Ethical Considerations in Customer Relationship Management Essay

Abstract Due to issues such as managed care contracting, and the financial impact of indigent care, healthcare providers find themselves in competition for patients with adequate health insurance, or the ability to pay cash for services provided to try to maintain fiscal solvency. E-health applications serve not only to advertise the services of a facility, but also to help the health care provider identify potential patients for the services they offer. In this paper I will explore the ethical considerations of Consumer Relationship Management (CRM) applications and services, which are increasingly being utilized to help target potential consumers for health care providers. When inquiring about a health condition on the internet, do internet users give up their expectations for privacy regarding their healthcare information? Although consumers may not expect the information they provide to get into the database of marketing firms, this is often exactly what happens. Consumer Relationship Management (CRM) software firms or service providers are a growing industry. The purpose of CRM software in the healthcare field, is to assist providers in identifying potential customers for a service based on information they have supplied. This information can be provided in a number of ways. In some cases, the consumer has knowingly supplied the information to the actual provider via an inquiry sent from the provider's website. In other cases the provider determines a marketing target based upon mining information in their own database by linking relationships which may help identify a potential need. Yet in another scenario, identification of a potential consu mer is based on information they provided at another website, which was ... ... an Innovative CRM Solution for Health Care Organizations. Retrieved July 29, 2007, from DM Review Web site: http://www.dmreview.com/editorial/newsletter_article.cfm?nl=dmdirect&articleId=1066948&issue=20423 CPM-Solutions. Retrieved July 29, 2007, from CRM Health Portal Web site: http://www.cpm.com/providers/solutions/emarketing.cfm Poulsen, Kevin (2007, May 14). Attorneys General demand that MySpace give up sex offenders. Wired, Retrieved July 29, 2007, from http://blog.wired.com/27bstroke6/2007/05/attorneys_gener.html Richards, Johnathan (2007, July 25). Sex offenders can use social sites say police. Times Online, Retrieved July 29, 2007, from http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/the_web/article2137973.ece WebMD Privacy Policy. Retrieved July 29, 2007, from WebMD.com Web site: http://www.webmd.com/policies/about-privacy-policy#part7c Ethical Considerations in Customer Relationship Management Essay Abstract Due to issues such as managed care contracting, and the financial impact of indigent care, healthcare providers find themselves in competition for patients with adequate health insurance, or the ability to pay cash for services provided to try to maintain fiscal solvency. E-health applications serve not only to advertise the services of a facility, but also to help the health care provider identify potential patients for the services they offer. In this paper I will explore the ethical considerations of Consumer Relationship Management (CRM) applications and services, which are increasingly being utilized to help target potential consumers for health care providers. When inquiring about a health condition on the internet, do internet users give up their expectations for privacy regarding their healthcare information? Although consumers may not expect the information they provide to get into the database of marketing firms, this is often exactly what happens. Consumer Relationship Management (CRM) software firms or service providers are a growing industry. The purpose of CRM software in the healthcare field, is to assist providers in identifying potential customers for a service based on information they have supplied. This information can be provided in a number of ways. In some cases, the consumer has knowingly supplied the information to the actual provider via an inquiry sent from the provider's website. In other cases the provider determines a marketing target based upon mining information in their own database by linking relationships which may help identify a potential need. Yet in another scenario, identification of a potential consu mer is based on information they provided at another website, which was ... ... an Innovative CRM Solution for Health Care Organizations. Retrieved July 29, 2007, from DM Review Web site: http://www.dmreview.com/editorial/newsletter_article.cfm?nl=dmdirect&articleId=1066948&issue=20423 CPM-Solutions. Retrieved July 29, 2007, from CRM Health Portal Web site: http://www.cpm.com/providers/solutions/emarketing.cfm Poulsen, Kevin (2007, May 14). Attorneys General demand that MySpace give up sex offenders. Wired, Retrieved July 29, 2007, from http://blog.wired.com/27bstroke6/2007/05/attorneys_gener.html Richards, Johnathan (2007, July 25). Sex offenders can use social sites say police. Times Online, Retrieved July 29, 2007, from http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/the_web/article2137973.ece WebMD Privacy Policy. Retrieved July 29, 2007, from WebMD.com Web site: http://www.webmd.com/policies/about-privacy-policy#part7c