Asante Teaching Hospital
1. Strengths – Asante is a top-ranked hospital and has the prestigious reputation of being the
official emergency facility for visiting presidents and prime ministers. It strives to be the best it
can be and prides itself in having more doctors learning at a higher level and having advances in
eye surgery that allow for better benefits for patients with cataracts. Asante is known for its
higher quality of care it offers. Since it is a non-profit organization, it is completely funded by
private donors, allowing the hospital to operate loan-free. Regarding the maternity ward
specifically, Asante is the only hospital in Johannesburg that offers single rooms to patients for
an additional fee, and this privacy is perceived as a luxury among new mothers.
2. Weaknesses – Being a non-profit organization, Asante cannot depend on government-backed
funding if financial hardship were to occur. Additionally, any surplus from one department must
be used to cover costs in another, taking away the opportunity to use excess funds for
development and growth within departments. Since Asante currently does not bill based on
bundled pricing, insurance companies are more hesitant to pay the lengthy patient bills and new
parents are forced to wait hours to receive their individually itemized bill before discharge.
Asante has had recurring issues with insurance providers not paying in full, and the high quality
of care often puts a financial strain on patients.
3. Opportunities – Including outer suburbs and townships, Johannesburg has a population of 10.3
million people. With the capacity to serve 22,000 people a year, Asante is in the fortunate
position to likely always have patients to serve. Johannesburg’s middle class has grown rapidly,
giving Asante the opportunity to market to a new class of patients who can now afford their
luxury services. Also, 70% of the doctors in the area work in the private sector, which gives the
hospital access to more resources than available to the public sector.
4. Threats – 70% of Asante’s patients have private health insurance coverage. However, only 20%
of total South Africans have private health insurance coverage, which could limit the market
that Asante is attempting to attract. As the city’s wealth grows, so does competition in the
health care world. A big advantage that the competition has is the fact that they offer the