The Essence of the Medical Business? Focus on the Customer, the 'Patient'

Byungtae Park & Youngmi Kwon
"Medical Systems Must Be Redesigned Around Patient Experience"
Hospital Management Strategies Presented Through Service Design Approach

Park Byung-tae, Research Professor at the Graduate School of Health Care Management, Catholic University (Director of the Health Care Management Research Institute), and Kwon Young-mi, Adjunct Professor in the Department of Business Administration at Samyook University, have jointly published a new book titled Hospitals Also Need Branding.

The authors argue that in order to maintain stability and operate hospitals amid uncertainty and rapid changes, patient-centeredness must be achieved by thinking from the perspective of the customer?the patient?and comprehensively considering not only medical viewpoints but also service perspectives.

They also emphasize that improving and innovating hospital services cannot be resolved solely from the viewpoint of hospital staff; a new approach is needed that captures the invisible demands of customers by including both internal and external perspectives to enhance services. This new methodology is called "Design Thinking" and "Service Design."

Professor Park Byung-tae stated, "Patients desire not only simple treatment but also a comfortable, safe, and respectful experience," adding, "Accordingly, the healthcare system must be redesigned centered on the patient’s experience."

Whether a company or an institution, branding has become more important than ever. The same applies to hospitals. This book offers insights by presenting hospital management strategies through a service design approach to capture customers?patients?who expect rational services despite the information asymmetry between patients and medical staff.

Hospitals Also Need Branding | Park Byung-tae & Kwon Young-mi | Hyunamsa | 336 pages | 21,600 KRW