Assignment #3

Prepare a response answering questions asked at the end. Recommend an action plan to avoid such a situation in the future.

The Radnor Pediatric Care group has grown dramatically in recent years. Located in a midsized city in the Southeast that had seen an influx of younger families, the practice had recruited pediatricians and physician extenders to meet the increasing demand of patients. The group was also quite aggressive in ensuring that the diversity of practitioners was a key part of its recruiting efforts and a hallmark of which senior group members were proud. Now entering the 10th year of the practice, the group had five locations throughout the metro area, but there were some early concerns in terms of the financials. At a quarterly meeting of the executive committee, the practice administrator reported for the first time that practice growth and revenues were both flat. This was a first in the group’s history. The timing of this message was somewhat fortuitous in that the group had already planned a fall meeting of all its clinicians at a local hotel. The group is trying to determine the best path forward. You are the marketing director for Radnor Pediatric and have been asked to provide a sense of possible direction and rationale.

In assembling your notes, you provide an overview of the practice:
Radnor Pediatrics
Five clinic locations: two sites have weekend hours.
Website: This is updated on a quarterly basis.
After-hour support: This is provided by hospital urgent-care locations downtown.

Walk-in appointments: These are available at central Radnor Pediatric locations five days a week before regular appointment visits from 7 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. when all offices open.
Prescription refill requests: These can be left after hours on the answering machine at the main clinic site.
Appointment requests: These are made at each office when the practice site opens. The hours for two office locations are from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.; the main clinic site is open 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. (except the walk-in time), and the far west site is 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.

  • In today’s environment, how could Radnor Pediatric restore the growth possibilities for the group practice?