Who has the need:
Hospital systems with ER waiting rooms have the need to manage their flow of patients efficiently and be able to staff the shifts with the correct number of hospital workers in order to meet the demand of the day. Patients entering into the ER also have the need to know their estimated wait time. They also need to track their visit in the hospital and have all of their medical information housed in one location.
What is the nature of this need:
The need is constant at the majority of services within the desired market (hospital systems). All hospitals with ER waiting rooms have this need. The need is recurring throughout the calendar year, it is not confined to a particular season. However, the need is most present during peak times in the service. These times are between 10p and 3a, mostly on weekends. The need may also be more apparent in holiday seasons such as the month of December. This is because there is an influx of emergency categorized patients as well as a likelihood of medical staff being absent or having to take days off unexpectedly.
· What are the forces or changes in the environment creating this opportunity?
The forces at play in this environment include the unpredictable nature of patients coming into the ER in hospitals. There are also unpredictable forces including the amount of people available for certain shifts during peak times as well as when those peak times will be. Additionally, medical staff is busy in serving patients already admitted that they do not recognize the need to inform the waiting patients of their wait-time, nor do they have another way to notify them efficiently through other medical staff.
· How is this market defined geographically and demographically?
This market is not confined to particular geographic location, since all locations have hospitals that have difficulty managing their operations flow efficiently. Demographically, this market includes people of all ages and ethnicities, but would lean towards a younger generation that is more apt to use technology to solve their problems. It is also a class of people that are roughly middle and upper class, not too much would be included from lower class. This is because the service is an application and requires a smart phone. Although the accessibility of smart phones is growing. The market also includes an educated demographic since those who will be using the product in hospital systems are all educated with medical or business degrees.
· How are customers currently satisfying this need? And how loyal are they to whatever they use now?
Customers on the hospital admin end are making flow decisions based on their own calculations, without a computer or algorithm. They are also track medical records via their current database software from a third party, but are working without generated guidance from a computer on these decisions. On the patient end, patients are solving their need by asking the front desk assistant how long their wait is and making sure they are prepared to wait a while before they go to the ER. Neither groups are very loyal, although the hospital leadership customer segment is more loyal to their current system because they are used to it.
· How big is this opportunity?
This opportunity is somewhat big. It fulfills a need that people definitely have and one that affects their lives directly. But it has been made in the past and has a higher potential to be duplicated (at least for the patient waiting time service).
· How long will the “window of opportunity” be open?
The window of opportunity will stay open for a while most likely. This is because it is hard to create the service that provides a computer based solution to the management of staff and patients in a hospital. One that does it in real time. Also the opportunity will always exist with the unpredictability of the industries customers.
Innovation:
What it is:
The product is an application on your phone that allows healthcare professionals to track the flow of patients in their hospitals and manage the staffing for hospital shifts and for patients to receive an estimate on the wait time for being seen when coming to the ER.
What it does: It also provides real time data for how efficient the current staffing is and what the best decisions are to make in terms of room assignments and personnel adjustments - based on the current patient data inputted into the system upon them checking in. The app provides metrics to the healthcare staff for them to see where the health of their overall operation is at - such as statistics or ratings on room management, wait time, check ins, etc. The app also provides patients with an estimated wait time that updates in real time on their phone, when they check into that specific ER room.
How it works: The app uses systems engineering software to measure the efficiency of an operation based on standards inputted. These standards are based on the design and operation of each hospital specifically. Hospital management will be asked to input information about their hospital (its DNA) and the app will set ratings and metrics to be used for measure the productivity and efficiency of the hospital by division. It then takes this information and reports estimated wait times for customers based on the current flow of patients and the current capacity, using the rate of efficiency it calculates based on the inputted info.
What exactly am I selling and for how much?
I am selling an application subscription. It will be for $1000 a month.
Venture Concept:
How my innovation will solve or address the opportunity identified:
This will address the opportunity identified because it will provide patients with an accessible service to check their ER wait time as well as hospital systems a reliable service to manage their operations more efficiently.
Why customers will buy my innovation:
Customers will buy this innovation because there does not exist an accessible version of this on the market just yet. Hospital systems are also eager to improve their operations because it helps them continue to do business and serve patients without wasting time and resources.
· What are the reasons to think customers would switch to this new product? How hard will it be to get them to switch?
Customers will switch because it saves them time and money in the long run. They will have to pay more up front, but considering how much they profit from medical services, it is worth it to them if they can serve more patients while also improving patient experience.
· Who are the competitors? What are their possible weaknesses or vulnerabilities?
Competitors are the hospital systems themselves who have software teams making their own systems capable of providing this solution. As well as third party companies. Their weaknesses are that they do not specialize in this product. Hospitals are willing to our source if it means they will get a better product at a cheaper cost. If their engineers in house do not have the capacity to create as effective of a product.
· What role does packaging, my price points, distribution, customer support, the customer experience or the business location play (if any) in defining this business concept?
It plays a big role. It is a necessary component of keeping the hospital relationships over many years in order to continue providing them (the client) the service. It keeps the hospital systems from going to another third party. The presentation and the intuitive user experience is what will build their loyalty.
· How do I organize a “business” to support the ongoing production of this new product, service, or process? How many employees? What roles are in the venture?
The business will have a few number of employees because there aren't as many positions needed. There will need to be a few business operations employees, a few software engineers, and a limited amount of representatives who go out and sell the product to local hospitals. They will have to consult with the engineers consistently or need to have engineering backgrounds to interpret the product.
What is my most important resource:
The most important resource I have will be the integrated software of the app. This will make sure the app is technically effective but also is intuitive and enjoyable to use. Not overcomplicated in its presentation.
What’s next for the venture?
The next opportunity I want to tackle with my current innovation is expanding this service to provide more services within the app that allow hospitals to function. If these are additional metrics or a better platform to house patient information, which can then replace the current third parties they use.
What’s next for me? Where do I want to be in five years with this venture? Where do I want to be, as an entrepreneur, in the next decade, and how does this first venture help achieve this vision?
This venture helps steer me in the direction as an entrepreneur that develops ideas for businesses that help the greater health of people and the community. This can include healthcare, ministries, and businesses that are non profits. In five years I hope this venture is the product that UF health uses here locally, as well as a product that reaches nearby cities within this time frame.
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