Description of SWOT Analysis
The SWOT analysis, which stands for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats, is widely used in evaluating products in business and marketing. It enables an understanding of the advantages the new product can bring to customers and the potential the company has for succeeding in a specific market niche. Additionally, the SWOT assessment model enables the objective assessment of the firm’s weaknesses and the analysis of threats to prevent product failure (Stonehouse, 2018).
Usefulness of SWOT in Product Analysis
SWOT analysis can be applied to examining these four domains of the pre-surgical online assessment tool proposed in the healthcare budget request. The tool can help patients undergo a pre-operative assessment at a convenient place and time, and if they lack any health risks, it will eliminate the need for an in-person assessment. An in-person pre-surgical assessment currently requires at least three nurses per individual (Van den Blink et al., 2022). Furthermore, proper patient education and emotional preparation must be done pre-operatively (Van der Linde-van den Bor et al., 2022). Therefore, implementing this online assessment tool can save time and money for hospitals and patients who do not need an in-person assessment.
Applying SWOT to Product
Strengths and Weaknesses
The proposed product’s initial goal was to increase the efficiency of patient pre-operative interviewing. The primary strength of this online assessment tool is that it can eliminate the need to examine every patient, thereby reducing healthcare costs. In fact, costs, but not revenues, fall into the strengths part of the SWOT analysis, since lower service costs may not necessarily suggest increased revenue.
Still, although operating expenses seem high, the return-on-investment period is slightly longer than one year; thus, no budgetary issues should appear. However, this product’s weakness is that it may not be as accurate as a professional examination and will require continuous data training. Notably, the costs cannot be considered a weakness, as online evaluation will result in less involvement from healthcare staff.
Threats and Opportunities
The opportunity for this tool is that nowadays, some people prefer to spend less time in hospitals, mainly because of the anxiety many have before surgical procedures. Lastly, a major threat is the potential harm to patients if the software erroneously calculates that a particular individual does not require an in-person assessment due to incorrect data input.
References
Stonehouse, D. (2018). SWOT: What is it all about and how do you use it? British Journal of Healthcare Assistants, 12(12), 617–619.
Van den Blink, A., Janssen, L. M., Hermanides, J., Loer, S. A., Straat, F. K., Jessurun, E. N., Schwarte, L. A., & Schober, P. (2022). Evaluation of electronic screening in the preoperative process. Journal of Clinical Anesthesia, 82, 1–7.
Van der Linde-van den Bor, M., Frans-Rensen, S. A., Slond, F., Liesdek, O. C., de Heer, L. M., Suyker, W. J., Jaarsma, T., & Weldam, S. W. (2022). Patients’ voices in the development of pre-surgical patient education using virtual reality: A qualitative study. PEC Innovation, 1, 1–6.