Healthcare service is an `export´ business
New project aims to develop standards for design and marketing
Germany - Health Care Export, a new four-year project run by the Institute for Work and Technology (IWT) and the Sozial- und Seniorenwirtschaftszentrum in Gelsenkirchen, supported by the German Federal Ministry for Education and Research, and by advertising and public relations measures from VVA Health Marketing Ltd, aims to develop international standards for international healthcare service design and marketing.
‘Initially, healthcare networks must be created and developed on an international level, so patients from abroad can be comprehensively well looked after, from the ambulance service to accommodation, treatment, and aftercare,’ explained Stephan von Bandemer, project leader at the IWT. Pointing out that healthcare management is the fastest growing economic sector in Germany - among the key German industrial sectors, with 4.2 million employees and a 240 billion euro turnover, healthcare has considerable export potential.- he stressed the importance of co-operation between clinics and enterprises to create a stronger image abroad.
Part of the project will be observation and analysis of international and national patient streams. Networks should be built up on the basis of unique selling propositions, regional proximity, and ethnic cultural relationships, the organisers point out.
VVA Health Marketing Ltd will support participating firms and clinics in the production and application of means of communication, which includes advertising in print media and at trade fairs, and public relations (PR) for the project groups.
A scientific analysis of project results is provided as a guideline for firms who may wish to enter the international market at some point. Participation in the project is open to health care institutions and their suppliers. Among participating clinics and firms are such well-known institutions as the Hamburg University Clinic, the Nuremberg Clinic, and Meyra, the tradition-rich wheelchair manufacturer. No less important is the project’s intended function of building support for scientific exchange in the field of medicine, to which the further project goal of making internships in Germany available for young doctors from abroad is also relevant.
Contacts: bandemer@iatge.de and e.schaefer@vva.de
01.03.2006