Market Assessment Process (MAP)An important early step in any strategic planning effort, the Market Assessment Process (MAP) helps a health center evaluate service areas to determine current needs and trends as well as the potential for expansion. Using a combination of narrative, charts and maps, the MAP describes the center’s market in geographic, demographic and economic terms, identifies opportunities for growth, evaluates competition in the marketplace and estimates projected market share or potential demand for health center services.
It can pinpoint unmet needs or emerging trends that can inform the center’s program and workforce planning, whether or not the health center is planning to expand. Finally, the data generated in a comprehensive market assessment can form an excellent basis for financial forecasting and operating grant proposals.A comprehensive MAP is tailored to a health center’s specific questions about its market, but highlights include:
Payer Mix Analysis
This service helps health centers plan for the increase in the insured population that has occurred as a result of added coverage via the Health Insurance Marketplaces, and in some states the expansion of Medicaid. Payer Mix Analysis uses available secondary data sources on enrollment in Medicare, Medicaid, and private insurance, and also utilizes Capital Link’s proprietary Health Reform Demand Model to estimate the population eligible for the Health Insurance Marketplaces. If relevant, the final data also takes into account the change in the number of uninsured that will occur as a result of the expansion of Medicaid. To the extent secondary data sources are available, this analysis can be broken down by age, gender, and income level.
Workforce Estimation
This service describes the low-income population within the health center’s service area that is not currently seen by a Federally Qualified Health Center, providing an estimate of unmet demand and the number of medical providers required to meet that need.
Capital Link draws upon utilization statistics and benchmarks (at the health center and state-wide level) to describe, based on historic utilization by the low-income population, the full-time-equivalent (FTE) physicians and/or mid-levels that would be needed to serve that demand. If relevant, Capital Link also estimates the number of medical providers needed to meet the demand of newly enrolled Medicaid recipients.
Customized Service Area Mapping
Maps are valuable tools that allow you to quickly explore large data sets that describe patients, age, ethnicity, income, or even health indicators at small geographic levels such as zip codes or census tracts. Mapping can uncover areas at high risk of homelessness, mental health needs, transportation access, and concentrations of residents with chronic health disease. With our own mapping resources and experts on staff, Capital Link can assist your health center in exploring current service area or prioritize new expansion service areas. Capital Link can even utilize your health center’s (de-identified) patient data to present a powerful visual case for expansion or reallocation of resources.
Other MAP Elements:
• Competitive Analysis
• Market Share
• Health Needs/Health Indicators
• Economic Overview
• Policy Environment
Community Asset Mapping
With growing evidence that lifestyle choices and access to resources, such as fresh food and safe places to walk, may have a greater influence on health outcomes than health care, it is important for health centers to gain an understanding of all of the factors that influence health in a community. With Community Asset Mapping, you can examine all of the assets – and shortcomings – of your community in order to identify ways to promote healthier behaviors and increase access to resources, therefore positively impacting patient outcomes. Capital Link can help your health center facilitate this information gathering process and present it visually as part of your market assessment or in a separate report or board presentation. Community Asset Mapping is often a helpful first step in the community input phase of a strategic planning process.
For more information about the services detailed above, Contact Us.