinics that were used for the study. The results for both surveys were centrally analyzed in regards to the findings in the literature review. The findings for the online survey revealed that the participants strongly consider two key factors when making their choice attend refractive clinics. These factors include management, where they showed strong consideration for private clinics. The other factor was technology superiority whereby they would first assess the clinics and later consider the one with better technology. For the interview sessions, the results indicated that the top five factors of importance were as following. Technological Superiority, friendly and professional staff, trust in the service, organisational culture, and personal and individual service in the order of sup eriority starting with most important. To conclude the research reflects upon the importance of a consideration of organisational factors in order to enhance profitability. Moving away from a sole financial perspective, this research has promoted the importance of a patient centric approach and the use of relationships to build perceptions and expectations of quality of care. Table of Contents Table of Contents 4 Chapter One: Introduction 6 Chapter Two: Background and Literature Review 10 2.1.2 Refractive Surgery 12 2.1.3 Alternative technologies 12 2.2 Background on Profitability in Refractive Care 14 2.2.2 Patient Economics 16 2.2.3 Prospective Patient Demographics 17 2.2.4 The Refractive Surgery Patient Pool 21 2.2.5 Procedure Pricing 24 2.2.6 Relationships between Demand and Economic Conditions 25 2.2.7 Penetration Rates and Available Market 25 2.2.8 Refractive Surgery Centers Concentrated in Metro Areas 26 2.2.9 Competition 27 2.2.10 Michael Porter 5 forces analysis on refracti ve market 28 2.3 Motivations for refractive surgery 30 2.4 Marketing perspectives: experiential marketing 30 2.5 Satisfaction in the healthcare sector 31 2.6 Organisational Culture 33 2.7 Leadership 34 2.8 Organisational capabilities 35 2.9 Current research and summary 36 Chapter Three: Methodology 37 3.1 Research Methodology and Design 37 3.2 Research Philosophy 38 3.3 Research Ethics 38 3.3.1 Human Rights Protection 39 3.4 Sample Size 39 3.4.1 Sample Recruitment 40 3.5 The setting 41 3.6 Data Collection 42 3.7 Instruments 42 3.7.1 Questionnaires 42 3.7.2 Semi Structured Interviews 43 3.8 Data Analysis Plan 44 3.9 Assumptions 45 3.10 Methodology Summary 45 Chapter Four: The Results 47 4.1 Sample 47 4.2 Survey Results 48 4.2.1 Results from the