Welcome back, this is a module on Healthcare Service industry and its unique marketing approaches. What is the Healthcare Industry? The healthcare industry is one of the world's largest and fastest growing industries. And it's defined as a sum of sectors that provide the goods and services to treat patients with care. In this module, we'll focus only on the sectors that provide such services. Healthcare services are differentiated from other services in several aspects. First, it offers something that customers do not want to have to need. Second, the emotional state of the customers during the purchase and consumption is largely negative, dominated by feelings of uncertainty, sadness and fear. Third, since customers feel insecure and afraid, they are likely to feel desperate. As a result, they are likely to be very sensitive too and easily influenced by what others say and do. Thus, other people can create both positive and negative impact. Fourth, customers assessment of the healthcare outcome is influenced by their perception of what happened during the whole process of the healthcare. Therefore it is not only the healthcare outcome but also the whole process that has to be managed well so that patients and their family can feel assured, cared, and supported. This can be best accomplished through well designed and executed interactions between patients, their companions, medical staff and support staff. The importance of a managing interactions can be well illustrated by the way malpractice insurance case in the healthcare industry. Let's say that you are accompanying the sales malpractice insurance to doctors. What would you consider most important on making your decision on a doctor's insurance premium? Would it be the quality of education the doctor received? What about the extent of the doctor's practice experience? I'm sure you can easily think of a few factors. However, the key factor considered in reality is the way the doctor interacts with patients. You might wonder why. If you are a malpractice insurance company, what really matters to you most is the likelihood that the doctor is sued by the patient for committing a malpractice. In this case, the reality's one thing and perception is another. Whether the doctor really committed a malpractice or not is hard for the patient to tell. One thing that the patient can be sure of is how he or she perceives the practice. Then when would a perceive that the doctor committed a malpractice? It is likely to depend on whether the patient felt truly cared by the doctor throughout the healthcare process. Patients feel that care during their interactions with the doctor. That is why malpractice insurance companies observe doctors interactions with patients. Doctors who are friendly, sincere, and caring in their interactions with a patient are less likely to be sued by patients for malpractice. This example illustrates the importance of managing, not only to healthcare outcome, but also the interactions during the process of the healthcare. Take it altogether in the healthcare service business, is the customer experience. Which is beyond simple customer services that has to be managed throughout the treatment process.