Journal of hospital marketing最新文献

This research examines consumers' value perceptions and their role in hospital choice behavior in rural and suburban markets. While health care markets are "local," this study confirms the broad efficacy of a value-based approach to understanding consumer choice of providers.

The use of "alternative" medicine has become increasingly popular in the United States. Books devoted to alternative medicine, e.g., Spontaneous Healing and 8 Weeks to Optimum Health, have become best sellers. Nevertheless, relatively few research studies have focused on the subject. This study examined the role of alternative medicine among college students. Issues addressed included students' familiarity with, use of, and perceptions regarding unconventional health therapies. The study substantiated a phenomenon health care providers across the country are discovering: a growing number of Americans with interest and financial resources support the development of "mainstream" alternative medicine programs. Results of the study also suggest that well-respected traditional health care organizations would not suffer reputation damage if they were to offer such programs.

As hospitals continue to incorporate web technology into their overall marketing and communications strategies, they face several issues which we explore in this paper. Hospitals' effectiveness in dealing with these issues will affect the benefits received from this technology. We provide an exploratory analysis of current hospital web sites and develop implications for future web site development. Likewise, recommendations based on our research are also provided.

The authors used a relatively new advertising medium to increase public awareness of their children's hospital. They found that street pole banners, a form of outdoor advertising, made a measurable, positive impression on consumer consciousness. Banners effectively supplemented a product awareness campaign that included more traditional media. This study is the first documentation of the use of banners to market health care services. Using a two-phase approach, respondents were surveyed via telephone before and after exposure. Results of the follow-up survey show significant increases in levels of awareness and preference. The authors hope their report on the successful use of street pole banners will spur further research on the use of this innovative media.

This present article investigates conflicting community attitudes and formal survey results. The survey results suggest that patients viewed their physicians' and nurses' competency and care very highly, as well as receiving satisfactory care in specialized departments. The results further suggest that hospital meals were less satisfactory in terms of patient enjoyment of meals and with the services of the dietitian. However, one major area of concern was the low number of survey responses and the recommendations that are made for improving the response rate. Demographic inconsistencies in the survey results are reviewed as evidence of lack of validity lending support to the contrary community perception of low health care quality at the hospital. Suggestions are made for improvement of the survey instrument and procedures to insure greater validity and reliability.

As a way of controlling the rising costs of health care, most managed care companies have implemented drug formularies. A drug formulary is generally defined as a listing of medications the health plan will cover for reimbursement. Some medications may need authorization from the health plan before they will be dispensed. This paper argues that drug formularies contain cost while causing no physical harm to the patient. The method of research used is descriptive. The paper will examine the issue from the side of the physician, the health plan and the patient. The research includes personal interviews, anecdotal records and reviews of available literature. The findings will show that patients still have access to a wide range of therapeutic medications and do not suffer physical harm as a result of a drug formulary.

This article develops two previous research efforts. William J. Winston (1994, 1995) has proposed a set of strategies by which health care organizations can benefit from forging strategic alliances. Raadt and Self (1997) have proposed a classification model of alliances including horizontal, vertical, internal, and osmotic. In the second of two articles, this paper presents a model of vertical, internal, and osmotic alliances. Advantages and disadvantages of each are discussed. Finally, the complete alliance system model is presented.