Ct Spiral Screening Essay, Research Paper
SPIRAL CT LUNG SCREENING
AT DESERT RADIOLOGISTS
By
Linda
Robert
Marilyn
Raquel
Mike
MKT 438
Instructor: Kelly Wood
July 19, 2000
HISTORY OF DETECTING LUNG CANCER
Lung cancer affects more than 170,000 men and women each year. Currently, there isn?t a
practical or definitive screening method for detecting this disease. Historically, chest x-rays were
used to detect cancer when patients presented symptoms. Though chest x-rays can pick up
cancerous lesions, it has not been recommended as a routine annual screening tool because it
often detects the disease too late when cure is difficult.
By the time lung cancer is large enough to be visible on chest x-rays, it is often advanced and
may have already metastasized to other parts of the body. For this reason, it was very important
to find new methods of early detection and diagnosis. The answer was the Spiral CT (Computed
Tomography, ?Cat Scan?) Lung Screening now being offered at Desert Radiologists.
DESERT RADIOLOGISTS
Desert Radiologists is Nevada?s oldest and most sophisticated outpatient radiology center. All
diagnostic modalities are performed under one roof. In each of our facilities, patients are able to
have imaging studies that are traditionally performed in hospitals only.
Desert Radiologists is committed to state-of-the-art comprehensive diagnostic care for the people
of Nevada. We supply our patients with prompt quality health care while keeping in mind their
rights to compassion, dignity, and personal regard. Many believe that the success of Desert
Radiologists is due in part to the very strategic and innovative marketing/public relations
techniques utilized to convey the message of our incredible abilities in providing cost-efficient,
high-quality radiology. We are on the cutting edge of new technology that enables Desert
Radiologists to provide the best radiology care to our patients.
DESERT RADIOLOGISTS? POSITION IN THE MARKET
Established in 1966 by Drs. Robert Taylor, Harris Knudson and James Lum, Desert Radiologists
diagnostic radiology practice has grown with the Las Vegas community to become the areas
chief resource for the highest quality, comprehensive medical care in the field of radiology.
The firm?s staff of over 25 Radiologists and 185 technical and support personnel promotes a
reassuring environment that helps allay patients? concerns and results in the best possible
experience for those entering an unfamiliar world of CT scans, MR imaging, interventional
radiology, and nuclear medicine.
Desert Radiologists is a private corporation owned by physicians. Its success in providing
radiology services to Southern Nevada for more than 30 years has given the organization a
positive image within the community. Desert Radiologists is always searching for new
procedures and ways to enhance the practice.
NEW SERVICE PROVIDED
Desert Radiologists gathered research data from a firm that provided the Spiral CT lung
screening to their patients and extensive data from the Internet to study the effectiveness of this
new procedure. With positive results, the physicians made a commitment to offer this new
screening procedure that can detect lung cancer at an early stage to the Las Vegas community.
This newly developed screening test will improve the odds of defeating lung cancer. The Spiral
CT lung screening is based on United States and Japanese studies that indicate CT screening is
able to diagnose tumors early enough to greatly improve survival rates.
An estimated 157,000 people will die this year of lung cancer, the leading cause of cancer death
of both men and women in the United States, according to the American Cancer Society.
Virtually all the ?cures? in treating lung cancer occur in those patients where the cancer is
detected early before there is any distant spread or metastasis beyond the ?local? tumor or
?local? lymph nodes. Lung cancer tumors found by a chest x-ray are typically large when
patients present with symptoms. In contrast, when detected on a Spiral CT, the tumor may be no
bigger than a grain of rice.
A study from Early Lung Cancer Action Program (ELCAP) included 1,000 volunteers with an
average age of 67 years. The volunteers historically smoked an average of one pack of cigarettes
a day for ten years. These volunteers never showed signs of cancer or exhibited symptoms of
cancer. The participants were given both traditional chest x-rays and CT scans. The chest x-rays
detected tumors in 68 of the 1,000 participants while CT scans detected tumors in 233
participants–more than three times as many as x-rays had diagnosed.
Lung cancer is deadly. Until recently, there has not been a successful process to detect the
tumors early enough before a patient has symptoms. However, the new process can increase the
five-year survival rate from 14 percent to 80 percent if all smokers and ex-smokers receive an
annual CT exam and early treatment.
TARGET MARKETS
In order to make the Spiral CT Lung screening a success it is necessary to educate the
importance of the screening to the primary care physicians, patients, and insurance companies.
Specific patients to be targeted are the smokers, ex-smokers, and persons surrounded by
secondary smoke, i.e., casino waitresses, waiters, bartenders, etc.?even children.
Currently, this screening is not covered by insurance. Therefore, the managed care organizations
must be educated to the effectiveness of the screening. It has the potential to save lives and
expenses in the long run. If the cancer is caught at an early stage, the patient will require minor
surgery and/or treatment. If the cancer is not detected early and has already spread throughout
the body, it could require advanced, more expensive treatment or surgery.
GOALS AND OBJECTIVES
The company?s primary goal is to raise awareness of the Spiral CT screening. The importance of
having this screening done is to increase a patient?s survival rate. We plan to perform at least
200 screenings per month at each of our locations. The screening is not covered by insurance;
therefore, we are charging $250 per screening. The fee is competitive throughout the United
States.
We feel the Spiral CT screening will increase a person?s survival rate and decrease
surgery/treatment expenses. Our objective is to convince insurance companies to begin covering
this screening in their plans. We feel that awareness and education will be effective in
implementing the necessary changes.
PUBLIC ISSUES
The following points will focus on results sought by the company through our public relations
campaign. Also, the primary publics and secondary publics, both internal and external will be
identified. The corresponding issues of importance and how they relate to the campaign will also
address some of the reasons we have adopted our campaign focus.
Desert Radiologists desires to be at the forefront of medical imaging and technological advances
as they are discovered in the industry. Their goal is to communicate to the public and the
competitors that they are progressive and up-to-date in their technique and approach. The patient,
physician, and referring health agency can feel confident that only trained expertise in all aspects
are projected as a common thread within Desert Radiologists. External or secondary publics such
as subcontractors or equipment manufacturers will also experience a reciprocal exchange of
professionalism as an edge is gained in the market by utilizing business savvy and sound public
relations practices.
Primary and other external publics will comprise much of our public relations advertising.
Pharmacies, doctors, health and smoking clinics, medical centers, hospitals and any other
referring health agencies as well as the media make up secondary external publics. Desert
Radiologists provide a service, the publics who are focused on are mostly external because it is a
way to get revenue to the company for the benefit of the internal primary publics who make up
the composition of the business itself, such as owners, doctors, administrators and board
members.
In the future, insurance companies are another primary internal public who has the potential to
benefit from the screening by providing the service as a preventative maintenance measure. This
could prove to be an attractive avenue for obtaining revenue. The primary targeted publics are
smokers, non-smokers, and ex- smokers. Because they are a target group outside of the company
and therefore external, the shift of the public relations effort must lean toward promoting
extensive efforts at a large audience rather that concentrating efforts on a limited number of
candidates who fit a composite profile and would be identified as primary internal publics. Of
course because all employees and staff can be members of the target group and therefore not
excluded, they don?t make up the majority of the customer base desired.
The potential for forming lasting and productive relationships with both internal and external
publics make issues important due to the fact that these particular services are limited in
utilization and application to a small group of professionals which make the competition more
fierce in nature. In the health profession, this type of competition takes away from the sensitive
nature of this service that could hinder our campaign if it were communicated to the public that
we want everyone?s business at any cost. The following aspects of our campaign will focus on
our plan to mitigate this and will describe the strategies and tactics we are contemplating as we
proceed.
RESULTS SOUGHT
Results sought through the campaign are to ultimately improve the odds of defeating lung cancer
and generate consistent revenue by using the newest technology to do it. Research and studies
show that preventative health care can be painless and low cost compared to the alternative. The
low dose radiation scans are expected to save more than 100,000 lives annually in the United
States alone. ?People die who don?t need to. CT scanning has the ability to change this tragedy??
states Dr. Gerald L. Warnock, medical director at Epic Imaging in Portland where this process is
used. The hope is that this test will do for lung cancer what the mammogram did for breast
cancer and the Pap test did for cervical cancer. Because lung cancer is difficult to detect in the
early stages and spreads quickly, early detection can save lives by removing a small segment of
the lung and curing a patient.
Overcoming test data will be a difficult objective. At this time, the expense of the tests have not
shown numbers that make it worth the insurance companies picking up the cost. Also, for those
who cannot afford the test, diagnosis may be unavailable.
Desert Radiologists wants to inform everyone by flooding the market with mass publicity and
awareness. Information on the disease, procedure, costs and benefits of early detection make the
testing appear necessary and desirable. Advertising at various locations hope to produce results
which will contribute to the success of testing being requested on a regular basis just like Pap
tests and mammograms. By being the first imaging center in Las Vegas to offer this service,
Desert Radiologist hopes to capitalize on an untapped market and retain a steady customer base.
THE PLAN FOR MARKET SHARE
Desert Radiologists will meet their customer needs by providing state-of-the-art testing with
reference information available to answer all questions during the process. The scope of the
testing in terms of growth and profitability can be defined broadly. This technology is an
emerging market. To date very little of this markets potential has been tapped and the potential
for growth is great. Our goal is to discount all referrals from family, friends, co-worker etc.
Every customer that requires this testing will become part of the overall public relations
campaign by word-of-mouth customer satisfaction. This referral process will increase sales by
customer satisfaction.
STRATEGIES FOR THE CAMPAIGN
The first step in our strategy will be to get the message out to the public. How we plan to do this
will be integrated with our marketing plan. The campaign will consist of two phases. During the
initial phase, we plan to have local spots on television, radio, and newspaper. The campaign
message will depict the importance of testing for cancer and success rate of surviving cancer by
early detection. We plan to achieve the competitive edge on our competition and follow up with
phase two of the campaign by pointing out that Desert Radiologists is the leader in this new
state-of-the-art testing.
SOURCES OF FUNDING
The public relations department is authorized 1% ($200,000) of total revenues ($20,000,000) to
conduct an extensive campaign for the three-year contract. The additional funding will come
from 10% ($96,000) of annual sales ($960,000). Desert Radiologists will have a combined
annual budget for marketing ($300,000) and public relations campaign budget ($296,000),
totaling a combined budget of ($596,000) for one fiscal year. This budget will be reviewed on an
annual basis.
THE BUDGET
We expect to obtain 50% of sales from local health clinics for smokers and doctors that treat for
cancer. The additional 50% of sales will come from the marketing and referral process. The first
two months have netted daily sales of $4,000.00. This is based on the average of 16 tests each
day on the four machines at a cost of $250.00 per test. On a yearly basis the first year will net
$960,000 at a sustained rate of 16 tests a day between the four machines. If all goes well, we will
double these figures after the first six months of getting the word out. With the cost of software
for all four machine?s totaling ($80,000), employee?s annual salary ($128,000) and public
relations campaign ($296,000) per machine, the annual profits from all four locations will total
$456,000.
(See Exhibit ?A? for Income Statement).
Exhibit ?A?
Income Statement ? Desert Radiologists for the Year Ending June 30, 2001
Sales $960,000
Cost of goods sold 80,000
Gross profit on sales 880,000
Operating expense
Selling expense 296,000
Operating expense 128,000
Total operating expense 424,000
Operating income 456,000
Interest expense 5,600
Earnings before taxes 450,400
Income tax 90,080
Net income 360,320
COMMUNICATING THE MESSAGE
Public relations is one of the most powerful weapons in the marketing warfare. It is also an
extremely cost effective marketing discipline. Public relations generated sales ultimately result in
an increased overall awareness and enhanced reputation of the organization and its services,
which will prompt people to respond to its advertising approach. Modern public relations is a
sophisticated management training which crosses the boundaries of all corporate functions. The
results of media coverage can provide a powerful sales tool. There are multitudes of avenues that
can be explored to provide media coverage. Advertising, word-of-mouth, established clients, but
none so far-reaching as the Internet and the organization?s web page. Desert Radiologists has its
domain in the World Wide Web as desertrad.com.
However, public relations is not just about media relations but it is about an organization?s
reputation, communication of corporate values, thoughts and deeds, assessing audiences
responses, and taking positive action. If an organization can develop a positive reputation and is
successful in its particular industry, then potential and existing clients will look more favorably
upon the organization. Desert Radiologist is continually building its client base by keeping old
customers happy; attracting new customers through information, pricing, and the quality of
service; educating the public on state-of-the-art equipment and research developments; and
innovative new programs and screening processes such as the new CT lung screening test.
STRATEGIES
To be competitive, an organization must know its competitors. Desert Radiologists? primary
competitors are Insight Diagnostics, Steinberg Diagnostics, and West Valley Imaging.
Constantly monitoring the competitor?s advertising, web site, and market share enables Desert
Radiologist to stay focused. While Desert Radiologists must know their competitors, they must
also know the target market. A market strategy specifies a target market and a related marketing
mix. Desert Radiologists has a marketing plan consisting of objectives, opportunities, and
strategies; an effective means to implement their marketing plan; and control of the marketing
plan and program to evaluate its progress and adjust the plan as needed. Desert Radiologists uses
the four P?s in their marketing strategy of Product, Place, Promotion, and Price to reach their
clients?C. Each of the four P?s contributes to the whole success of Desert Radiologists.
Marketing is an integral part of any organization?s success and should provide the guidelines for
satisfying clients? needs using the ?four P?s? for continuous innovation and improvement.
COMPETITOR?S RESPONSES
As the economy and competition grows, advertising becomes more important?because more
consumers have income and advertising can get results. Just as access to the Internet becomes
more universal, the strategy for Desert Radiologists is to utilize the World Wide Web?s vast
audience to educate and inform the public about the CT lung screening. Steinberg Diagnostics
Medical Imaging Centers (sdmi-lv.com) also has its web site and is matching Desert
Radiologists? page item for item complete with a question-and-answer section?even online
appointment scheduling. The competition also has placed advertising in the local Las Vegas
Business Press.
Desert Radiologists has used different types of advertising to help solicit new clients. Utilizing
institutional advertising promoting Desert Radiologists image via the ?awareness? or
?announcement? campaigns; the ?informative, descriptive ads to create interest in the new
screening; competitive ads with persuasive copy; competitive pricing and full disclosure about
non-insurance pay; and informative ?why you need to have the screening done? ads. Steinberg
Diagnostic has also placed pioneering advertising in the media with the use of competitive
advertising. The direct and indirect approach is being used by both organizations. Both
competitors are targeting ?smokers? and warning them of the potential dangers of not having the
screening done. Desert Radiologists? marketing and public relations managers are always
looking for cost-effective media that will get the message to the target market?the smokers?by
matching the market with the media.
S.W.O.T ANALYSIS
Desert Radiologists has identified and listed the organization?s Strengths, Weaknesses and its
Opportunities and Threats. The S.W.O.T. analysis helped Desert Radiologists focus on a strategy
that took advantage of the organization?s opportunities and strengths while avoiding its
weaknesses and threats to its success. The competitive advantage was the innovative new
screening test for cancer. The competition was not far behind.
MEASURING RESULTS
It is not easy to measure the results of advertising or introducing a new product. Some
breakthrough, innovative campaigns do have a very direct effect on increased client volume that
can be measured by before and after?or during?the new screening campaign. Yet, we usually
cannot measure the effectiveness or success just by looking at numbers or revenue. The total
marketing mix of reputation and stability in the community is also responsible for the result of
the new marketing plan. Also, new client and referrals are also affected by what competitors do
and by other changes in the external marketing environment, i.e. cancer awareness and public
awareness of smoking hazards and litigation.
Using client questionnaires and surveys will also help measure the effectiveness of the new CT
lung screening. Through defined specific advertising objectives, choosing media and messages to
accomplish the objectives, testing plans, and then evaluating the results of the new campaign will
result in good measurement tools.
Robert?s additions will have to go here!
WE NEED A CONCLUSION!!!!!!!
REFERENCES
?Test can detect lung cancer at early stage.? The Oregonian 14 Feb. 2000: A1
Seitel, F.P. (1998). The practice of public relations (UOP Special Edition Series). Upper Saddle
River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
American Cancer Society. (2000). ?Cancer Facts and Figures 2000.? National Media Office,
New York, NY.
Lerner, Maura. (2000, February). One More Gift, Maybe a CT Scan. Minneapolis Star Tribune,
ppg. A4, A6.
www.nci.nih.gov
www.mdanderson.org
www.pslgroup.com
www.bocaradiology.com
www.cancer.org
Bibliography
REFERENCES
?Test can detect lung cancer at early stage.? The Oregonian 14 Feb. 2000: A1
Seitel, F.P. (1998). The practice of public relations (UOP Special Edition Series). Upper Saddle
River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
American Cancer Society. (2000). ?Cancer Facts and Figures 2000.? National Media Office,
New York, NY.
Lerner, Maura. (2000, February). One More Gift, Maybe a CT Scan. Minneapolis Star Tribune,
ppg. A4, A6.
www.nci.nih.gov
www.mdanderson.org
www.pslgroup.com
www.bocaradiology.com
www.cancer.org
http://ua-referat.com