Primary Care Healthcare Marketing Plan When promoting primary healthcare services, there are many factors that must be considered when developing an effective marketing plan. Primary care providers are the gatekeepers to health care in the United States; many patients must see them before being referred to specialty providers (Bodenheimer, 2003). They are also responsible for ensuring that patients receive preventive services and managing more complex chronic diseases (Akinci & Healey, 2004). Recruiting primary care physicians is challenging because they are expected to do more and are not reimbursed pro rata for the additional workload (Bodenheimer, 2003). In this article, a group of primary care physicians in Washington DC are trying to research their consumer population in order to provide them with better services and recruit new primary care physicians into their practice (Colorado State University-Global Campus, 2013). A successful primary care marketing plan will recruit quality healthcare providers while improving consumer accessibility to their services, customer satisfaction rates, and patients' continuity of care with their healthcare provider. Office Setup and Scheduling For primary care practices to be successful, they must organize their office setup and scheduling to meet the needs of their consumers. Bodenheimer (2003) advocates improving accessibility to primary care by organizing offices into teams. He explains that each team will have “a primary care physician, two nonphysician physicians (nurse practitioners or physician assistants), three nurse practitioners, and a receptionist” (p.797). He says patients will be greeted by their team who are familiar with their care. Greenwood Village, CO: Author.Deloitte Center for Health Solutions. (2011). Survey of health care consumers in the United States. Key findings, strategic implications. Retrieved from http://www.deloitte.com/assets/Dcom-United States/Local%20Assets/Documents/US_CHS_2011ConsumerSurveyinUS_062111.pdfHackworth, B. A., & Kunz, M. B. (2011). Healthcare and social media: Building relationships through social networks. Academy of Health Care Management Journal,7(2), 1-14.Merritt, J. (1993, January). The art of recruiting GPs. Trustee, 46(1),10-12. Robeznieks, A. (2009, October 12). A strong push in the recruitment of doctors. Modern Healthcare,39(41), 25-28.Rooney, K. (2009, July/August). Consumer-Driven Healthcare Marketing: Using the Web to Get Up Close and Personal. Journal of Healthcare Management, 54(4), 241-251.