Introduction: Pricing in healthcare systems is both vital and intricate. An empirical study of the factors influencing pricing in a private tertiary care corporate hospital in India remains unexplored. This study explored the nuances of cost and competition in pricing of services at private corporate tertiary care hospitals in India.
Methods: This approach was based on a systematic procedure in a qualitative research paradigm. Ten personal interviews were conducted with hospital administrators, finance managers, and marketers of private tertiary care corporate hospitals in India. We used the Gioia methodology to analyze qualitative data and arrive at the aggregate dimensions associated with costs and competition as factors in the pricing of services.
Results: The data structure has developed aggregate dimensions for costs and competition as factors influencing pricing for private tertiary care corporate hospitals in India. The aggregate dimensions of costs are cost hegemony, costing process, profit margin analysis, cost inflation factors, and cost information sources. The aggregate dimensions of competition include benchmarking, desire for dominance, comparison, and price adjustment.
Conclusion: The study elucidates critical aspects of cost and competition, affirming their role as crucial determinants in the pricing strategies of services within Indian corporate hospitals. Therefore, when setting prices, hospitals may pay attention to the dimensional aspects of costs and competition identified in this study. The study corroborates the imperative for a suitable policy intervention to guarantee transparency in the pricing of hospital services. This phenomenon can be attributed to two overarching regulatory imperatives. Firstly, it has the potential to facilitate the realization of universal health coverage. Secondly, it has the potential to expedite the nation’s transformation as a prominent global healthcare destination.