Module 2

Introduction to
Healthcare Marketing

INFO 6119 – Healthcare Marketing and Reporting

Professor Graf
Welcome
• Healthcare in Canada – a brief review of key events
• Healthcare in Canada – Practice Trends
• Principles and Practices of marketing in Healthcare
• College Rules and Regulations
• Truth in Advertising – Competition Bureau of Canada (GOC)
• So What?
Healthcare in Canada – A Brief Review
The Constitution Act (1982) assigns responsibility for most health care to the provinces (the national government
retains responsibility for aboriginal populations covered by treaties, the armed forces, and members of parliament)
The Canada Health Act (1984) consolidates and defines the principles of the publicly funded healthcare system, known
as Medicare. The five principles are comprehensiveness, universality, portability, public administration, and
accessibility
• requires that all hospital and physician services be (virtually) 100% publicly financed without user charges. Third
party insurance for these services is prohibited. Physicians can “opt out” of their provincially operated Medicare
plans, with no state financing of care. There are nuances in how individual provinces regulate this provision, but
uptake is very small
• is silent on other services, resulting in a patchwork of coverage arrangements that varies considerably from province
to province
The federal government has long shared tax revenues and negotiated cost sharing agreements with the provinces. Its
ability to enforce provisions and penalties under the Canada Health Act is contingent on its power to withhold fiscal
transfers to offending jurisdictions
Healthcare in Canada – Practice Trends 1
• In the past, practices used to be solo or homogenous –
single Family MD or a group of Family MDs
• Recently, the trend is multi-disciplinary group (FHT)
• Specialized clinics emerging and thriving (Fowler
Kennedy Clinic)
• Integration of services to meet community needs
Healthcare in Canada – Practice Trends 2
• Most (70%) health care in Canada is publicly financed, but almost
all is privately provided
• Almost all hospitals are non-profit private societies or corporations
• Most non-academic physicians are “fee for service” private
practitioners
• Long term residential care and home care are variously non-profit,
state owned, or for-profit, with different mixes in different provinces
Healthcare in Canada – Practice Trends 3
About half of prescription drug costs are borne privately, either by patients
themselves or through third party insurance. All provinces have drug plans that
cover certain populations, such as elderly people and those receiving welfare or
with special needs
Increasing numbers of private, for-profit clinics have appeared offering
services such as
• magnetic resonance imaging
• cataract and corrective eye surgery
• rehabilitation (particularly physiotherapy)
Principles and Practices of Marketing in Healthcare

Canadian Marketing Code of Ethics & Standards 

• the foundation of the marketing community’s self-regulation
• CMA’s Code is mandatory for members and as such is a
comprehensive regulatory framework governing members’
conduct
• best practices document for Canada’s marketing community
College Rules and Regulations
Each College has rules and regulations around professional practice
• https://www.cpso.on.ca/
• https://www.cno.org/
• https://www.collegept.org/
• https://www.rcdso.org/en-ca/home
Authority is derived and enforced using the Regulated Health Professions
Act (provincial legislation)
• https://www.ontario.ca/laws/statute/91r18
Truth in Advertising – Competition Bureau of Canada
(GOC)
Government body that regulates advertising:
https://www.competitionbureau.gc.ca/eic/site/cb-bc.nsf/eng/0
4255.html

Derives authority from the Competition Act:

https://laws.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/C-34/index.html
So What?
As a modern medical administrator, you will work in a variety of
situations
Variety of practitioners = different:
• Governance/College rules
• Billing
• Schedules/patterns of practice
• Legal and ethical requirements for their profession
So What?
• You will have to uphold the trust of the organization and
patients
• You are the face of the business
• Everything you do, every decision you take, reflects the
values and brand of the practice
• Your actions/decisions will have an impact on
practitioners’ ability to legally practice
So What?
• What you do matters
• Medical professionals are liable for the actions you take on
behalf of them
• The interactions you have, and the content you create are
an extension of the practitioners
• You must act responsibly to help them maintain their legal,
ethical, and moral obligations
REFERENCES
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1121447/
https://www.cpso.on.ca/Physicians/Policies-Guidance/Statements-Po
sitions/Social-Media-Appropriate-Use-by-Physicians
https://www.thecma.ca/resources/code-of-ethics-standards#:~:text=G
uided%20by%20the%20CMA%20Canadian,any%20abuse%20of%2
0power%20or
https://www.competitionbureau.gc.ca/eic/site/cb-bc.nsf/eng/04255.ht
ml
https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/drugs-health-produ
cts/regulatory-requirements-advertising/policies-guidance-document
s/policy-distinction-between-advertising-activities.html
Next Week
Traditional Marketing