The need for a social marketing
perspective of consumer-driven
health care
Kimball P. Marshall
School of Business, Alcorn State University, Natchez, Mississippi, USA
Michaeline Skiba
Monmouth University, West Long Branch, New Jersey, USA, and
David P. Paul, III
Department of Management and Marketing, Monmouth University,
West Long Branch, New Jersey, USA
Abstract
Purpose – Consumer-driven health care (CDHC) has been proposed to reduce the USA health care
costs through greater free market economic exposure. The purpose of this paper is to review the USA
health care system, insurance plans, and CDHC plan elements and assumptions regarding patients,
service providers, and insurers, in order to identify research and social marketing needs of CDHC.
Design/methodology/approach – The paper is an assessment of literature from academic and
practitioner communities.
Findings – Social marketing programs can contribute to preparing consumers and practitioners for
CDHC. However, the degree to which CDHC can reduce health care costs is uncertain. More research is
needed comparing CDHC plans with traditional plans and comparing CDHC enrollees with enrollees in
other types of plans to determine the true benefits and costs of CDHC and to identify consumers’
information needs. Research is needed into how to gather and provide understandable health care
provider quality and cost-effectiveness information, and into how current insurers can help consumers
make effective CDHC decisions. Research is needed as to how CDHC is perceived by consumers,
providers, and insurers, and the use of CDHC reimbursement accounts and their effect on behavior and
costs. Research is also needed into which decisions can be made by consumers without specialized
professional knowledge. Provider research is needed into outcome risk adjustments, how practitioners
view CDHC, how willing practitioners are to participate in a more open-free market, and how CDHC
may affect professional practices.
Originality/value – Insights gained from this paper can contribute to social marketing program
designs needed for practitioner and consumer acceptance and effective use of CDHC.
Keywords Health services, Consumers, Social marketing, Health insurance, Public health,
United States of America
Paper type Conceptual paper
Introduction
Health care is among the fastest growing expenditures in the USA (Herzlinger, 1997a, b,
2002; Porter and Teisberg, 2004; PHRMA, 2005). Health care costs affect business
competitiveness (Porter and Teisberg, 2004; Goldstein, 2008; CED, 2007), patient access
to care (Lagnada and Tanouye, 2001) and personal finances (Gleckman, 2006). Private
insurance sector efforts to contain costs have led to accusations that doctors are
constrained in their freedom to treat patients (Novack, 1991; Peer and Rakish, 1999),
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at
www.emeraldinsight.com/1750-6123.htm
IJPHM
3,3
236
International Journal of
Pharmaceutical and Healthcare
Marketing
Vol. 3 No. 3, 2009
pp. 236-257
q Emerald Group Publishing Limited
1750-6123
DOI 10.1108/17506120910989660