1. Problem Statement:
LifeStat, developed by SaskTel, is a device that serves the purpose of fulfilling the communication gap between patients and their caregivers. It allows SaskTel’s clients to examine their own blood pressure, glucose levels, and heart rate levels without having to physically go to the hospital. The information gathered by the client is then transmitted to SaskTel’s data center where a professional caregiver or physician is able to monitor the client’s personal health at anytime of the day. SaskTel’s executive committee recently approved a proposal to launch LifeStat into the Canadian healthcare market place. Pat Tulloch, senior director of marketing for SaskTel, was given the task of developing a marketing plan for
Relationship with Province(s): As said earlier, SaskTel is a Crown corporation and LifeStat could potentially be protected from direct competition in Saskatchewan. Other provinces may decide to become licensees and distribute LifeStat.
Distribution: With the growth of medical IT, retailers need to include telemedicine products to keep up with consumer demand. Strong national distributors like Shoppers and London Drug have already established themselves as trustworthy suppliers of healthcare products and give strong brand equity to the products they stock.
Rural Population: Since the citizens of Saskatchewan are mostly located in rural geographical areas. They are looking for products that will provide them with excellent healthcare in the inconvenient location of where they live.
d. Threats:
Substitutes: As the growth of this market develops, other firms will attempt to create more efficient and effective technologies for the consumers’ problems. With telemedicine becoming more and more popular other firms could develop new products at a cheaper price, thereby minimizing the inconvenience and cost of switching services.
Strong Competition: Technology for telemedicine is starting to attract attention from major companies that currently have medical technology divisions. This these major companies growing interest, large research and design budgets could