Certain environmental factors account for in-company medical clinics and the success of after-hours and urgent care clinics in many metropolitan areas. For in-company clinics, these include efficiency, convenience, and the need for minimizing lost productivity. A better return to work rate and preventative health care measures are more probable when employees have access to primary care right in their own workplace. As to after-hours and urgent care, the necessary advent of dual working families, shift work, and multiple obligations including school, make evening and weekend facilities a more attractive and accessible health care option. There is less difficulty securing time off of work and school for appointment, and acute issues might be dealt with in a timely manner, leading to better patient outcomes.
Upon being assigned to design an MCO targeting baby boomers in San Antonio, Texas, I would make this service offering unique by making it responsive to major trends in the target population. The MCO should respond to the inherent health inequities–the socioeconomic factors that have typically not been in this population’s favor (lesser access to healthcare, lesser income, lesser educational attainment, cumulative disadvantage). The MCO should offer neighborhood based opportunities for preventative care and health education, together with access to healthcare that acknowledges the need for availability beyond the traditional workday. The organization should engage in grass roots efforts to educate the population on its greatest health risks and how the MCO’s offerings can help to mitigate these risks.

Government published data on hospital performance and clinical standards, have greatly influenced the consumer decision making process.

The following decisions rate on Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs as follows: a) buying health insurance—safety; b) going skiing—love and belonging; c) following a low fat diet—physiological.

In preparation for contacting a community based business about a medical groups new industrial medicine program for employers, the following possible members of the buying center can be identified: initiator—person who might know there is a need; decider—actual purchasing decision maker; buyer—person who handles vendor selection; influencer—person who determines service specifications; user—actual service users; and gatekeeper—person who controls the company’s information flow.